Page 5 - NYLJ Professional Excellence 2021

EDITOR’S NOTE

The 2021 New York Law Journal
Professional Excellence Awards

he New York Law Journal’s annual was turned upside down. We hope to see
Professional Excellence Awards are our honorees there, provided they are
T back in physical form. comfortable with doing so.
I do not believe I need to go into great Last year, we added a new innovation
detail as to the significance of that state- category to the awards and we have con-
ment. tinued that this year. And of course, we
As we all know, the historical events still have the coveted Attorney of the
that have transpired over the past year Year Award.
would give Billy Joel plenty of lyrical fod- Choosing the winner from this list of
der to make a “We Didn’t Start The Fire” intrepid nominees was indeed no easy
sequel, should the Piano Man decide to task. But we are keeping our cards close
do so. to the vest until the big night.
(Though Part II would certainly be far Regardless of who takes the top prize,
less entertaining. Does anyone know any- we would like to tip our hats to nomi-
thing that rhymes with “social distanc- nees Barry Berke, a partner at, Kramer
ing”? Or “actively eating or drinking”?) Levin Naftalis & Frankel; Linda Goldstein,
But through all of the challenges, the a Dechert partner; and Michael Hiller,
lockdowns and even the loss of loved ruptcy did not turn out to be the cash managing partner of Hiller, PC.
ones and colleagues, lawyers of all stripes cow we expected it to be as we entered And we most certainly want to thank
and practice areas marched forward. 2021 and the short-lived “Hot Vax Sum- the hundreds of attorneys who were
Firms big and small hunkered down mer.” On the same token, who would have nominated to our myriad categories.
at home and in virtual meetings to keep predicted real estate to be holding up Some of you may not be walking away
cases and transactional deals moving. this well? from our event with an award in hand.
Some attorneys found that conducting And despite recent legal challenges, But you wouldn’t be here unless your
discovery and matrimonial proceedings how about those SPACs? colleagues or contemporaries looked
is far easier when it’s not necessary to Last year, we honored New York’s with admiration or even envy at the work
have everyone in the same room. Crimi- legal stars virtually. We could not allow you do to further your profession.
nal defense attorneys fought for clients the great accomplishments of our legal
whose safety may have been endangered community go unrecognized, even in a
by languishing in cramped jails. year where we couldn’t all be together Andrew Denney
Leaders made plans to bring attorneys to press the flesh in congratulations with
and staff safely back into the office. Some the winners or embrace old friends who
adjusted those plans when it became we haven’t seen in a while.
clear that COVID-19 wasn’t going away This year we are proud to hold an in-
quietly. And managers climbed out of person awards ceremony on Oct. 13 at
their ivory towers to check on the mental the New York Marriott Marquis in Times
and physical health of the rank and file. Square, the same place we planned to Bureau Chief
As far as the work goes, perhaps bank- hold the event in 2020 before the world New York Law Journal

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