Judging Process

Law360 typically looks to choose 3-5 winners per practice area or state for most awards, and about 10 plaintiffs attorneys each year for the Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar.

We sometimes choose more for some categories if the entries are particularly strong. We also reserve the right not to award any winners in a category if we don't receive enough entries or the entries don't meet the editors' standards.

Submissions are judged by a group of about 45 Law360 managing editors, assistant managing editors, and editors-at-large. Each category is judged by three people who have expertise in the particular practice area or state. Judges evaluate the entries based on their content and select the top 3-5 entries.

Judges do not do outside research. We only evaluate what is contained in the submission. If the submission doesn't prove why this person or group is in the top 3-5 entries for that award that year, it is not going to be selected.

Judges also read each entry as a blank slate, without bringing any prior knowledge of the firm and its strengths into their evaluation. We are judging what is in the submission and nothing more.

Once winners have been selected, Law360 notifies the firm or company of whether each of its entrants was selected or not. These email notifications are automatically generated and are sent to the person who entered the submission on our online platform.

Law360 publishes a profile on every person or group who wins an award. Once firms have been notified of who won, reporters will schedule interviews with their assigned winners to speak about the matters in the submission and more generally about the winners' practice.

Judging Methodology

While there's no "secret sauce" for writing a perfect Law360 award submission, here is what the judges are instructed to consider when evaluating entries.

We aren't simply asking ourselves "Is this submission good?" Instead, the question is "Is this entry better than all the other entries in this practice area or group?" We're not looking to simply award any strong entry that comes across our desk. We want to make sure we're awarding the 3-5 best entries in each category.

We also know we'll write a profile on the winning person or group. This means context and details are important: Applicants should write an entry that helps us envision how we would write a profile explaining to readers exactly why this person or group won. Basic details about the matter (size and scope, outcome, etc.) are important, but details on how the work was accomplished, what it means for the client or the state of the law in question, and any interesting tidbits about how the firm landed the work or completed the work, are what really put a submission over the top.

We are looking for demonstrated wins and completed achievements. A submission full of ongoing matters is unlikely to win. Most of our awards have a one-year timeframe for eligible matters, and we want to see attorneys scoring definitive wins during that period. Getting hired on a new case or waiting for a verdict in a trial do not make for a good submission.

We prioritize the size and scope of matters when choosing winners. Surviving a motion to dismiss is fine, but winning a $90 million verdict at trial or a matter that's a case of first impression is more impressive to the judges. Similarly, for transactional achievements, deal size is not the only qualification, but including price tags is important.

Terms and Conditions for Nominees

The Law360 awards program strives to be transparent about why our winners are chosen. To that end, we require our nominees to sign the following terms and conditions in order to ensure we can write a robust profile on our winners that explains exactly why they were chosen.

1. I understand that if my nominee is selected as an award winner and is then unwilling or unable to complete an on-the-record interview about the matters submitted within the reporter's allotted time frame, Law360 reserves the right to rescind the award.


2. I understand that this nomination is on the record, and anything contained within it may be used in a profile if my nominee is selected. In the event the nominator, nominee or the nominee's law firm attempts to redact any of the submitted information after the nominee has been selected, Law360 reserves the right to rescind the award.