If you are reading this and you had something to do with your law firm's submission for The Litigation Departments of the Year, thank you! If you are reading this and you weren't involved in the submission, go give a big hug to the people in your organization who were.

Our editorial staff has learned so much about the firms, the matters, the initiatives and the individuals who are elevating the profession in new and inspiring ways. Regardless of who wins, we will be telling the stories we learned from the submissions, calling the new sources we identified during our judging and following the trends that we found throughout the entries.

We are doing things a bit differently this year, too. For the first time, we announced in advance our finalists for the Litigation Departments of the Year contest, which we hold every other year. The winner will be announced at our awards gala Dec. 4 in New York. All of the finalists (Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; O'Melveny & Myers; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; and Sidley Austin) will be profiled in our January edition, as will a list of those firms that were really close to making the cut.

One tradition that has remained the same throughout the contest's history is the interview process. We invite a group of litigators from each of the finalist firms to come to our New York offices and meet with our judging team. These conversations are illuminating and give us a deeper sense of the departments, well beyond what any case description could do.

I can say that all six of our finalist firms elevated their standing after the interview process. These are immensely helpful to our team and we are always impressed. And on top of that, despite all having different cultures and business models, the similarities were surprising. All that is to say, picking the winner was a challenge!

When asked about their philosophies as a department, every firm said they want to be the go-to shop for clients to come to with their most complex, high-stakes matters. And they all said they are the rare firm that actually tries cases, rather than just settling disputes. Some touted international work, some focused on their prowess despite maintaining a smaller litigation department, and some focused on the number of cases they handled. They all talked about pro bono (we do require it).

What struck me most was the frequency with which these firms and others work together on some of the highest-profile matters. In this cycle, the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust battle was the biggest example of a powerhouse virtual firm coming together. Four of our six finalists were on that matter, and they all cited each other's work and the team approach to handling such a blockbuster case. And it wasn't just those four firms or that case that demonstrated the way our finalists are repeatedly brought together to handle the world's biggest disputes. (Have I mentioned it's tough to pick a winner? Clients can shed a lot of light in situations like these.)

During these interviews, we get to see the interaction between partners and hear the behind-the-scenes stories of some of the biggest litigation crises corporate America faced in the past two years. We learn about new types of disputes, new battles being waged in or out of court, and new asks from clients who are looking to better manage their litigation portfolios. Litigators at their core, these interviews were their trial and we were their jury. We got a show and enjoyed every minute, learning more about the people, the cases and the firms.

Congratulations to all of the finalists. Your submissions, presentations and, more importantly, the work that you do, are all exceptional.

Gina Passarella Cipriani is editor-in-chief of The American Lawyer.