Top Attorney Finalists 2008!

Thank you to all who participated in the survey process. Over 600 nominations were submitted this year. Find out who this year's Finalists are July 16, 2008 in a special print and Web publication, followed by a VIP Top Attorneys Reception.

2008 Top Attorney Finalists

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 100 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
Family
Insurance
Intellectual Property Litigation
Intellectual Property Transactional
Labor/Employment
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, Regulatory Law, Compliance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Litigation, Commercial, International, Corporate, General Council, etc.
Criminal: White Collar, Serious Felonies, Prosecution & Defense Attorneys, etc.
Family: Reproduction, Custody, Adoption, Estate, Elder, Trust, Probate, etc.
Insurance: Legal Malpractice, Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury, Property Damage, 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.
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 2008. Call 619.232.4381 or e-mail sales@sddt.com to get more information today!

Deadlines

Nominations Open	March 10 - April 11
Nominees Announced	April 16
Semi-Finalists Announced	April 30
Finalists Voting Open	May 1 - May 16
Finalists Notified	May 27
Sponsorships/Advertising Close	July 7
Publication Date	July 16
Event Date	July 23

2008 Top Attorneys Sponsors

2008 Top Attorneys Reception

John Benassi on patent local rules

Doug Sherwin talks about new patent local rules established in San Diego with patent litigation attorney and Top Attorney finalist John Benassi, partner at Cooley Godward Kronish.

Attorney Jeremy Roth on appellate court labor decision

Doug Sherwin discusses a recent state appellate court decision on labor law with Transcript Top Attorney finalist Jeremy Roth, managing shareholder at Littler Mendelson's San Diego office.

Prof. Michael Ramsey on constitutional law

Doug Sherwin talks to Transcript Top Attorney finalist Michael Ramsey, who teaches constitutional law at USD's School of Law.

Prof. Claire Wright on international trade law

Doug Sherwin talks to Transcript Top Attorney finalist Claire Wright, who teaches international trade law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

2007 Top Attorneys Reception

George Chamberlin talks to Chicago Title's Chris Ghio

During our recent Top Attorneys celebration, Executive Editor, George Chamberlin had a chance to speak with Chicago Title's Chris Ghio about San Diego's real estate market.

Doug Sherwin talks to Mintz Levin's James Cleary

During our recent Top Attorneys celebration, reporter, Doug Sherwin had a chance to speak with Mintz Levin's James Cleary.