LexisNexis' 2008 Insurance Law Persons of the Year Awards -- Nominations Sought

Recent announcement from the LexisNexis Insurance Law Center:

The LexisNexis Insurance Law Center is now receiving nominations for the Center’s “Insurance Law Persons of the Year” award. The award, like similar awards in other fields, seeks to identify and recognize people who have been a major force in the insurance law during the preceding year. We anticipate that the awards will continue to be given each year. The Insurance Law Center will select the following:

Policyholder Attorney of the Year – the attorney who did the most in 2008 to effectively advance policyholder positions and improve insurance law from the perspective of policyholders.

Insurer Attorney of the Year -- the attorney who did the most in 2008 to effectively advance insurer positions and improve insurance law from the perspective of insurers.

Insurance Regulator of the Year – the international, federal, state, or local regulator who had most impact during 2008.

Insurance Jurist of the Year -- the judge or justice whose rulings had the largest impact on insurance law during 2008.

Recipients in each of the four categories should be someone who has had a substantial impact on the legal aspects of insurance. Although company executives are not ineligible for the award, our focus is not so much on insurance business and finance but upon insurance regulation, litigation, coverage, or other matters of law or legal policy. Consequently, the recipient in each of these four categories should be someone whose contributions are primarily in the area of insurance law rather than risk management, product design, marketing, or management.

                As with Time magazine’s better-known, longer-running person of the year award, the winner need not be universally viewed in a positive light by all members of the insurance law community. Recognizing that there are often substantial differences between policyholder and insurer counsel and judges or regulators with different philosophies, we would expect that in some years the award winners in these categories may be someone with whom others strongly disagree regarding certain issues. The criteria for selection is that each recipient has, within his or her category, had an undeniable impact on insurance law during the year in question. 

                Nominations will be considered by the Lexis Insurance Center Board, which plans on releasing a list of finalists and inviting commentary from visitors to the Center’s website. Informed by (but not bound by) commentary, the Board will make the final selection of the Insurance Law Center’s Person of the Year.

                So, please send your nominations to karen.yotis@lexisnexis.com no later than March 1, 2009 and be on the lookout for announcement of the finalists and a chance to participate in the selection process. We anticipate choosing the 2008 Person of the Year by March 15, 2009.

No, I'm not posting this because I want your nominations. I'm posting this announcement because Karen Yotis, editor of the LN Insurance Law Center, asked me to.  If you know someone worthy of nomination, please email Karen.