New York Law Journal Announces 2019 Attorney of the Year Finalists

Attorney of the Year, the Law Journal’s MVP award, goes to the lawyer who had the most profound effect on the law or legal community in the past year or did the most to advance the cause of justice.

We don’t announce the winner until our recognition dinner in October, but we are pleased to recognize our three finalists today. They are: Robert Giuffra, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell; Jeffrey Kessler, a partner at Winston & Strawn; and Mark Lebovitch, a partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann.

In January, Giuffra led Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to one of the largest automotive settlements in history: an $800 million deal to resolve diesel emission issues with private plaintiffs, the Department of Justice and other federal and state regulators. He is also defending Goldman Sachs in a $13 billion shareholder litigation over its Abacus fund.

Kessler, co-executive chairman and co-chair of the antitrust/competition and sports law practices, led the Winston team in a landmark antitrust suit filed by college athletes against the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its six power conferences. The case went to trial in September 2018, and a few months later, the court ordered a permanent injunction against the NCAA’s limitations on colleges and universities.

Lebovitch heads the firm’s corporate governance litigation practice, focusing on derivative suits and transactional litigation. Last year, he led the prosecution of shareholder derivative litigation against Fox News parent 21st Century Fox Inc. arising from sexual and workplace harassment. It resulted in the recovery of $90 million and the creation of an independent council of experts named the Fox News Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council.

The Law Journal would like to thank its esteemed panel for judging the Attorney of the Year contest. They are: Brad Karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Michael Cardozo, partner at Proskauer Rose; Sheila Boston, partner at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer; and Judith Livingston, senior partner at Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore.

The finalists will be recognized in the New York Law Journal’s upcoming Professional Excellence magazine and honored Oct. 23rd at the New York Legal Awards at Tribeca 360 in New York City. The event will feature numerous other awards, including Rising Stars, Distinguished Leaders, Lifetime Achievement, Litigation Departments of the Year, In-House Legal Department of the Year, and the announcement of the Attorney of the Year. For information about tickets and sponsorships for the event, please contact Andre Sutton at [email protected].