About the Awards: Texas Legal Awards Q&A with Regional Managing Editor Katie Hall

Welcome back to About the Awards, our series of chats with ALM Media editors offering insight into our judging process for ALM Recognition Events. We invite you to use this information as a guide as you draft your submissions, and we welcome any additional questions you may have.

This installment covers the Texas Legal Awards with Regional Managing Editor Katie Hall, who will be leading judging across all categories. 

For more information about the awards this year, please visit the Texas Legal Awards site. The deadline for submissions is June 21. 

Katie, can you tell us more about yourself?

I’ve been with ALM for a little over a year now. I’m based in Austin, and I previously covered courts for the Austin American-Statesman for about a decade. I’m excited to help ALM bring the Texas Legal Awards back to an in-person format this year!

As for the Texas Legal Awards, is this a new contest?

No. The contest has been occasionally pared down in past years, partly because of the pandemic, but we’ve always honored lawyers across the Lone Star State every year. Some of the honors, such as in 2023 and 2021, were announced in our coverage but not at an in-person ceremony. But I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be gathering in Dallas on Oct. 15 to honor Texas’ best lawyers this year. 

Do attorneys have to be practicing in Texas to qualify?

In most cases, yes. However, lawyers outside Texas could have had a significant impact on issues and people in our state, and nominators should clearly highlight this if they choose to nominate someone from outside Texas. 

Additionally, we have certain categories, such as Best Mentors and Legal Innovators, which are definitely open to non-attorneys. 

Are there any new categories this year? Can you tell us about them?

Yes! We’re expanding our practice-specific categories this year, so we’ll be honoring an Energy Attorney of the Year, a Real Estate Attorney of the Year, and an IP Attorney of the Year. Other categories I’d like to highlight are Pro Bono Attorney of the Year and Influential Woman of the Year. 

How many nominations can a firm submit for each category?

There is no limit, but use your best judgment when submitting.

Who should be interested in submitting nominations for this contest?

This contest is open to anyone who wants to highlight their own work, or the work of others, that had an impact on Texas law or Texas’ legal community. 

Non-attorneys are free to nominate lawyers or firms who they feel have done exemplary work.

Who is judging this contest?

I will lead an editorial team at ALM who will carefully review all submissions, and we’ll be joined by a panel of external judges for the Attorney of the Year category and On the Rise category. 

What are the judges looking for?

Be succinct, but detailed. Dates, monetary amounts, the effect on case law—all of these things help us decide whether the work was recent and impactful. We’ll have a short Q&A on May 21 (details below) to elaborate on the process.

Will you accept confidential information?

Yes, but any confidential information should be very clearly marked as such. 

If we have questions about the nomination, who do we ask?

You can email Pearl Wu at [email protected]. Also, we’ll have a video call later this month where Pearl and I will go over any questions you might have. We’ll review frequently asked questions, and you can submit questions via the chat function during the call. 

When is the call and do I have to register in advance?

Texas Legal Awards: Q&A call with Regional Managing Editor Katie Hall

Tuesday, May 21 · 1:00 – 1:45pm Central Time   

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/rgx-ipjn-mof

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 208-717-2084‬ PIN: ‪794 318 405‬#

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/rgx-ipjn-mof?pin=8174994827715

If you’d like us to send you a calendar invitation to the event, please register here or email Pearl Wu at [email protected]:

https://forms.gle/VTYE5Z4ca9JnQ3zv5