Neel Chatterjee of King & Spalding was named The American Lawyer's Attorney of the Year on Thursday evening at the eighth annual American Lawyer Industry Awards. And for the first time, a group of firms jointly received the Law Firm of the Year honor, for their collective role in challenging White House executive orders aimed at the legal industry earlier this year.
The law firm award went to Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, and Susman Godfrey—as the subjects of those executive orders, who litigated against them—and Williams & Connolly, Cooley, Clement & Murphy, and Munger, Tolles & Olson—as counsel to the litigating firms.
Chatterjee, for his part, was honored for facilitating open dialogue, maintaining a very visible presence and, most critically, opening forums and pathways for members of the profession to share thoughts, ideas and concerns in what proved to be a pivotal and tumultuous period for Big Law in 2025. He founded Law Firm Partners United.
Also on Thursday, the winners of the biennial Litigation Departments of the Year were announced, as well as the honorees for many other awards. Taking home the general Litigation Department of the Year honor was Williams & Connolly.
The event, with some 700 attendees, was held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York to honor law firms, and their leaders and lawyers, and in-house counsel, who have left their mark on the legal industry, the profession and society.
Attendees heard remarks from Lifetime Achievement honorees, among others.
Congratulations to the winners and finalists:
Attorney of the Year
Winner: Neel Chatterjee of King & Spalding
Finalists: Laurie Carr Mims of Keker, Van Nest & Peters; Michael Buchanan of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and Muhammad Faridi, Linklaters; William Burck of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Lifetime Achievement Honorees
Judge Shelley Chapman, Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Judge Allyson Duncan, JAMS; Irving Picard, BakerHostetler; Judge David Tatel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr; Dean William Treanor, Georgetown Law; Michael Mukasey, Debevoise & Plimpton
Law Firm of the Year
Winner: Joint Nomination (Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Susman Godfrey, Williams & Connolly, Cooley, Clement & Murphy, Munger, Tolles & Olson)
Finalists: Covington & Burling; Reed Smith; Akin; Cleary Gottlieb; Ropes & Gray; Sidley Austin; McDermott Will & Schulte
U.S. Impact Law Firm of the Year
Winner: Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
Finalists: Clifford Chance; Freshfields; Kennedys; Linklaters
Law Firm Distinguished Leader
Seth Zachary, Paul Hastings
Managing Partner of the Year
Winner: Randy Mehrberg, Jenner & Block
Finalists: Douglas Clark, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Lorie Almon, Seyfarth Shaw; Donna Wilson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; Anjan Sahni, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr; Julie Jones, Ropes & Gray; Stephen Zubiago, Nixon Peabody; Hailyn Chen and Malcolm Heinicke, Munger Tolles & Olson
The Media Advocacy Award
Winner: Ballard Spahr
Finalists: Covington & Burling; Greenberg Traurig; Reed Smith; Wiley Rein; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr
Litigation Departments of the Year, General
Winner: Williams & Connolly
Finalists: Cooley; Covington & Burling; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Litigation Departments, Specialty (Intellectual Property)
Winner: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Finalists: Cooley; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Williams & Connolly; Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
Litigation Departments, Specialty (Products Liability)
Winner: Covington & Burling
Finalists: DLA Piper; King & Spalding; Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Litigation Departments, Specialty (Financial Services)
Winner: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Finalists: Sullivan & Cromwell; Williams & Connolly; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Litigator of the Year
Winner: Josh Rosenkranz, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Finalists: Dane Butswinkas of Williams & Connolly; Jessica Ellsworth of Hogan Lovells; Lindsay Harrison of Jenner & Block; Moez Kaba of Hueston Hennigan; Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn; Jeffrey Wall of Sullivan & Cromwell; Ned Weinberger of Labaton Keller Sucharow
National Boutique / Specialty Litigation Department of the Year
Winner: Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
Finalists: Bird, Marella, Rhow, Lincenberg, Drooks, & Nessim; Desmarais; Keker Van Nest & Peters; Kobre & Kim; McKool Smith; Susman Godfrey; Wilkinson Stekloff
Young Lawyer of the Year - Beyond Practice
Winner: Jesse-Justin Cuevas, Susman Godfrey
Finalists: Mark Goldstein, Reed Smith; Alla Digilova, Haynes Boone; John Drosick, Winston & Strawn; Jenna Cutler, Barclay Damon; Katie Harrington, Foley & Lardner; Melodie Khosrovani, Shutts & Bowen; Kasey Koballa, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Young Lawyer of the Year - Litigation
Winner: Katie Wellington, Hogan Lovells
Finalists: Pravin Patel, Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Lee Crain, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Lauren Hartz, Jenner & Block; Roxana Guidero, Wilkinson Stekloff; Michael Huston, Perkins Coie; Allyson Julien, Goldman Ismail; Brittany L. Sukiennik, Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Young Lawyer of the Year - Corporate
Winner: Steven R. Green, Wachtell
Finalists: Mark Schenkel, Sullivan & Cromwell; Brittany Sakowitz, Kirkland & Ellis; Ann Marie Brodarick, McDermott Will & Schulte; Nitya Kumar Goyal, Dechert; Joseph F. Rosati, White & Case; Dan Gibbons, Davis Polk; Dotun Obadina, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Best Business Team
Winner: Benesch
Finalists: A&O Shearman; Ballard Spahr; Cahill Gordon; Frost Brown Todd; Norton Rose Fulbright; Reed Smith; Troutman Pepper
Best Client-Law Firm Team
Winner: Williams & Connolly-CVS
Finalists: DLA Piper; Fenwick; Jenner & Block; Latham & Watkins; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Sullivan & Cromwell; Troutman Pepper Locke
Best Mentor - Law Firm
Winner: Mark Plotkin, Covington & Burling
Finalists: Omar Alaniz, Reed Smith; Monica Call, Foley & Lardner; David Fish, Romano Law; Timothy Flaherty, Clark Hill; Alicia Grant, Norton Rose Fulbright; Kate Mueting, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight; Rahul Patel, King & Spalding
Best Provider Collaboration
Winner: Morgan Lewis/Thomson Reuters
Finalists: DLA Piper; Hogan Lovells; McDermott Will & Schulte; Paul Hastings/Dashboard Legal by Bloomberg Law; Polsinelli/UnitedLex; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Wilmer Pickering Hale and Dorr
Best Professional Development Initiative
Winner: Morgan Lewis & Bockius
Finalists: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer; Cahill Gordon & Reindel; Dechert; Eversheds Sutherland; Husch Blackwell; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Ropes & Gray; Stradley
Most Promising Newcomer
Winner: Pearl Dzifa Mansu, Reed Smith
Finalists: Reid Carroll, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr; Dinis Cheian, Susman Godfrey; Danielle Izzo, Labaton Keller Sucharow; Lauren Lummus, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check; Andrew Santana, Jenner & Block; Bethany Thomas, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr; Julia Zasso, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum
Best Use of Technology
Winner: Labaton Keller Sucharow
Finalists: Frost Brown Todd; Honigman; McDermott Will & Schulte; Morgan Lewis; Munger Tolles & Olson; Seyfarth Shaw; Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Corporate Culture & Wellbeing
Winner: Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp
Finalists: Covington & Burling; O'Melveny & Myers; McGuireWoods; Morrison Foerster; Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Legal Services Innovation Award
Winner: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
Finalists: Dechert; Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian; Irell & Manella; Labaton Sucharow; McDermott Will & Schulte; Munger Tolles & Olson; Schulman Rogers

Nov 13