Minnesota Lawyer Blog

Poor Alberto Gonzales. First he resigns from his post as U.S. Attorney General under what can only very charitably be referred to as "a cloud." Then, just as things are starting to look up for him and he is selected as the "Lawyer of the Year" by the ABA Journal, he is almost immediately afterward stripped of the title. Oh indignity of indignities!

We blogged about it when the ABA Journal bestowed the title on Gonzales -- speculating at the time that perhaps the editors there had broken into the holiday cheer a little early. The dubious "distinction" came complete with a bizarre list of runners up, which included Stuart "Scooter" Libby and a fictional movie character.

No doubt they knew at the ABA Journal that the selection of Gonzales would inspire controversy. But they also knew a lot of ink would be spilled talking about their choice, and there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? Wrong.

A torrent of nonstop criticism fell on the magazine and the ABA as whole, creating a public relations disaster of seismic proportions. It was soon announced that the "Lawyer of the Year" designation had been changed to "Newsmaker of the Year" to clarify that the title was not intended as an honor. (Hmmm. I don't mean to quibble, but shouldn't that be Legal Newsmaker of the Year?)

So in the end, the ABA Journal got the national exposure it wanted -- it just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. It puts me in mind of one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes: "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants; the other is getting it."

I was pleased to hear the ABA Journal has recognized me as a "Lawyer of the Year." Well, sort of, anyway. Among the honorees it lists out are "the lawyer blogger," meaning anyone who is a lawyer who also blogs. And that includes me. (And also my esteemed Minnesota Lawyer colleagues, Barbara Jones and Michelle Lore.)

So who are our fellow honorees for this highly prestigious honor?

Well, at the top of the list is former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Alberto Gonzales????? In a subsequent interview, the ABA Journal's publisher, Edward A. Adams, explains the criteria is newsworthiness -- also making the obligatory point that Adolph Hitler and Josef Stalin were both once named "People of the Year" by Time magazine. (Gosh, by that measure, Gonzales comes off looking pretty good.) The ABA "Lawyer of the Year" list also included, among others:

-- Stuart "Scooter" Libby;
-- Monica Goodling;
-- Howard K. Stern (Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer husband); and
-- fictional lawyer Michael Clayton, played by George Clooney in the movie of the same name.

Wasting no time, the magazine goes on to name new Attorney General Michael Mukasey as its 2008 "Lawyer of the Year," notwithstanding the fact that 2008 is still a couple of weeks away.

I can't really find any rhyme or reason for a "Lawyer of the Year" list that would include every single lawyer blogger, Alberto Gonzales, Scooter Libby and a fictional character -- other than perhaps they dipped into the holiday eggnog a little early over at the ABA Journal. In any event, I am looking forward to getting my plaque in the mail.