About the Awards is a new series of Q&As with our editors across ALM Media's publications that aims to give readers and potential nominees insight into our judging process for awards related to ALM Recognition Events. We hope this will guide you as you draft your submissions, and we welcome any additional questions you may have.

For the next column in our series, we'll be discussing our Elite Trial Lawyers awards with bureau chief Christine Schiffner, who will be leading the judging across all categories.

For more information about the Elite Trial Lawyers 2022 contest, please visit the awards site and the official Call for Nominations. The deadline for submissions is April 8. You can also view other upcoming ALM contest submission deadlines and sign up for marketing notifications here.

Christine, can you tell us more about yourself and your legal and journalism background?

I'm the bureau chief of The National Law Journal and based in Washington, D.C. It is a fascinating place to report from as the law and politics are intertwined here unlike anywhere in the U.S. In our coverage, I like to explore areas such as Big Tech litigation and antitrust enforcement, ESG and consumer protection law—just to name a few. Another important and evolving field of coverage are diversity and inclusion efforts both inside law firms as well as during litigation in the courtroom. Plaintiffs bar coverage is a particular focus of mine that NLJ is also looking to expand—there are many intriguing stories to be told about how the law intersects with regular people and the work of plaintiffs attorneys. I relocated to the United States from Germany more than 20 years ago and since then have worked for a variety of news organizations including The Associated Press and the main German television network ARD. I previously covered news across the United States with focus on immigration policy, global climate change and U.S. politics.

Is ETL a new contest?

ETL started in 2013 with The National Law Journal honoring professional excellence among trial lawyers and plaintiffs bar trailblazers. Since then, it has recognized outstanding legal talent and recognized excellence in landing victories for the clients.

Can winners from previous years participate?

Yes, previous award winners can participate but will have to submit new success records of recent litigations that were not submitted before.

Who should be interested in submitting nominations for this contest?

ALM's Elite Trial Lawyers has recognized U.S.-based law firms that have performed exemplary and cutting-edge work on behalf of plaintiffs since 2015. The 2022 program seeks nominations of a broad variety of the law. For details, please visit this website.

This year's ETL awards will again also feature a few specialty recognitions:

The Keith Givens Visionary Award:

This award honors a member of the bar who has shown extraordinary creativity in bringing the legal industry together, developing new opportunities for business growth, and supporting the professional development of attorneys across the country. 500-word essay.

Lifetime Achievement Award:

This award honors members of the plaintiffs bar whose career and service have made an indelible mark on their community, their clients, and/or the practice or business of law. 500-word essay.

Rising Stars of the Plaintiffs Bar:

We will honor a select group of young lawyers who are up-and-comers in the plaintiffs bar, already demonstrating their litigation prowess, service to the community, and/or impact on their firm. 300-word essay.

Diversity Initiative Award:

This award will honor the plaintiff's firm that demonstrates a concerted and successful effort to promote diversity within its organization or the profession at large. Clear examples, an explanation of the strategy or program, and any supporting data should be included in the submission. 500-word essay.

Who is judging this contest?

The team of judges consists of senior reporters and executive staff at ALM—all with several years of experience in legal news coverage.

What are the judges looking for?

Potential nominees should have scored at least one significant plaintiffs win between January 1, 2021 and January 1, 2022, and possess an impressive track record of wins within the past three to five years. A "significant win" means prevailing in a bench or jury trial or in a major settlement in which the stakes are high—for example, a substantial amount of money is on the line or the outcome could affect litigation strategy or the results in similar cases nationally.

To be eligible for this list, firms should devote at least 50% of their litigation resources to plaintiff's work.

What do you want to see in submissions?

The awards are about the recognition of outstanding efforts in scoring a victory for the plaintiffs. The judges will look out for unique, innovative approaches to resolving a litigation, extraordinary amounts of time and/or efforts spent for the clients all the way to the finish line of the case. Judges will also factor in diversity of the trial team.

The deadline for submissions for Elite Trial Lawyers is April 8.

For more information about Elite Trial Lawyers and other Recognition Events awards, please contact Recognition Events desk manager Pearl Wu at [email protected].