Above the Law’s 2012 Lawyer of the Year contest is now over. Thanks to everyone who nominated a lawyer; thanks to our finalists, for being such accomplished and interesting individuals; and thanks to all our readers, who picked our victor after two weeks of voting over the holiday season.
Here are ATL’s past Lawyers of the Year:
- 2007: Loyola 2L
- 2008: President Barack Obama
- 2009: Justice Sonia Sotomayor
- 2010: Law School Transparency’s Kyle McEntee and Patrick Lynch
- 2011: Professor Paul Campos
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For 2012, who will join their distinguished ranks? Let’s find out….
The votes were close in this year’s competition: just 39 votes separated our first-place finisher from our runner-up (Clifford Chance Mommy), and only 31 votes separated our silver medalist from our third-place finalist (Martin Sweeney). Without further ado, here is the esteemed winner of our 2012 competition:
Congratulations to John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States. He is ATL’s Lawyer of the Year for 2012.
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In 2012, Roberts was credited with saving President Obama’s signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act. As the world watched, everyone thought it would be up to Justice Anthony Kennedy as the Supreme Court’s swing vote, but in this case, everything came down to Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion.
For his efforts in drafting what some have called one of the most significant high court opinions in history, Roberts was nominated for a slew of honorific titles, including American of the Year and Liberal Man of the Year (an award that must have come as a real shocker, considering Roberts is a conservative).
In just a few weeks, he’ll be doing another favor for the president: administering the oath of office. This time, we hope he won’t flub it in front of millions of Americans. Congratulations again to Chief Justice John Roberts.
Earlier: Above the Law’s 2012 Lawyer of the Year Competition: The Finalists!
Above the Law’s 2012 Lawyer of the Year Competition: Nominations Needed