Eric L. Garner, 47

Environmental law

This year, Garner put his two decades of experience handling complex water rights cases to use as chair of the International Bar Association's water law committee. As head of the 250-member group, Garner has been helping other countries sharpen their water laws. He's also been busy building a Web site featuring a first-ever comprehensive database of global water laws to help educate nations looking to compare their rules with other regions or set up new policy. In court, Garner, who co-wrote the leading authority on state law on the resource, "California Water," is preparing to battle an appeal by a group of farmers of a 2006 agreement he helped craft that established usage guidelines for the groundwater beneath Santa Maria. He's balancing all this with his day-to-day duties as Best Best's managing partner.