Super Lawyers Retrospective: Legal Practice 2026

When we launched our national newsletter, Super Lawyers In Practice, at the start of 2026, our goal was to give Super Lawyers and Rising Stars selectees a one-stop shop for everything Super Lawyers, including profiles and events, selectee news coverage, and the latest publications. Over the newsletter’s inaugural year, we had the privilege of interviewing selectees from across the country and different practice areas for their insights on matters of importance to the legal profession, from the impacts of AI on legal practice and education to new cybersecurity risks to lawyer burnout and mental health.

For this final edition of 2026, we reconnected with several attorneys featured in our newsletter over its first year. We asked them to reflect on the milestones that defined their 2026; the moments that made them proudest to be members of the legal profession, their most significant wins, and the emerging frontiers where they see the greatest momentum and progress.

What Has Made You Most Proud To Be a Lawyer This Year?

Reflecting on what made them most proud to be lawyers in 2026, selectees shared personal milestones, including founding a new legal practice, winning major court victories, and successfully expanding access to justice through legal tech.

Protecting the Vulnerable and Upholding the Rule of Law

Selectees shared how 2026 brought into focus the role of attorneys, not only in representing individual clients, but in upholding legal institutions and traditions.

“Lawyers are on the front lines of the fight to protect the rule of law. That fight can take many forms: defending the right to vote, shielding the most vulnerable, and holding the powerful to account,” says Kenzo Kawanabe, Super Lawyers selectee and member of the Super Lawyers Advisory Board.

“I am proud that my firm recently partnered with ACLU-Colorado and The Meyer Law Office to obtain a statewide injunction protecting a provisional class from illegal warrantless arrests by ICE.”

Linda Klein, former president of the American Bar Association (ABA) and current Super Lawyers Advisory Board member, adds that lawyers continue to recognize that their responsibility extends beyond the interests of individual clients.

“We have an important role in protecting the integrity of our institutions, expanding access to justice, and helping people resolve disputes through established processes, particularly at a time when trust in institutions is being tested,” she says.

Lawyers’ mission and the protections afforded by law extend not only to individuals and institutions but also to non-human animal companions through the advocacy of animal law attorneys like Sarah Thompson.

“Animals have a voice, but they can’t speak for themselves in a courtroom,” says Thompson. “Being an advocate means bridging that gap. Looking back at 2026, nothing made me prouder than standing beside grieving families and grassroots rescues to fight for the animals they cherish.”

Expanding Access to Justice Through Technology and Pro Bono Service

One way lawyers and firms have expanded access to justice in 2026 is by integrating legal tech into pro bono services.

“Legal pro bono service is incorporating technology, including AI and new service models, all of which enhance the legal profession’s ability to serve people who traditionally may not have the resources to obtain legal help,” says Klein.

“Our firm supported the development of Free Legal Answers. Volunteer lawyers have answered 500,000 questions so far, and more every day.”

The Maturation of Specialized, Value-Driven Advisory Practices

The legal profession has a reputation for being slow to change, but attorneys like Jennifer Beckage bring innovation through expertise honed in other industries.

“Before becoming a lawyer, I owned and operated technology companies and later served as a public company technology executive. I then became one of the first tech lawyers assisting companies on data security, privacy, incident response, data breach litigation, and emerging technologies,” says Beckage.

“I am proud to see that the niche practice of technology law I built nearly 20 years ago has become increasingly valuable as clients seek more than traditional legal advice. Companies need lawyers who understand how technology actually works and can integrate legal, technical, and business guidance into practical solutions.”

What Were Your or Your Law Firm’s Biggest Wins in 2026?

The Super Lawyers selection process evaluates attorneys based on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Key indicators include experience and a track record of winning verdicts and settlements. As Super Lawyers In Practice has highlighted throughout the year, 2026 brought many wins for lawyers and firms.

Securing Groundbreaking Courtroom Verdicts and Accountability

“In 2026, my firm Olson Grimsley was lead trial counsel for the first consolidated four-plaintiff product liability case against a preterm infant formula manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories, for causing a horrific gut disease — necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) — in the plaintiffs’ children,” says Kawanabe.

“After many weeks in trial, a jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs for $70 million, including compensatory and punitive damages.”

Firm Growth and Milestones

“Without a doubt, founding Thompson Animal Law was my greatest personal and professional milestone in 2026,” says Thompson.

“We have secured accountability and settlements for families whose companion animals were wrongfully harmed, defended rescue organizations related to dog bite allegations, and fought to ensure animals rescued from abuse and neglect never face those conditions again.”

Progress can be driven by changes in how the law is interpreted, case by case. “The legal barrier between ‘person’ and ‘property’ is no longer a rigid wall. While animals haven’t gained personhood, courts continue to reject the idea that a living being can be valued the same as a damaged toaster or a used sofa,” says Thompson.

“We saw this principle articulated in New York’s DeBlase v. Hill, where a dog struck and killed in a crosswalk was recognized not simply as personal property. The court recognized the dog, Duke, as an immediate family member and awarded emotional distress damages.”

Intelligent Dispute Prevention and Early Resolution

“There is an increasing focus on not simply winning disputes, but resolving them more intelligently,” says Klein. “Clients want outcomes that make business sense. That means thinking earlier about dispute prevention, choosing the right process and using technology responsibly to make litigation and arbitration more efficient.”

Beckage gives an example of dispute resolution achieved by attorneys’ unique experience and knowledge. “Some of our most meaningful wins involved obtaining withdrawal of putative class actions before we had to enter an appearance or move to dismiss,” she says.

“By combining a technical understanding of the allegations with decades of substantial experience in this field, we were able to educate opposing counsel about why the claims lacked merit or had a low likelihood of success. Resolving these matters before litigation gained momentum saved our clients and their insurance carriers high costs, time, and disruption.”

What Do You See as the Biggest Areas of Progress in Your Practice Area?

Beyond their personal wins, attorneys pointed to broader areas of development in 2026 within the legal profession — and with that development, new areas of concern.

Rapid Industry Adoption and Use of AI

“Let’s not kid ourselves, the legal industry has a reputation as being slow to accept change. With AI, it seems like lawyers are getting on board faster than expected,” says Kristin Tyler, a Las Vegas-based estate planning attorney and co-founder of LAWCLERK, which connects law firms with freelance attorneys and AI associates.

“These lawyers realize the tremendous opportunity before us to leverage AI to propel our work. Every lawyer is going to have their own ‘lightbulb moment’ with AI, some faster than others. But overall, I think the industry is doing a great job at learning and implementing AI in the profession.”

Krista Andrews, a family law attorney at ABST Law in Fargo, North Dakota, also sees encouraging signs in attorneys’ embrace of legal technology. 

“Attorneys are rethinking how they represent clients and manage their caseloads. They’re discovering that the right tools can reduce administrative burdens and improve accuracy, which creates more time for what matters most: counseling and advocating for clients during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.”

Andrews has seen this progress firsthand through PartUs, the software platform she founded to help attorneys streamline the divorce process for their clients. 

“PartUs is now in use across 32 states and has expanded into Europe. That growth reflects a profession that is open to innovation and committed to finding better ways to serve clients, and I am proud to see PartUs contribute to that movement.”

Addressing AI Governance, Ethics, and Emerging Litigation Risks

“While the power of AI is undeniable, so are the risks and ethical dilemmas,” notes Kawanabe. “The legal profession must take an active role in counseling AI companies to minimize risks and behave responsibly, help companies that use AI to do so ethically, and protect consumers from harm.”

Beckage adds that, for all its benefits, AI can create new problems as well as solutions in legal practice. “AI is making legal information and drafting tools more accessible, but it is also enabling a rise in quickly generated class action filings and claims by pro se serial plaintiffs,” she says.

“The legal system will need to become better at identifying technology-driven claims that appear sophisticated on paper but lack factual, technical, or legal support. Lawyers who understand both the law and the underlying technology will become even more important in separating legitimate claims from AI-enabled noise.”

Elevating Irreplaceable Human Skills Over Mechanical Tasks

Despite the rapid development of AI throughout 2026, Klein says that some things haven’t changed, at least not yet. The rise of AI and its ability to replace various types of legal work has highlighted what makes human lawyers valuable to clients.

“The mechanical aspects of legal work may increasingly be automated, but judgment, advocacy, negotiation, ethics, relationship-building, and understanding what outcome actually serves the client’s interests become more important.”

Shifting Legal Frameworks Beyond Traditional Value Metrics

For Klein, one of the biggest lessons of 2026 is that attorneys’ value isn’t measured simply by whether they win a case. “Sometimes the best outcome is preventing the dispute in the first place, and sometimes it is designing a process that resolves it faster, more efficiently, and with less disruption to the client’s business.”

As we enter a new year, follow the Super Lawyers newsletter for continued updates and insights into legal practice and the exciting work of selectees across the country.