Washington has the highest number of lawyers per capita of any city in the United States—more than twice that of New York City. In a place where laws get made, we’ve got a lot of people to interpret and enforce them.
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
