Washingtonian: Top Lawyer Hall of Fame

While it’s not hard to find a lawyer, choosing a good one is usually the goal—whether you’re going through a divorce, drawing up a will, being sued by a neighbor who slipped on your front porch, or subpoenaed to testify before Congress. Washingtonian began publishing a Top Lawyers list in 1992. Thirty years ago, the roster was predominantly white and male—as was the profession. As the city and the industry changed, the awardees, thankfully, reflected more of the region’s diversity. What also becomes apparent when you glance at the more recent lists: Some names have made it year after year. Keep in mind that Top Lawyers is put together through peer voting—we send surveys to local attorneys and ask them to tell us whom they would turn to if they needed legal help and advice. Which means that the ones who appear year after year are, in essence, the best of the best among their peers. We decided to honor them. The professionals here—all still practicing—have been on a Top Lawyers list at least ten of the past 15 years. (We’ve identified them with their current firms, though they may have practiced elsewhere previously.) Consider this a sort of “lifetime achievement” award for area attorneys.

How We Picked the Best of the Best

The names on this “Lifetime Achievement” honor roll were pulled from previous Top Lawyers lists that Washingtonian has published—everyone cited here has been a Top Lawyer for ten of the past 15 years.

But how, you may wonder, does an attorney get on the list to begin with?

We send surveys to hundreds of local lawyers, asking them whom they would trust if they needed legal counsel themselves. We then tally the results—throwing out self-votes and other attempts to stuff the ballot box—and run the names by trusted professionals who can evaluate the roster.

Some lawyers, after being notified that they made the list, choose to buy advertising in the issue. But many do not. Purchasing an ad has no bearing on whether someone makes it on—no one can pay to be listed.

Charles Abell

Furey, Doolan & Abell

Sanford Ain

Ain & Bank

Sam Alberts

Dentons

David Albo

Williams Mullen

Jim Alexander

Maggio Kattar

Rand Allen

Wiley Rein

Joanne Alper

McCammon Group

Stephen Altman

Wharton Levin Ehrmantraut & Klein

Laurie Amell

Regan Zambri Long

H. Kenneth Armstrong

Armstrong, Donohue, Ceppos, Vaughan & Rhoades

Philip Armstrong

Armstrong, Cheris & Page

William Artz

William E. Artz

Henry Asbill

Buckley

Mark Bailen

Mark I. Bailen

Kevin Baine

Williams & Connolly

Stewart Baker

Steptoe

Frank Baldino

Lerch, Early & Brewer

Jean Galloway Ball

Hale Ball

Lisa Banks

Katz, Marshall & Banks

Jan Baran

Holtzman Vogel

Robert Barnett

Williams & Connolly

Leigh-Alexandra Basha

McDermott Will & Emery

Michael St. Patrick Baxter

Covington

Andrew Beato

Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner

Edward Beckwith

Baker Hostetler

Kirby Behre

Miller & Chevalier

Ava Benach

Benach Collopy

Robert Bennett

Bennett LoCicero & Liu

Lynne Bernabei

Bernabei & Kabat

Michael Bernstein

Arnold & Porter

Catherine Bertram

Bertram Law Group

Connie Bertram

Bertram

Amy Bess

Vedder Price

John Bickerman

Bickerman Dispute Resolution

Joseph Birkenstock

Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock

Beth Bittel

Bittel & Anthony

Lisa Blatt

Williams & Connolly

Robert Bonsib

MarcusBonsib

Eric Bord

Morgan Lewis

Barry Boss

Cozen O’Connor

Paul Bennett Bran

Blank Rome

Elaine Charlson Bredehoft

Charlson Bredehoft Cohen Brown & Nadelhaft

Douglas Bregman

Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday

William Brennan Jr.

Brennan McKenna & Lawlor

Lanny Breuer

Covington

Pleasant Brodnax III

Law Office of Pleasant S. Brodnax III

Kim Brooks-Rodney

Cohen & Cohen

Barbara Brown

Paul Hastings

Bruce Brown

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Carol Elder Bruce

Carol Elder Bruce

James Bruton III

Williams & Connolly

Robert Bullock

Elder & Disability Law Center

Preston Burton

Buckley

Richard Bussey

Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner

Dane Butswinkas

Williams & Connolly

Michele Bartoli Cain

Bartoli Cain Wason

Antonio Calabrese

DLA Piper

Joseph Cammarata

Chaikin Sherman Cammarata & Siegel

Thomas Campbell

Yates Campbell & Hoeg

John Carroll

Carroll Nuttall

Robert Cary

Williams & Connolly

David Cashdan

Cashdan & Kane

Paulette Chapman

Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis

William Charyk

ArentFox Schiff

Peter Chatfield

Phillips & Cohen

Stephen Chertkof

Heller, Huron, Chertkof & Salzman

John Chierichella

Sheppard Mullin

David Churchill

Morrison & Foerster

Darrell Clark

Stinson

Paul Clement

Kirkland & Ellis

Barry Coburn

Coburn & Greenbaum

Deborah Cochran

Cochran Law Group

Wayne Cohen

Cohen & Cohen

David Colapinto

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto

Richard Colten

Blankingship & Keith

Thomas Colucci

Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh

Joseph Condo

Offit Kurman

Thomas Connolly

Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis

Glenn Cooper

Paley Rothman

Heather Cooper

Cooper Ginsberg Gray

James Cooper

Arnold & Porter

Robert Corn-Revere

Davis Wright Tremaine

Linda Correia

Correia & Puth

James Cottrell

Cottrell Fletcher & Cottrell

Anne Coventry

Pasternak & Fidis

Thomas Curcio

Curcio Law

Gerald Curran

Curran Moher Weis

Michael Curtin

Curtin Law Roberson Dunigan & Salans

Jonathan Dana

Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell

Peter Daub

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

David De Jong

Stein Sperling

Linda Delaney

Delaney Stafford

Peter DePaolis

Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis

W. Jay DeVecchio

Morrison & Foerster

Tom Devine

Government Accountability Project

Sara Donohue

Offit Kurman

Mary Joanne Dowd

ArentFox Schiff

Kevin Downey

Williams & Connolly

Patrick Dragga

Joseph Greenwald & Laake

Michael Durney

Durney Law Offices

Maureen Dwyer

Goulston & Storrs

Jason Dzubow

Dzubow & Pilcher

Jay Eisenberg

Shulman Rogers

Alan Eisler

Eisler Hamilton

Marc Elias

Elias Law Group

Mark Ellenberg

Ellenberg ADR

Gerard Emig

Gleason, Flynn, Emig & McAfee

Bradford Englander

Whiteford Taylor Preston

Craig Engle

ArentFox Schiff

Roy Englert Jr.

Kramer Levin

Jay Epstien

DLA Piper

Miguel Estrada

Gibson Dunn

Peter Everett

Blankingship & Keith

Hugh Farrell

Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny

Marc Feinberg

West & Feinberg

Darryl Feldman

Feldman Jackson

Wendy Fields

FisherBroyles

Alice Fisher

Latham & Watkins

Miriam Fisher

Latham & Watkins

Michael Flynn

Gleason, Flynn, Emig & McAfee

John Foote

Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh

Eric Fox

Ivins Phillips & Barker

Roger Frankel

FrankelWyron

David Frederick

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick

Bruce Fredrickson

Webster & Fredrickson

Peter Friedman

O’Melveny

Gregory Garre

Latham & Watkins

Ronald Gart

Seyfarth Shaw

Joseph Gebhardt

Gilbert Employment Law

Lawrence Gibbs

Miller & Chevalier

David Ginsberg

Cooper Ginsberg Gray

Nina Ginsberg

DiMuro Ginsberg

Norman Glasgow Jr.

Holland & Knight

Benjamin Glass

BenGlassLaw

James Gleason Jr.

Gleason, Flynn, Emig & McAfee

Laurence Gold

Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold

Fred Goldberg Jr.

Skadden

Janet Goldstein

Vogel, Slade & Goldstein

Thomas Goldstein

Goldstein & Russell

Armando Gomez

Skadden

Robert Goodson

Wilson Elser

Michael Goodwin

Arnold & Porter

Jamie Gorelick

WilmerHale

Robert Gottlieb

Venable

Daniel Gray

Cooper Ginsberg Gray

Elizabeth Gray

McCandlish Lillard

Andrew Greenfield

Fragomen

Peter Greenspun

Greenspun Shapiro

Peter Grenier

Grenier Law Group

Christopher Griffiths

Roberts & Wood

Julia Guttman

Baker Botts

John Hagner

Womble Bond Dickinson

Denise Hammond

Grossman Young & Hammond

Laura Handman

Davis Wright Tremaine

Ellen Harrison

McDermott Will & Emery

Hadrian Hatfield

Strickler, Platnick & Hatfield

Brian Heberlig

Steptoe & Johnson

Frank Henneburg

Mayer Brown

Thomas Hentoff

Williams & Connolly

Cheryl Hepfer

Offit Kurman

Susan Hicks

Hicks Crandall Juhl

Adam Hoffinger

Greenberg Traurig

Leslie Weber Hoffman

Family Law & Mediation Center

Eric Holder Jr.

Covington

Ki Hong

Skadden

Mark Hopson

Sidley Austin

Philip Horowitz

Venable

Heather Hostetter

Hostetter Strent

Douglas Huron

Heller, Huron, Chertkof & Salzman

Philip Inglima

Crowell & Moring

Edward Lee Isler

Isler Dare

Anne Marie Jackson

Feldman Jackson

Chidi James

Blankingship & Keith

William Jeffress Jr.

Baker Botts

Andrew Jezic

Jezic & Moyse

Roger Johnson

Koonz McKenney Johnson & DePaolis

James Joseph

Arnold & Porter

Paula Junghans

Zuckerman Spaeder

Alan Kaden

Fried Frank

Neal Katyal

Hogan Lovells

Debra Katz

Katz, Marshall & Banks

Lawrence Katz

Hirschler Fleischer

Mark Katz

ArentFox Schiff

Beth Shapiro Kaufman

Caplin & Drysdale

Peter Keisler

Sidley Austin

Jeffrey Keitelman

Stroock

Michael Kellogg

Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick

Bradley Kelly

Law Office of Brad Kelly

Deborah Kelly

Manatt

Robert Kelner

Covington

Erika Kelton

Phillips & Cohen

Paul Kemp

Ethridge Quinn Kemp Rowan & Hartinger

Paul Kennedy

Littler Mendelson

William Kilberg

Gibson Dunn

R. Scott Kilgore

WilmerHale

Carol Weld King

Morris, Manning & Martin

Joseph King

King Campbell Poretz Mitchell

Jonathan Kinney

Bean, Kinney & Korman

Paul Kiyonaga

Kiyonaga & Soltis

Frederick Klein

DLA Piper

Kenneth Klein

Mayer Brown

Morris Klein

Morris Klein

Stanley Klein

McCammon Group

Jody Kline

Miller, Miller & Canby

Jennifer Larkin Kneeland

Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald

Michael Kohn

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto

Stephen Kohn

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto

James Korman

Bean Kinney & Korman

Don Kozusko

Kozusko Harris Duncan

David Krakoff

Buckley

Ken Labowitz

Dingman Labowitz

Carol Laham

Wiley Rein

Jeffrey Lamken

MoloLamken

Ron Landsman

Landsman Law Group

John Lavoie

Cooley

Nancy Lawrence

Odin, Feldman, & Pittleman

Stephen Leach

Hirschler Fleischer

Ronald Lee

Arnold & Porter

Christopher Leibig

Christopher Leibig Law Office

Robert Lenhard

Covington

Nancy Lesser

Pax ADR

Barry Wm. Levine

Blank Rome

Michael Levy

Ellerman Enzina Levy

Michael Lewis

JAMS

Michael Lichtenstein

Shulman Rogers

William Lightfoot

May Lightfoot

Robert Liotta

Robert C. Liotta

Abbe Lowell

Winston & Strawn

Jeff Lowinger

New & Lowinger

Michael Lubeley

Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh

Marcia Madsen

Mayer Brown

Patrick Malone

Patrick Malone & Associates

Timothy Maloney

Joseph Greenwald & Laake

Mark Mancini

Wasserman, Mancini & Chang

Mary Ann Mancini

Loeb & Loeb

Michelle Mangrum

Shook Hardy & Bacon

Bruce Marcus

MarcusBonsib

David Marshall

Katz, Marshall & Banks

Billy Martin

Barnes & Thornburg

David Martin

ArentFox Schiff

David Masterman

Masterman Krogmann

Deanne Maynard

Morrison & Foerster

Scott McCaleb

Wiley Rein

Nicholas McConnell

Jackson & Campbell

Steven McCool

McCool Law

James McCullough

Fried Frank

Kathleen McDermott

Morgan Lewis

John McGavin

McGavin Boyce Bardot Thorsen & Katz

Margaret McKinney

McKinney Figini

Martha McQuade

McQuade Byrum

Christopher Mead

Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears

John Mesirow

Mesirow & Associates

Robert Michael

Shadoan, Michael & Wells

Scott Michel

Caplin & Drysdale

Theresa Mihalik

Bean Kinney & Koman

Marvin Miller

Law Offices of Marvin D. Miller

Gary Brooks Mims

Frei, Mims and Perushek

Gerard Mitchell

Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner

Michael Morgenstern

Morgenstern Injury Lawyers

Andrea Moseley

Kropf Moseley

Kevin Mullen

Morrison & Foerster

Robert Muse

Levy Firestone Muse

Richard Nagle

TrialHawk Litigation Group

John Nahajzer

Maggio Kattar

Cono Namorato

Caplin & Drysdale

Cheryl New

New & Lowinger

Richard Newman

ArentFox Schiff

Lawrence Norton

Venable

Gregory Nugent

Nugent Law

Anne O’Brien

Caplin & Drysdale

Philip O’Donoghue

Furey, Doolan & Abell

Jack Olender

Jack H. Olender & Associates

Theodore Olson

Gibson Dunn

Michael Olszewski

Hancock Daniel

Danny Onorato

Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears

Paul Oosterhuis

Skadden

Margaret O’Reilly

Margaret A. O’Reilly, PC

Kevyn Orr

Jones Day

Joseph Paradiso

Paradiso, Taub, Sinay, Owel & Kostecka

Michelle Parfitt

Ashcraft & Gerel

Arthur Pasternak

Gibson Dunn

Lynn Pearle

ArentFox Schiff

Brian Pearlstein

Brodsky Renehan Pearlstein & Bouquet

Jan Pederson

Wright, Constable & Skeen

Eleanor Pelta

Morgan Lewis

Jennifer Perkins

Arnold & Porter

José Pertierra

Law Office of José Pertierra

Joseph Petrosinelli

Williams & Connolly

Carter Phillips

Sidley Austin

Andrew Pincus

Mayer Brown

Mark Plotkin

Covington

Barry Pollack

Kramer Levin

Karen Popp

Sidley Austin

Trevor Potter

Caplin & Drysdale

Benjamin Powell

WilmerHale

Allison Prince

Goulston & Storrs

Therese Pritchard

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Elizabeth Quinn

Trow & Rahal

Thomas Ragland

Clark Hill

Franz Rassman

Fried Frank

Linda Ravdin

Pasternak & Fidis

Richard Rector

DLA Piper

Stanley Reed

Lerch, Early & Brewer

Patrick Regan

Regan Zambri Long

Laura Foote Reiff

Greenberg Traurig

Neil Reiff

Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock

Paul Reinstein

Reinstein, Glackin & Herriott

Deborah Reiser

Lerch, Early & Brewer

Thomas Richardson

Arnold & Porter

Amy Rifkind

Arnold & Porter

Christopher Rizek

Caplin & Drysdale

Celia Roady

Morgan Lewis

Frederick Robinson

Reed Smith

Sandra Robinson

Cochran Firm

Mark Rochon

Miller & Chevalier

Denyse Sabagh

Duane Morris

Alban Salaman

Holland & Knight

Laurence Salans

Curtin Law Roberson Dunigan & Salans

Richard Salzman

Heller, Huron, Chertkof & Salzman

Michael Sanders

Blank Rome

Betty Moore Sandler

Family Law Group

Joe Sandler

Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock

Eugene Scalia

Gibson Dunn

David Schertler

Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears

Janis Boyarsky Schiff

Holland & Knight

Christopher Schinstock

Christopher W. Schinstock, PLLC

Paul Schmidt

Covington

Martha Schoonover

Greenberg Traurig

Henry Schuelke III

Blank Rome

Barbara Sears

Miles & Stockbridge

Joseph Sellers

Cohen Milstein

Kannon Shanmugam

Paul, Weiss

Howard Shapiro

WilmerHale

Jonathan Shapiro

Greenspun Shapiro

Paul Sheridan

McCammon Group

Allan Siegel

Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel

Nathan Siegel

Davis Wright Tremaine

Douglas Siegler

Venable

David Silver

Holland & Knight

Linda R. Singer

JAMS

Richard Skillman

Caplin & Drysdale

Shelley Slade

Vogel, Slade & Goldstein

Paul Smollar

Smollar Kuntz Locey

Debra Soltis

Kiyonaga & Soltis

Howard Soypher

Webb Soypher McGrath

Grace Speights

Morgan Lewis

Elizabeth Stern

Mayer Brown

Brendan Sullivan Jr.

Williams & Connolly

Michael Sundermeyer

Williams & Connolly

Frederick Tansill

Frederick J. Tansill & Associates

Jeffrey Tarkenton

Womble Bond Dickinson

Robin Taub

Paradiso, Taub, Sinay, Owel & Kostecka

William Taylor III

Zuckerman Spaeder

George Terwilliger III

McGuireWoods

Linda Hitt Thatcher

Thatcher Law Firm

Scott Thomas

Blank Rome

Justin Thornton

Law Offices of Justin Thornton

Charles Welch Tiedemann

Holland & Knight

Charles Tobin

Ballard Spahr

Michael Toner

Wiley Rein

Robert Trout

Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears

Stefan Tucker

Venable

Stephen Urbanczyk

Williams & Connolly

Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder

Cozen O’Connor

Donna E. Van Scoy

The Law Office of Donna E. Van Scoy

Robert Vogel

Vogel, Slade & Goldstein

Kimberly Wachen

ArentFox Schiff

David Wachtel

Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold

Nan Walsh

Walsh Colucci Lubeley & Walsh

Robert Ward

Ward Chisholm

F. Joseph Warin

Gibson Dunn

Seth Waxman

WilmerHale

Reid Weingarten

Steptoe & Johnson

Gregory Wells

Shadoan, Michael & Wells

Joseph West

Gibson Dunn

Ann (Jan) White

Pasternak & Fidis

Craig White

Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White

Peter White

Schulte Roth & Zabel

Wendelin White

Goulston & Storrs

Steven Widdes

Stein Sperling

Beth Wilkinson

Wilkinson Stekloff

Keith Willner

Mayer Brown

Vincent Wills

Meiselman Helfant & Wills

James Wilson

Brault Graham

Roger Winston

Ballard Spahr

Andrew Wise

Miller & Chevalier

Douglas Wood

Roberts & Wood

Richard Wyron

FrankelWyron

Dickson Young

Whitestone Young

Parastoo Zahedi

Zahedi Law Office

Mark Zaid

Mark S. Zaid, PC

Salvatore Zambri

Regan Zambri Long

David Zinn

Williams & Connolly

Jason Zuckerman

Zuckerman Law

Roger Zuckerman

Zuckerman Spaeder