Jennifer Keller, 56

Criminal defense, complex civil litigation

Keller has been alternatively chilling and boiling the blood of deputy district attorneys in Orange County for 30 years. This year, she did the same to civil litigators. In May, after five months of trial in a business fraud suit, Keller scored a $350 million win - including $50 million in punitives - that may be California's largest jury verdict this year. Now, Keller is pursuing the defendant in bankruptcy court, while picking back up her criminal work. She definitely wants more civil cases, and white-collar crime cases, as long as they go to trial. "Trying cases is the most fun you can have practicing law," she said.