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
2021
Lawyer
of
the
Year.
Thanks
to
everyone
who
responded
to
our
request
for
nominations
for
2021
Lawyer
of
the
Year.
We
narrowed
the
many
excellent
nominees
to
a
slate
of
8
(yes,
that’s
how
crazy
this
year
was)
fascinating
lawyers
—
distinguished,
despicable,
or
debatable,
depending
on
your
point
of
view.
Here
are
the
nominees,
in
alphabetical
order,
with
a
brief
blurb
about
each:
Joe
Biden & Kamala
Harris:
President
Biden,
a
Syracuse
Law
grad,
is
the
oldest
U.S.
president
in
the
nation’s
history,
and
Vice
President
Harris,
a
UC
Hastings
Law
grad,
is
the
first
woman
and
first
woman
of
color
to
serve
as
VP
in
U.S.
history.
Biden
finished
his
first
year
in
office
with
the
most
confirmed
judicial
picks
since
Reagan.
The
pair
have
tried
to
guide
the
nation
through
an
ever-worsening
pandemic
by
promoting
mask,
testing,
and
vaccination
guidance.
Paul
Davis:
You
start
the
year
as
associate
general
counsel
and
attend
one
little
attempted
coup,
and
then
bam,
you’re
no
longer
associate
general
counsel.
As
if
things
couldn’t
be
worse,
you
then
file
a
lawsuit
against
everyone
and
their
mother
to
overturn
the
election
while
citing
Hobbit
Law.
To
make
things
worse,
then
you
get
fired
for
a
second
time.
Finally,
at
long
last,
you
end
your
quest
to
overturn
Election
2020
due
to
a
lack
of
evidence
and
funds.
What
a
year!
John
Eastman:
This
former
law
school
dean
and
professor
started
2021
off
with
a
bang
by
writing
a
six-page
“How
to
Coup”
memo
that
laid
out
how
former
Vice
President
Mike
Pence
could
subvert
the
democratic
process
of
counting
electoral
votes.
The
self-proclaimed
“white
knight
hero”
later
retired
from
his
role
at
Chapman
Law
in
the
wake
of
his
participation
at
the
January
6
pre-insurrection
rally,
and
is
now
the
subject
of
several
bar
complaints.
Jenna
Ellis:
The
self-proclaimed
constitutional
scholar
made
her
way
to
infamy
as
a
member
of
Trump’s
Elite
Strike
Force,
suing
left
and
right
in
an
attempt
to
overturn
the
results
of
Election
2020.
Not
only
did
“Doctor”
Ellis
and
her
team
fail
repeatedly,
but
she
got destroyed
in
the
New
York
Times
when
it
came
to
her
colleagues’
thoughts
on
her
legal
chops.
It
turns
out
she
was
the
source
for
a
harebrained
plan
for
Pence
to
reject
electoral
votes
from
six
states
on
January
6.
Think
she’s
crazy?
Here’s
what
she
has
to
say
about
that:
“I
don’t
care.”
Rudy
Giuliani:
From
respected
New
York
mayor
to
a leaky
lawyer
spewing
conspiracy
theories,
2021,
much
like
2020,
has
not
been
too
kind
to
Giuliani
or
his
legal
career.
Back
in
2020,
he
led
a
team
of
attorneys
that
Trump
reportedly
referred
to
as
“fools
that
are
making
him
look
bad,”
and
he
was
rewarded
for
his
actions
accordingly:
the
New
York
Bar
suspended
Rudy
from
practicing
law.
He’s
since
been
sued
by
Dominion
Voting
Systems
in
a
$1.3B
defamation
case.
Alex
Murdaugh:
Last
year
was
far
from
kind
to
the
Murdaugh
family,
known
for
its
prominent
ties
to
the
legal
community
in
South
Carolina’s
“lowcountry”
region,
with
Alex
Murdaugh
most
recently
at
the
head.
First,
Murdaugh’s
son
and
wife
were
murdered.
Then,
he
resigned
from
his
firm
after
being
accused
of
mishandling
funds
and
suspended
from
practicing
law.
Next,
Murdaugh
was
was
shot
in
the
head
—
by
someone
he
hired
himself
—
and
this
turned
into
an
assisted
suicide
insurance
fraud
scheme.
Last,
but
certainly
not
least,
Murdaugh
was
indicted
on
a
slew
of
charges,
including
embezzlement
and
other
crimes.
This
drama
won’t
be
ending
any
time
soon,
because
Murdaugh
has
been
implicated
in
the
mysterious
death
of
the
family
housekeeper.
Sidney
Powell:
Back
in
2020,
this
conspiracy-flinging
former
prosecutor
threatened
to
“RELEASE
THE
KRAKEN”
on
unsubstantiated
claims
of
voter
fraud,
but
all
she
accomplished
was
being
released
from
Trump’s
legal
team.
In
2021,
her
trainwreck
legal
filings
and
press
conferences
resulted
in
not
just
a
$1.3B
defamation
suit
from
Dominion
Voting
Systems,
but
also
demands
for
her
disbarment,
sanctions
galore
for
“a
historic
and
profound
abuse
of
the
judicial
process,”
and
six
figures
of
legal
fees
for
her
frivolous
Michigan
case.
Mathew
Rosengart:
The
man,
the
myth,
the
legendary
lawyer
who
freed
Britney
Spears
from
more
than
a
decade
of
conservatorship
developed
quite
the
cult
following
in
2021.
The
Biglaw
partner
entered
the
superstar’s
legal
life
this
past
summer,
and
by
November,
the
conservatorship
was
no
more.
On
the
plus
side,
he
now
knows
what
a
“zaddy”
is
thanks
to
all
of
his
fans.
And
now,
the
moment
you’ve
all
been
waiting
for:
Who
should
be
named
Above
the
Law’s
Lawyer
of
the
Year
for
2021?
Cast
your
vote
below.
Polls
are
open
until
SUNDAY,
JANUARY
16,
2022
at
11:59
p.m.
(EST).
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on
Twitter
or
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn.