2014 Top 20 Under 40 - plus 5 associates to watch
Jan. 29, 2014
Top Under 40
A lot of hand wringing is going on about the current state of the legal industry and the value of a law degree. It is true that a new law degree is not worth what it was a couple of years ago - if your matrix is the number of new graduates with six-figure salaries at marquee law firms. But every January, when the Daily Journal publishes this list of California's emerging legal leaders, we are reminded of how rewarding legal work is, far beyond money. We receive hundreds of nominations [672 this year] from lawyers across California at big and small firms, corporations, public agencies and nonprofits. The work they are doing is far-reaching and inspiring. Yet most of these men and women do not start out making six-figure annual salaries. Some may never make that much money in a single year. They work long hours because they love what they are doing and because they are committed to the law. At its core, law is about service - and that doesn't change all that much whether you are helping Lakers star Kobe Bryant with a legal problem or guiding a multinational corporation through a complex acquisition.