When I was in high school, I kept a small piece of paper with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson tacked to the wall in my bedroom. (Yes, I was a super nerd.) It was Emerson’s definition of success. He wrote that achievement takes many forms, “from a redeemed social condition” to the more mundane: devotedly tending a garden patch or raising a child.
It’s that concept of successthat it’s not one-size-fits-allthat underlies our selection of our annual Lifetime Achievers. In other issues of The American Lawyer we pick the “Dealmakers of the Year” or the “Litigator of the Month.” But with our Lifetime Achievers we’re looking for something that’s even harder to pinpoint. As we cull through various names, we scout for lawyers with exemplary business bona fidessuccessfully trying cases, say, or leading novel deals.
