Lawdragon Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees
By Katrina Dewey | January 3, 2025 | Guides, News & Features
John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund; Michael Pitt, founding partner of Pitt McGehee; and Barbara Rubin, senior counsel at Glaser Weil.
Pop the cork and toss the confetti to help us congratulate The 2025 Lawdragon Hall of Fame.
These remarkable lawyers have created bodies of law, entire legal practices, protections and rights that did not exist. They have won civil rights for millions of people and changed the face of the legal profession itself.
Among them are Jami McKeon of Morgan Lewis, the first woman to helm a major U.S. law firm. John Echohawk, whose work on behalf of Native Americans helped shatter centuries of discrimination and disrespect. Gloria Allred, the tenacious and tireless feminist icon and advocate. Elkam Abramowitz, one of the greatest white collar and criminal defense lawyers of his generation. Michael and Peggy Goldberg Pitt, the tireless Michigan plaintiff lawyers whose firm championed victims of Larry Nassar and continue to tirelessly pursue those who ruined the water in Flint, Mich.
It’s an honor for the entire Lawdragon team as we look in the mirror at the end of each year to reflect on those whose work resonates well beyond a single case or matter. While we gratefully accept submissions for the Hall of Fame, it’s a recognition for which we track hundreds of lawyers for decades to see if they have legs, in their organization, with their clients. What endures.
And, speaking of which, this is our 10th edition of the Hall of Fame, whose members you can view here and in this special gallery of highlights. It’s also Lawdragon’s 20th anniversary and we can’t imagine a greater treat than starting our celebration in style with these amazing lawyers.
| First | Last | Organization | Location | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elkan | Abramowitz | Morvillo Abramowitz | New York | White Collar, Criminal Defense |
| Gloria | Allred | Allred Maroko | Los Angeles | Plaintiff Litigation |
| Charles L. | Babcock | Jackson Walker | Houston & Dallas | Trial Lawyer |
| John M. | Barkett | Shook Hardy & Bacon | Miami | Litigation, Environmental |
| Charles A. | Beckham Jr. | Haynes Boone | Houston, New York & San Antonio | Oil & Gas, Bankruptcy |
| Robert | Bennett | Robins Kaplan | Minneapolis | Trial Lawyer |
| Mitchell | Bernard | National Resource Defense Council | Chicago | Environmental |
| Donald S. | Bernstein | Davis Polk | New York | Restructuring |
| Martin J. | Bienenstock | Proskauer | New York | Bankruptcy |
| Terry W. | Bird | Bird Marella | Los Angeles | White Collar, Trial Lawyer |
| F. William | Brownell | Hunton Andrews Kurth | Washington, D.C. | Environmental |
| Andrew R. | Brownstein | Wachtell | New York | Dealmaker |
| George | Carpinello | Boies Schiller | Albany | Litigation |
| George S. | Cary | Cleary Gottlieb | Washington, D.C. & San Francisco | Antitrust |
| Robert J. | Cleary | Patterson Belknap | New York | White Collar, Litigation |
| Jerry K. | Clements | Locke Lord | Austin & Dallas | Litigation |
| Joseph A. | Coco | Skadden | New York | Dealmaker |
| Gary M. | Cohen | Grossman Roth | Coral Gables, Fla. | Plaintiff Litigation, Medical Malpractice |
| Philip Harnett | Corboy Jr | Corboy & Demetrio | Chicago | Plaintiff Trial Lawyer |
| Bert H. | Deixler | Kendall Brill | Los Angeles | Litigation |
| Lawrie E. | Demorest | Alston & Bird | Atlanta | Litigation |
| Jim | Denvir III | Boies Schiller | Washington, D.C. | Litigation |
| John P. | Draper | Draper & Draper | Santa Fe | Environmental, Water Law |
| Robert J. | Dwyer | Boies Schiller | New York | Antitrust, Litigation |
| John E. | Echohawk | Native American Rights Fund | Boulder, Colo. | Native American Rights |
| Charles R. | Ekberg | Lane Powell | Seattle | Bankruptcy |
| John | Eldridge | Haynes Boone | Houston | Environmental |
| Karen E. | Evans | The Cochran Firm | Washington, D.C. | Plaintiff Trial Lawyer |
| Philip | Federico | Baird Mandalas | Baltimore | Plaintiff Environmental Litigation |
| Boris | Feldman | Freshfields | Silicon Valley | Securities Litigation; Defense |
| James | Garner | Sher Garner | New Orleans | Litigation |
| Pauline F. | Hardin | Jones Walker | New Orleans | Trial Lawyer |
| Paula W. | Hinton | Winston & Strawn | Houston | Trial Lawyer |
| Sheila Slocum | Hollis | Duane Morris | Washington, D.C. | Environmental |
| Maurice G. | Jenkins | Jackson Lewis | Detroit | Employment |
| Michael D. | Jones | Kirkland | Washington, D.C. | Litigation |
| David | Kessler | Kessler Topaz | Radnor, Pa. | Plaintiff Securities Litigation |
| Fred | Krupp | Environmental Defense Fund | New York | Environmental |
| Layne | Kruse | Norton Rose | Houston & Washington, D.C. | Antitrust |
| Lewis T. | LeClair | McKool Smith | Dallas | Litigation, IP |
| Wayne J. | Lee | Stone Pigman | New Orleans | Litigation |
| Richard G. | Leland | Akerman | West Palm Beach & New York | Real Estate |
| Andy | Levy | Brown Goldstein | Baltimore | Litigation, Appellate |
| George | Lombardi | Winston & Strawn | Chicago | Trial Lawyer |
| Frederick A. | Lorig | Quinn Emanuel | Los Angeles | Litigation |
| Abbe David | Lowell | Winston & Strawn | Washington, D.C. & New York | Trial Lawyer |
| Mike | Lynn | Lynn Pinker | Dallas | Trial Lawyer |
| Jeffrey N. | Martin | Hunton Andrews Kurth | Washington, D.C. | Environmental |
| Brian J. | McCarthy | Skadden | Los Angeles | Dealmaker |
| Jami | McKeon | Morgan Lewis | Philadelphia & San Francisco | Management |
| Lisa Helfend | Meyer | Meyer Olson | Los Angeles | Family |
| Lee A. | Meyerson | Simpson Thacher | New York | Dealmaker |
| George J. | Mihlsten | Latham | Los Angeles | Real Estate |
| Dee | Miles | Beasley Allen | Montgomery, Ala. | Plaintiff Litigation |
| Alison W. | Miller | Stearns Weaver Miller | Miami | Dealmaker |
| J. Gregory | Milmoe | Greenberg Traurig | Boston & New York | Bankruptcy |
| Frederick R. | Nance | Squire Patton Boggs | Cleveland | Sports & Entertainment |
| Jack | O'Neill | Pierce & O'Neill | Houston | Litigation |
| Richard M. | Pachulski | Pachulski Stang | Los Angeles | Bankruptcy |
| George F. | Pappas | Covington & Burling | Washington, D.C. | Litigation, IP |
| David | Patton | Locke Lord | Houston | Energy, Oil & Gas |
| Michael P. | Pearson | Jackson Walker | Houston | Energy, Oil & Gas |
| Matthew J. | Piers | Hughes Socol Piers | Chicago | Trial Lawyer |
| Michael L. | Pitt | Pitt McGehee | Royal Oak, Mich. | Plaintiff Litigation |
| William C. | Price | Quinn Emanuel | Los Angeles | Litigation |
| Therese | Pritchard | Bryan Cave | Washington, D.C. | Management |
| Roger K. | Quillen | Fisher Phillips | Atlanta | Employment |
| Hugh M. | Ray | McKool Smith | Houston & New York | Bankruptcy |
| Barbara M. | Rubin | Glaser Weil | Century City | Entertainment |
| Brad Eric | Scheler | Fried Frank | New York | Bankruptcy |
| Donald | Schiller | Schiller DuCanto | Chicago | Remembered (Divorce) |
| Po | Sit | Davis Polk | New York | Tax |
| Brian A. | Sun | Norton Rose | Los Angeles | White Collar, Litigation |
| William W. | Taylor III | Zuckerman Spaeder | Washington, D.C. | White Collar, Litigation |
| Harvey R. | Uris | Skadden | New York | Real Estate |
| Robert A. | Van Nest | Keker Van Nest | San Francisco | Trial Lawyer |
| Alan B. | Vickery | Boies Schiller | Armonk | Litigation |
| Peter A. | Wald | Latham | San Francisco | Litigation |
| Dennis M. | Wasser | Wasser Cooperman | Los Angeles | Divorce |
| Sheryl J. | Willert | Williams Kastner | Seattle | Employment |
| David J. | Zott | Kirkland | Chicago | Litigation |
| Roger E. | Zuckerman | Zuckerman Spaeder | Washington, D.C. | White Collar, Litigation |
