Welcome to the Georgia Legal Awards, our annual recognition of professional excellence in the legal community.

With a record number of nominees this year, the Daily Report had particularly difficult choices in every category.

The firms, lawyers and judges we recognize come from a wide range of practice areas. They include: appellate; banking; civil rights; corporate; energy; criminal defense; cybersecurity; election; employment; entertainment; environmental; immigration; intellectual property; legal aid; magistrate judging; media; medical product liability; municipal; personal injury (defense); personal injury (plaintiffs); prosecution; real estate; regulatory; tax; transactional; and trusts and estates.

Despite this breadth, these recipients represent a fraction of the effective and zealous practitioners serving their clients across Georgia we see at work every day.

I want to thank the honorees for the time they spent with their thoughtful responses to our questions.

Getting to know these leaders has inspired us, and we hope you feel the same as you read their words that follow.

Jonathan Ringel, managing editor

Attorney of the Year

This award recognizes a Georgia lawyer who in 2018 had the biggest impact on the law or the Georgia legal community or who did the most to advance the cause of justice.

The finalists for Attorney of the Year are:

A panel of six esteemed lawyers will choose a winner, who will be announced at the end of the Georgia Legal Awards dinner. The panel consists of:

  • Josh Belinfante of the Robbins Firm (a 2010 On the Rise class member);
  • Maxine Hicks of DLA Piper (a finalist for last year's Attorney of the Year);
  • Linda Klein of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz (last year's Attorney of the Year);
  • Senior Judge Herbert Phipps of the state Court of Appeals (a Lifetime Achievement honoree last year);
  • Tori Silas of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough (a 2013 On the Rise class member); and
  • Brian Steel of The Steel Law Firm (a 2017 Attorney of the Year finalist and a 2002 On the Rise class member).

Lifetime Achievement

Lifetime Achievement awards recognize lawyers who have left a lasting imprint on the legal community of Georgia.

Distinguished Leaders

Distinguished Leader awards go to lawyers who achieved impressive results in 2018 and demonstrated clear leadership skills that helped them achieve those results.

Litigation Departments of the Year

In-House Departments of the Year

In-House Impact awards

Dealmakers of the Year

Best Mentors

Best Social Mediators

On the Rise

Fourteen lawyers under the age of 40 comprise the 2019 On the Rise class.