Call for Nominations: The NLJ’s 2018 D.C. Litigation Departments of the Year

The National Law Journal invites you to participate in the Washington D.C. Litigation Departments of the Year competition. The Litigation Departments of the Year competition is open to any law firm with an office in the D.C. metro area.

Overview: The competition has two distinct categories:

1. A contest to award the top department in general litigation and

2. A contest to determine the top specialty practice groups.

• Submit matters led by lawyers from the D.C. metro area. Cases may include those filed or tried in a D.C.-area court and/or those filed or tried outside of the D.C. area (as long as they are led by lawyers from the D.C. area.)
• Please compose separate submissions for the general litigation and specialty practice contests and submit all materials via e-mail to [email protected].
• We plan to name winners in each category, but depending on the entrant pool, we may have multiple winners or runners-up in one group and none in another.
• The submission deadline for both branches of this competition is April 3.

Details on Submission Materials

For each contest, we are asking you to submit:

• An overview essay explaining why your firm should win. 900 words maximum.
• A list of cases with brief descriptions of their significance. 1500 words maximum.
• A brief description of three upcoming matters at your firm. 600 words maximum.

GENERAL LITIGATION CONTEST

Essay

Make the case for why your firm should win! 900 words maximum

• Tell us why you should win. Factors we’re looking for are the importance and difficulty of the matters handled; the quality of opposing counsel; ingenuity and diligence.

Client Matter Listing

Please describe up to 8 litigation results that demonstrate your department’s excellence. 1500 words maximum.

• This list can and should include results obtained pre-trial, at trial or on appeal. It may include pro bono cases. Client matter results must have occurred between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017.
• Please rank your top 5 client matters in terms of importance. By importance, we mean both significance of the result for your client and contribution made by your lawyers. Note: You can rank all the cases if you like, but ranking is only required for the top 5.
• Each result must have been achieved by lawyers while they were members of your firm based in your D.C. office. Do not include results achieved by lateral hires while they were working for another firm.
• For each client matter result, please include the names of: 1) clients, 2) lead partners and 3) opposing counsel, as well as contact information for at least two clients per matter.
• Descriptions of results should include specific dollar amounts where relevant, but should focus on why the result demonstrates the excellence of your department.
• For each case, please include a case number and jurisdiction.
• DO NOT SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: All information submitted will be considered on-the-record and included in the evaluation process.
• If your client was represented by more than one firm, please specify your firm’s leadership role and estimate what percentage of client matter work your firm completed versus co-counsel.
• In your submission, please include a firm contact to whom we may contact with questions.

Upcoming Matters

• Include a brief description of three upcoming matters for your firm. 600 words maximum

Firm Stats and Client References

Please submit additional information on:

• The size of your firm’s litigation department in D.C. and firmwide as of Dec. 31, 2017. (Please specify number of partners, associates and others).
• The percentage of your entire firm represented by the litigation department in terms of lawyers.
• At least four client references, including phone numbers or e-mail addresses.
• Describe your firm’s biggest litigation loss in the past two years, with names of opposing counsel.

Format preference: Submissions should be sent in a separate Word document or PDF.

Please name general litigation word doc files in this format: FirmName_GeneralLitDC.doc

Questions?

Please contact Pearl Wu, Manager, Recognition Desk, Editorial at [email protected]. Note: For consideration, all submissions must be sent to [email protected], not to individual editors or reporters.

SPECIALTY PRACTICE AREA CONTEST

The specialty contest will award departments focused in each of five areas:

1. Intellectual Property
2. Products Liability/Mass Torts
3. Labor and Employment
4. Insurance and
5. White Collar Defense

Firms may compete in more than one category. Note: Separate submissions will be expected for each specialty. As with the general contest, all information should be submitted via e-mail to [email protected].

Describe up to 5 litigation results that demonstrate your department’s excellence in this specialty. 1500 words maximum.

• This list should include both trial and appellate work.
• The results must have occurred between Jan. 1, 2017 and Dec. 31, 2017.
• Each result must have been achieved by lawyers while they were members of your firm based in your D.C. office. Do not include results achieved by lateral hires when they were working for a different firm.
• For each result, please include the names of clients, lead partners and opposing counsel, as well as contact information for all involved whenever possible.
• Descriptions of results should include specific dollar amounts where relevant, but should focus on why the result demonstrates the excellence of your department.
• For each case, please include a case number and jurisdiction.

• PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: All information submitted will be considered on-the-record and included in the evaluation process.
• Note: If your client was represented by more than one firm, please specify your firm’s role.
• In your submission, please name someone at your firm whom we may contact with questions. 

Please submit additional information on:

• The size of your firm’s litigation department in D.C. and firmwide as of Dec. 31, 2017. Please specify number of partners, associates and others.
• The percentage of your entire firm represented by the litigation department in terms of lawyers.
• Three client references per specialty practice area, including phone numbers or e-mail addresses.
• Describe your firm’s biggest litigation loss in the past two years, with names of opposing counsel.
• A brief description of three upcoming matters for your firm. 600 words maximum.

Write an essay explaining why your firm should be a finalist in this specialty area.

• Essay should be no longer than 900 words.
• Tell us why you should win. Factors we’re looking for include importance and difficulty of the matters handled; the quality of opposing counsel; ingenuity and diligence. 

Format preference: Submissions should be sent in a separate Word document or PDF. Please do not include pertinent information such as the essay, references, etc., in the body of the email.

Please name specialty practice word doc files in this format: FirmName_CategoryLitDC.doc

Questions?

Please contact Pearl Wu at Manager, Recognition Desk, Editorial at [email protected]. Note: For consideration, all submissions must be sent to [email protected], not to NLJ editors or reporters.