Back in January, the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown University Law Center and the Thomson Reuters Institute issued a report on the state of the legal market titled “Mixed results and growing uncertainty.”

Beyond the bland headline, the study actually details some serious challenges facing the profession. “This year’s report shows that throughout 2022, growing political and economic uncertainty significantly reduced clients’ appetite for transactional work — which had become the white-hot driver of demand throughout 2021 and the early part of 2022,” the authors wrote. But the news wasn’t all bad. The decline in demand fell most heavily on larger law firms. Smaller firms seemed to hold up much better. “One interesting note to the report was the relative strength of the Midsize law firm segment, which stood alone among other market segments in seeing positive demand growth in 2022,” the authors found. New Jersey’s legal landscape is full of midsized firms, so the outlook perhaps wasn’t quite as bleak here.

The report is also prescriptive – offering advice on how firms of all sizes could navigate the economic and political turmoil. “The report also noted that in times of uncertainty, organizations have a tendency to hunker down to protect against both real and imagined dangers. To steer a firm successfully through such periods requires leaders to embrace somewhat different priorities and be willing to experiment with new ways of operating.”

Well, readers will learn more about the leaders in New Jersey who are guiding the firms and institutions through the challenges outlined by the report. All of the individuals profiled here have demonstrated the ability to tackle seemingly intractable problems. The profession – and the state as a whole – is fortunate that they have chosen to pursue their careers here.

Still, we’d like to hear from you. Let us know what you think of the choices this list represents and how well these professionals are solving problems and facing the future. As always, the top 10 honorees are listed in numerical order; the other profiles are arranged alphabetically.

Methodology

The power lists are compiled by the NJBIZ editorial staff based on our reporting throughout the past year with input from experts in a variety of fields and recommendations from our readers. The staff looks for people who have gained public attention – and perhaps acclaim – for their professional accomplishments and public service. Each list identifies individuals who, through their efforts, are helping to make New Jersey a better place to live, work and do business. Honorees are not necessarily better at their jobs than others in their profession, but they have contributed meaningfully to the advancement of the public interest through their work and/or community service.