So I was informed by Best Lawyers that I've been named their lawyer of the year for appellate practice in Portland, Maine. There's only one chosen in Maine, and this is a peer review process, so it's very nice and thank you. Someone might argue there aren't a lot of appellate practice lawyers in Maine to choose from, but that's really not true – many lawyers in Maine engage in appellate practice, and I'd like to think that this vote recognizes that there's something to be said for concentrating on it as a speciality.
In any event, when told, I did what any self-respecting lawyer would do – I looked to see who was named for appellate practice elsewhere. See http://www.bestlawyers.com/AboutUs/awardsbylocation.aspx In particular, who's my competition in Massachusetts? Who are my rivals in the field?
Well indeed, yes, there is one, and only one, lawyer of the year for appellate practice in Massachusetts. So here's my Bay State equivalent. It is … Laurence Tribe.
Watch out, Larry.
I'm now admitted in Massachusetts. I also have the sneaking suspicion that my billing rate is lower than his (remember Grendel's Den, 749 F.2d 945 (1st Cir. 1984)? [http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/749/749.F2d.945.84-1314.84-1313.html]) In fact, you can probably get three Cathy Connors' hours for one of his. Such a deal!
