American Lawyer has published a list of 50 lawyers it says are the top innovators in the profession over the past 50 years.
The latest addition to the company’s ever-expanding stable of rankings, surveys, and listings, the piece features nicely written profiles for each of the highlighted practitioners, businesspeople, and academics.
The extended piece was the product of more than six months work, and includes contributions from numerous staff writers at American Lawyer and its sister publications.
Robin Sparkman, American Lawyer’s editor-in-chief commented:
“Big Law is notorious for its hidebound habits, but over the last 50 years a few dozen men and women have had an outsize impact on the profession. All of these people promoted ideas that were embraced in some form by an industry not known for its innovation. Sometimes it’s not enough just to have a great idea—convincing others to adopt it is also worthy of respect.”
Each of the 50 innovators is placed in one of five separate sub-categories: Law Firm Values, The Work, Business of Law, Big Ideas, and Outsiders’ Influence.
It’s a good read. About 70 per cent of the entries were familiar names to me, but there were plenty of surprises in there too.
(Pictured: Hillary Clinton, noted in the survey as an innovator for her work on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession)
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