H. Dean Steward, 57

Criminal defense

Even if the name Lori Drew rings no bells, “the MySpace suicide case” surely does. It was a trial that encapsulated worldwide fears about cyberbullying and the brave new world of social networking Web sites, based on Drew’s online taunts and a girl’s subsequent suicide. Just one problem, San Clemente defense attorney H. Dean Stewart pointed out that it wasn’t a murder case. The U.S. attorney himself brought cybercrime charges in Los Angeles against the St. Louis woman. But Steward, a former federal public defender and one-time attorney for ex-Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona, convinced a jury that most of the charges were bunk; then he persuaded a judge in July to throw out the rest of the case.