With Memorial Day just around the corner, most Americans are planning on breaking out their barbecues to cook up some savory treats for the holiday. But for Robert Cornish Jr., who recently joined Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, barbeque is more than just a hobby.

Certified by the Memphis Barbecue Network, Cornish has been judging ribs in contests for the last 12 years from Arkansas to Mississippi and Tennessee. This weekend, Cornish will travel from the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Elser, which recently announced his addition to the firm’s securities practice, to Memphis to judge the this year’s World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.