The following honorees will be recognized during the New York Legal Awards, Oct. 6th at the New York Legal Awards at Marriott Marquis in New York City. For information about tickets and sponsorships for the event, please contact Andre Sutton at [email protected].

Attorney of the Year Finalists

Our MVP award goes to the lawyer who had the most profound effect on the law or legal community in the past year or did the most to advance the cause of justice. We announce the winner at our event in October, but we are pleased to recognize our three finalists:

• Michael Carlinsky, co-managing partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
• Caroline Heller, shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
• Susan Kohlmann, partner, Jenner & Block

Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

This award isn't for the lawyer who notches an occasional outstanding year but for the professional who does it year in and year out. Our winners have made an impact on the legal community and the practice of law over an entire career.

• Max W. Berger, partner, Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
• Michael Gerrard, senior counsel, Arnold & Porter
• Bennett L. Gershman, distinguished professor of law, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
• Robert L. Haig, partner, Kelley Drye & Warren
• Cathy Kaplan, retired former partner, Sidley Austin
• Scott E. Mollen, partner, Herrick, Feinstein
• Rosalyn Richter, senior counsel, Arnold & Porter
• Anthony A. Scarpino Jr., partner, Dorf & Nelson
• Thomas F. Segalla, founding partner, Goldberg Segalla
• Michelle Weston, Associate Justice of the Appellate Term, Second Department, Supreme Court of the State of New York

Innovation Award Winners

These awards recognize creative and inspiring approaches and forward-thinking firms and individuals.

• Culhane Meadows
• Robins Kaplan
• Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
• Jacqueline Haberfeld, pro bono counsel, Kirkland & Ellis
• Jenny Nieves, partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy
• Lori Pines, partner, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
• Michael Schmidt, partner, Cozen O'Connor

Distinguished Leaders

Strong leaders are hard to come by, and we want to highlight lawyers who had great performances while demonstrating clear leadership skills leading to positive outcomes.

• William Bernstein, partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
• Daniel Brown, partner, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
• Lenora Easter, supervising attorney, The Bronx Defenders
• Elizabeth Glazer, founder, Vital City
• Joseph M. Hanna, partner, Goldberg Segalla
• Richard Hans, partner, DLA Piper
• Sean Hecker, partner, Kaplan Hecker & Fink
• Karen R. King, partner, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello
• Anthony Kuhn, partner, Tully Rinckey
• Carla M. Palumbo, president and CEO, Legal Aid Society of Rochester
• Lisa Sotto, partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
• Rebecca Monck Ricigliano, partner, Crowell & Moring
• Megan C. Ryan, general counsel/CLO, Nassau Health Care Corp.
• Carol C. Villegas, partner, Labaton Sucharow
• Brett S. Ward, partner, Blank Rome

Litigation Departments of the Year

We congratulate this year's Litigation Department of the Year winner, two finalists, and our winners in specialty categories.

• General Litigation Winner: Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• General Litigation Finalist: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• General Litigation Finalist: Winston & Strawn
• Class Action: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
• Finance: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
• Insurance: Zuckerman Spaeder
• Intellectual Property: Latham & Watkins
• Labor and Employment: Jones Day
• Products Liability/Mass Torts: Dechert
• Professional Liability: Shaub Ahmuty Citrin & Spratt

In-House Impact Winners

This award is based on success stories: How a given corporate counsel's office, regardless of its size, came up with innovative programs, used ingenuity to solve problems or surmounted a scarcity of resources and still delivered high-quality client service.

• Jennifer Reddin Cassar and Julianne Cohn, JCCA
• Neend Reddy, General Counsel and Secretary, Blue Owl Capital

Diversity Initiative Winners

The following lawyers have made a significant contribution to progressing diversity and inclusion efforts in New York's legal community.

• Daniel Brass, partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell
• Lisa E. Davis and Terri J. Seligman, partners, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
• David Flugman, partner, Selendy Gay Elsberg
• Christine Okike and Atif Khawaja, partners, Kirkland & Ellis
• Cynthia Shoss, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
• Aviva Will, co-chief operating officer, Burford Capital
• Jennifer H. Wu, partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

Dealmakers of the Year

We congratulate these talented and hardworking transactional lawyers.

• Nesa R. Amamoo and Audrey L. Sokoloff, partners, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• Mitch Eitel, partner, Sullivan & Cromwell
• Joseph M. Leccese, chairman emeritus, Proskauer Rose
• Ken Lefkowitz, partner, Hughes Hubbard & Reed
• George F. Schoen, partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• Kyle Seifried, partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

Rising Stars

This award recognizes the region's most promising lawyers 40 and younger.

• Jacqueline Adorno, managing attorney, Mobilization for Justice
• Nefertiti Alexander, partner, Kasowitz Benson Torres
• Yen-Yi Anderson, partner, Anderson & Associates
• Patricia Astorga, chief legal officer, Mintz Group
• Noam Biale, counsel, Sher Tremonte
• Lina Bensman, partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
• Kelly Cataldo, partner, Latham & Watkins
• Andrew Elken, partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• Brett Fleisher, partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• Russell Franklin, partner, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
• Amanda Genovese, partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders
• David Gringer, partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
• Michael Hill, special counsel, Covington & Burling
• Cheryl James, vice president and associate general counsel, New York Life
• Richard Kim, shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
• Lena Konanova, partner, Selendy Gay Elsberg
• Kelly Newsome, senior associate, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
• Will Page, staff attorney, The Legal Aid Society
• Avni Patel, partner, Walden Macht & Haran
• Edward Prokop, partner, Jenner & Block
• Shaila Rahman Diwan, partner, King & Spalding
• Annie Railton, partner, Goodwin Procter
• Heather Ripley, partner, Alston & Bird
• Danny Rubens, partner, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
• Danielle Toalton, partner, Davis Wright Tremaine
• Alberta Yan, partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US