{"id":141334,"date":"2026-01-09T09:37:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/09\/above-the-laws-2025-lawyer-of-the-year-contest-the-finalists\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T09:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T17:37:42","slug":"above-the-laws-2025-lawyer-of-the-year-contest-the-finalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/01\/09\/above-the-laws-2025-lawyer-of-the-year-contest-the-finalists\/","title":{"rendered":"Above The Law\u2019s 2025 Lawyer Of The Year Contest: The Finalists!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The post Above The Law\u2019s 2025 Lawyer Of The Year Contest: The Finalists!<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Last year was, for better or worse, a big year in legal news. So it should come as no surprise to see big names dominating our list of finalists for 2025 Lawyer of the Year. Thanks to everyone who responded to our request for nominations for 2025 Lawyer of the Year. We narrowed the many excellent nominees to a slate of six (yes, that\u2019s how eventful this year was) lawyers \u2014 distinguished, despicable, or debatable, depending on your point of view.<\/p>\n

Here are the nominees, in alphabetical order, with a brief blurb about each:<\/p>\n

Pam Bondi<\/a><\/strong>: The former Florida AG who became Trump\u2019s AG and turned the once respected Department of Justice into the hottest of messes. In 2025, she oversaw the mass exodus of career attorneys<\/a>, backed several legally dubious U.S. Attorney appointments, and generally acted like her office was the legal department for Trump\u2019s revenge tour. Bondi\u2019s DOJ has been giving ethics scholars nightmares and has been the source of frequent judicial eye rolls. Thanks to her, the Justice Department is now Trump\u2019s personal law firm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rachel Cohen<\/a><\/strong>: In 2025, this former Skadden associate did what very few Biglaw associates were willing to do: she put her principles ahead of her paycheck. She became a flashpoint in the legal profession by challenging her firm and the broader Biglaw establishment<\/a> over their shocking responses to Trump\u2019s executive orders. She organized an open letter signed by nearly 2,000 associates, where she urged firms to defend the rule of law<\/a>. Cohen\u2019s stand drew national attention, galvanizing associates across the industry as she continued advocating for legal ethics and accountability, and earned her recognition \u2014 including a Civil Courage Award<\/a> \u2014 for her willingness to sacrifice a lucrative career in defense of her principles.<\/p>\n

Alina Habba<\/a><\/strong>: Trump\u2019s onetime personal lawyer got a promotion to U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in 2025\u2026 and then multiple courts ruled that she was unlawfully in the job. Judges said her appointment wasn\u2019t legit<\/a>, leading to her disqualification and eventual resignation from a role she wasn\u2019t technically supposed to be holding in the first place. Not to worry, because shortly after quitting a job she never really had<\/a>, Habba was elevated to become a Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys. You can only fail upwards in the Trump administration!<\/p>\n

Lindsey Halligan<\/a><\/strong>: Imagine someone with more pageant titles than prosecutorial experience being installed as a U.S. Attorney so the president could chase perceived political opponents in court. That was Halligan in 2025, as she attempted to indict longtime Trump opponents like James Comey and Letitia James<\/a> \u2014 cases that no other lawyer would touch. Just like what happened with Alina Habba, Halligan\u2019s appointment was found to be fraught with error<\/a>, leaving the process so ethically and legally defective that both cases were tossed.<\/p>\n

Brad Karp<\/a><\/strong>: The Biglaw chairman whose most notable 2025 legal act wasn\u2019t a motion or brief but a negotiated capitulation. Trump targeted his firm with a retaliatory executive order, and instead of fighting it out in court, Karp cut a deal that offered up $40 million in pro bono payola<\/a> aligned with the administration\u2019s policies. Karp\u2019s move not only inspired lawyers to cut bait and leave the firm, but it led to him being heckled at industry award events<\/a>, with Paul, Weiss being protested in the streets<\/a> of Manhattan. The firm\u2019s deal opened the door for eight other firms to bend a knee to Trump, leaving an ugly, orange stain on the legal profession. <\/p>\n

Jeanine Pirro<\/a><\/strong>: Once a TV judge and now a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor for D.C.<\/a>, Judge Jeanine spent 2025 egging on politically charged investigations, and wound up with nothing but egg on her face<\/a>. Much like driving 119 miles per hour in a 65<\/a>, her attempts at \u201cjustice\u201d in the nation\u2019s capitol have been a little lead footed, resulting in repeated no bills. <\/p>\n

And now, the moment you\u2019ve all been waiting for: Who should be named Above the Law\u2019s Lawyer of the Year for 2025? Cast your vote below. Polls are open until\u00a0SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2026 at 11:30 p.m. (EST)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO VOTE.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on LinkedI<\/a><\/em><\/strong>n<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The post Above The Law\u2019s 2025 Lawyer Of The Year Contest: The Finalists! appeared first on Above the Law. Last year was, for better or worse, a big year in legal news. So it should come as no surprise to see big names dominating our list of finalists for 2025 Lawyer of the Year. Thanks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":141080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Staci-Zaretsky-U5OsBi.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}