Our 17 Favorite Events of 2015

Here are some of the most entertaining and enlightening events of the year, featuring a cast that includes Supreme Court justices, drones, cook-offs and the FBI. Presented in roughly chronological order:

THE DRONE CONFERENCE

In January, we watched drones fly around the National Press Club during a conference hosted by the Small UAV Coalition, a group with members that include Google and Amazon Prime Air. (The group also hosted a concert by OK Go at the 9:30 Club, after that band filmed its latest music video using drones.) Here's Akin Gump's Michael Drobac displaying a couple of drones, including the red Parrot Bebop that flew over the House floor during a hearing on UAVs.

In February, the FAA announced preliminary rules on commercial drone use (with final rules expected in '16 or '17), and this month the FAA introduced a registration requirement for recreational drone use.

TRENDING 40: TOP CORPORATE COUNSEL

We celebrated some of the DC area's elite in-house counsel with the Trending 40: Top Washington Corporate Counsel reception at the Disruption Corporation offices in Crystal City. Music, food, drinks and networking brought together honorees and other local legal and business leaders in industries from banking to construction to transportation and companies from the 127-year-old National Geographic to startup incubator 1776.

BEYOND THE DOT

ICANN global domains division president Akram Atallah was one of the Internet experts to discuss gTLDs (generic top-level domains) at the Beyond the Dot conference at the Newseum. The year saw the development of hundreds of new domain names, including .law. 

POST, YOSHINO, GREENHOUSE TALK SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND THE SUPREME COURT

Yale Law Dean Robert Post, NYU Law professor Kenji Yoshino and Yale Law lecturer and former NY Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse shared their insights on same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court in a discussion at the New York Historical Society.

ABA ANTITRUST SPRING MEETING

Attorney General Eric Holder gave one of his final speeches as US AG at the 63rd annual ABA Antitrust Section Spring Meeting at the JW Marriott.

The event also played host to other high-profile attendees, including DOJ antitrust chief Bill Baer, FTC chair Edith Ramirez, European Commission Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, UK Competition and Markets Authority Chairman David Currie, National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Task Force Chair Kathleen Foote, and GE VP Sharis Pozen.

REAL ESTATE STRATEGIES FOR LAW FIRMS

Legal and real estate experts discussed the future of law firm real estate during Bisnow's fifth annual Real Estate Strategies for Associations and Law Firms summit.

CYBERSECURITY LAW INSTITUTE

Sitting FBI Director James Comey talked cyber-threats during the third annual Georgetown Cybersecurity Law Institute, as did DOJ Criminal Division head Leslie Caldwell and other government and private sector experts during the two-day event. An emphasis on private sector information sharing during the conference foreshadowed the passing of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act this month.

JUSTICE POTTER STEWART AWARDS

The Council for Court Excellence's 19th Annual Justice Potter Stewart Award Dinner honored legal legend Roger Adelman. In the stately Hall of the Americas in the Organization of American States, we snapped a standing ovation for Roger, a former K&L Gates partner, AUSA of 18 years, and chief trial prosecutor of attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley. Roger passed away in September at 74.

LAWYERS HAVE HEART: 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Lawyers Have Heart celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Lawyers came out en masse for the race to raise money for the American Heart Association, including McDermott team captain and AHA Executive Leadership Committee member for the race Joanne Ludovici. (More pics from the race.) The event was founded by Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz's Richard Frank and Sidley Austin's Alan Raul.

TRENDING 40: DC'S TOP LAWYERS UNDER 40

At the Warner Building, we celebrated the legal stars of the next generation with Bisnow Ventures' Trending 40: Lawyers Under 40. We were amazed by the accomplishments of these young honorees from in-house, government and private practice.

VRA AT 50

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund brought together a panel to discuss the state of the Voting Rights Act on its 50th anniversary. On stage at the National Museum of American History is veteran Democratic strategist Donna Brazile, LDF president and director-counsel Sherrilyn Ifill, The Nation writer Ari Berman, Alabama Sen. Hank Sanders and George Mason professor Dr. Spencer Crew.

WASHINGTON IDEAS FORUM

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced $53M to help communities combat recidivism, while speaking with NBC's Chuck Todd at the Washington Ideas Forum at Sidney Harman Hall. The event also showcased some bipartisan partnerships, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Newt Gingrich (working on funding for medical research), and Sens. Cory Booker and Mike Lee (on sentencing reform).

THE CHILDREN'S LAW CENTER'S HELPING CHILDREN SOAR BENEFIT

The Children's Law Center gala on the Kennedy Center's rooftop terrace raised $1.2M for the nonprofit, and honored the late Rep. William Grey and Latham for their work on behalf of at-risk children. We snapped event co-chair Justin Gray, Latham DC managing partner Alice Fisher, Andrea Gray, Sen. Robert Casey and CLC executive director Judith Sandalow.

MOCK TRIAL: DON QUIXOTE

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's always entertaining annual Mock Trial took on a case pulled from the pages of Don Quixote and heard by Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Merrick Garland, US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, and US District Court for DC Judge Amy Berman Jackson. Justice Breyer also attended the Harman Center for the Arts Gala, as did a host of talented singers, dancers and actors, including Helen Mirren.

LEGAL AID'S LAW FIRM COOK-OFF

A cook-off was another way to get lawyers' competitive juices flowing. Participants in the cooking competition came from the top fundraisers for Legal Aid's Generous Associates Campaign, which raised a record $1.36M. We snapped Legal Aid executive director Eric Angel and legal director Chinh Le with celeb judge Bonnie Benwick and CulinAerie co-founder Susan Holt.

The Legal Aid Servant of Justice Awards Dinner earlier in the year raised more than $1M for the organization, and honored Wade Henderson and Phil Horton. After 20 years heading The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Wade is stepping down at the end of this year. 

NATIONAL VETERANS LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM BENEFIT

Over its 35 years, the National Veterans Legal Services Program has helped veterans obtain $4.5B in benefits. Its benefit reception honored people including NVLSP founder David Addlestone, who's spent his entire career fighting for veterans' rights.