Nostradamus is not on our payroll so The National Law Journal can’t report the future today. But we can make some predictions. One is that the young Washington-area lawyers profiled here will play a major role in the legal community of the nation’s capital — and therefore of the nation — for years to come.

Selected by the editors based on nominations and reporting, these 40 individuals have already made their marks in private practice, in government agencies, on Capitol Hill and with public interest groups. Some have garnered headlines; others are less well-known. And not one has reached the age of 40.

ADISA BAKARI, DOW LOHNES