Partner Seth Waxman today was named as one of Lawyers Weekly USA’s “Lawyers of the Year” for 2005. Mr. Waxman is one of only 11 lawyers from across the nation to be honored with this award.

Lawyers Weekly USA highlights Mr. Waxman’s involvement in what is undoubtedly one of the most significant death penalty cases in recent years. Coming to conclusion last March, Waxman persuaded the Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons to declare that the Eighth Amendment forbids application of capital punishment on offenders under the age of 18—directly overruling a 1989 ruling that 16- and 17-year-old offenders could constitutionally be sentenced to death. As a result, over seventy juvenile offenders were spared execution.

Universally considered to be among the country’s premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates, Mr. Waxman leads the firm’s appellate practice, and engages in a broad litigation and counseling practice, with particular emphasis on complex challenges involving governments or public policy issues.