Brian A. Sun, 55

Criminal defense

In a move that created no small amount of friction with his partners at Jones Day, Sun devoted most of last year to the surprisingly succesful pro bono defense of former Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona against a 64-count public corruption prosecution. Through a series of legal maneuvers, Sun and two partners whittled down the available evidence against Carona, challenged prosecutors’ investigative techniques and managed to get several charges dismissed pre-trial. After a two-month trial, a jury acquitted Carona on all but one charge of witness tampering, which is now under appeal. Sun showed his prowess as a prosecutor in the 1980s, pursuing Colombian drug cartels, and testified to Congress about the need for more strict money laundering laws. As a defense lawyer, he exhibits the same zeal for fighting his opponents on every front.