Congratulations Semi-Finalists

Congratulations to those who have arrived at the Semi-Finalist stage – another step closer to being recognized as one of San Diego’s Top Attorneys.

As a unique peer-to-peer recognition process, only attorneys can nominate and vote on other attorneys for this honor.

Stay tuned for Finalists announcements on July 8, 2009 in a special print and Web publication, followed by a VIP Top Attorneys reception.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Top Attorneys?

The Transcript conducts a peer voting process to determine the best lawyers in private, corporate, academic and government practice in San Diego County in key categories. The categories have been selected to represent the main areas of law practiced in San Diego County.

Who is eligible?

Lawyers in private, public, contracts or Federal patent practice that are licensed in the State of California and/or the Federal Patent bench. Lawyers in good standing with the California State Bar that have not had any disciplinary actions leveled against them at any time in the past.

How are the practice areas determined?

Although the categories are very broad, they were created to reflect the primary practice areas in San Diego County. We recognize that there are many specialty practice areas among San Diego attorneys, but cannot accommodate them all. Many specialty practice areas fall under the existing general categories - for an in-depth look at the categories, please see the Practice Areas Examples. If there is an overwhelming request for additional practice areas, they will be considered for possible inclusion in next year’s Top Attorneys.

How are nominations obtained?

E-mail invitations are sent to lawyers listed in the San Diego Attorney Directory. Contact us to add or update your e-mail listing. Call for nomination notices are also advertised in The Daily Transcript in print and online.

May I nominate myself?

Attorneys MAY NOT nominate themselves.

What information will be required to make a nomination?

Each attorney will be asked to nominate a lawyer (solo, in-house, firm, government, academic) that they have had experience with in a professional setting. We will need to collect information about each lawyer making the nomination and the person they are nominating. The Daily Transcript will need the name, firm/company, phone and e-mail of each party. Each lawyer will be required to tell us why they are nominating the attorney in 500 words or less.

Will the information be kept confidential?

All information provided will be kept confidential from the person they are nominating. The nominator MAY NOT nominate themselves. The Daily Transcript reserves the right to contact any or all attorneys making nominations to verify the nomination.

What happens once nominations are in?

The Daily Transcript will tabulate the responses. The top 25 nominated attorneys in each of the categories will be considered semi-finalists.

What happens once the semi-finalists are decided?

The semi-finalists will be open to a peer voting process and the top 10 ranked attorneys will be considered the finalists.

What happens after the finalists are selected?

The Daily Transcript will publish a special publication called Top Attorneys. Each of the finalists will be profiled in print and online. Finalists will be contacted by The Transcript to 1. congratulate them on their selection; 2. collect biographical information and a photo.

Top Attorney Practice Areas

• Academic
• Corporate Litigation
• Corporate Transactional
• Criminal
• Estate Planning/Probate & Trust
• Family
• Insurance
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Intellectual Property Transactional
• Labor/Employment
• Municipal/Government
• Personal Injury/Property Damage
• Real Estate & Construction Litigation
• Real Estate & Construction Transactional

Examples:

Academic

Instructor at a local law school that deserves recognition

Corporate Litigation/Corporate Transactional

Civil Litigation, Securities Litigation, Bankruptcy, Regulatory Law, Compliance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Litigation, Commercial, International, Corporate, General Council, etc.

Criminal

White Collar, Serious Felonies, Prosecution & Defense Attorneys, etc.

Estate Planning/Probate & Trust

Estate Administration, Conservatorship & Elder Law etc.

Family

Reproduction, Custody, Adoption, Domestic Relations etc.

Insurance

Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Bad Faith, etc.

Intellectual Property Litigation/Intellectual Property Transactional

Patent, Trademark, Copyright, etc.

Labor/Employment

Workers’ Compensation, Discrimination, Wage & Hour Class Actions, Employment Law Counseling, Termination, Union Issues, Management Representation, etc.

Municipal/Government

Personal Injury/Property Damage

Real Estate & Construction Litigation/Real Estate & Construction Transactional

Environmental, Defect, Condemnation, Transactions, Development Rights, Property Disputes, Titles, Landlord & Tenant, Eminent Domain, Public Works, Land Use, etc.

Get Involved

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to recognize your peers or congratulate attorneys from your firm. Highlight your firm’s expertise by advertising or sponsoring Top Attorneys 2009. Call 619.232.4381 or e-mail sales@sddt.com to get more information today!

Deadlines

2009 Sponsors

Past Honorees

• 2008 Finalists
• 2007 Finalists
• 2006 Finalists
• 2005 Finalists