I got my copy of the ABA Journal today with it’s list of the 25 greatest fictional lawyers, excluding Atticus Finch.  This kind of frivolity is good for competing with People Magazine for airplane reading, but not much else.  Later in the magazine, the Journal makes up for that by listing the 2010 ABA Award Winners.  What awards would those be?  They’re the awards the ABA gives out to deserving individuals and organizations throughout the year.  For example the Dispute Resolution Section’s Lawyer as Problem Solver Award winner Mediate.com was listed in the magazine.  Take the time to review the winners, they deserve the accolades and can serve as inspirations for all of us. 

That said, I am a law professor, which means I am required to quibble with just about everything.  Why did the editors refuse to at least mention the other winners of the award – Andrew Sheppard (Hofstra) and Bennett G. Picker (Stradley Ronon firm in Philly)?  And what about the D’Alemberte/Raven Award, which went to Judge Warren Knight, the founder of JAMS?  I’m sure they told the DR Section to only pick one, and you really can’t complain about their choice.  Disappointing that all didn’t get recognized, but not disappointing enough to dampen my enthusiasm for the ABA’s recognition of all of these awards.

Update  – the online version of the magazine doesn’t have the list, you’ll have to find a print copy, add another to the quibble pile.