Winner of an Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism in 2006
Behind the Hedge
In the untamed world of hedge funds, rigged deals and manipulated markets help the wealthy thrive while ordinary investors wither.
By David Skeel
November|December 2005
Honorable Mention for a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2006
The Gentle People
Impressed by their piety, courts have permitted the Amish to live outside the law. But in some places, the group's ethic of forgive and forget has produced a plague of incest—and let many perpetrators go unpunished.
By Nadya Labi
January|February 2005
Finalist for National Magazine Awards in the categories of General Excellence and Public Interest in 2006
General Excellence finalist for three issues:
January|February, March|April, and September|October.
The contest's judges noted that "overreaching executive power and shocking sexual abuse among the Amish are only two of the ambitious subjects tackled with confidence and intelligence by Legal Affairs. Its timely mix of deep-dive reporting and lucid analysis is a great service to more than just lawyers and academics."
Public Interest finalist for The Gentle People by Nadya Labi, January|February
The contest's judges noted that "a remarkable investigation by Legal Affairs senior editor Nadya Labi finds that the Amish tradition of confession and forgiveness in dealing with antisocial behavior has led to the widespread sexual abuse of Amish children."
Winner of a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2005
Want Your Kid to Disappear?
For $1,800, former Atlanta police officer Rick Strawn will make that problem child someone else's problem. He even makes house calls.
By Nadya Labi
July|August 2004
Winner of Gold and Silver Ozzie Awards for Best Use of Illustration in 2005 and in 2004
Winner of a National Headliner Award for Magazine Feature Writing in 2003
Last Words
Why are we so sure that death and honesty go together?
By Brendan I. Koerner
November|December 2002
Under the Microscope
For more than 90 years, forensic science has been a cornerstone of criminal law. Critics and judges now ask whether it can be trusted.
By Brendan I. Koerner
July|August 2002
From Russia With LØpht
The Russian hacker Alexey Ivanov flew to Seattle for a job interview with a tech company. It turned out to be the FBI
By Brendan I. Koerner
May|June 2002
Winner of Silver Ozzie Award for Best Design of a New Magazine in 2003
Finalist for Livingston Awards for National and for International Reporting in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006
2006
For National Reporting
The Gentle People
By Nadya Labi
January|February 2005
For International Reporting
Common Denominator
Using sophisticated mathematical models, a group of four economists has proven that a country's legal history greatly affects its economy. At least they think they've proven it. How their sweeping theory has roiled the legal academy.
By Nicholas Thompson
January|February 2005
2005
For National Reporting
The Big Kozinski
If the Ninth Circuit were a circus—and some say it is—Alex Kozinski would be its ringmaster. Presenting the most controversial judge on our most controversial court.
By Emily Bazelon
January|February 2004
For International Reporting
Want Your Kid to Disappear?
For $1,800, former Atlanta police officer Rick Strawn will make that problem child someone else's problem. He even makes house calls.
By Nadya Labi
July|August 2004
2004
For National Reporting
When God Goes to Prison
The Carol Vance Unit is the kind of faith-based program the Bush Administration would like to see more of. Its mix of religion and rehabilitation may violate the First Amendment, but may also make it the best prison in Texas.
By Daniel Brook
May|June 2003
For International Reporting
After the Revolution
Albie Sachs lost an arm in the fight against apartheid. Now that he's a justice on South Africa's high court, he's more cautious than rebellious.
By Emily Bazelon
January|February 2003
2003
For National Reporting
From Russia With LØpht
By Brendan I. Koerner
May|June 2002
For International Reporting
Let There Be Law
Israel doesn't have a written constitution. Aharon Barak has transformed the country's supreme court by acting as if it did. And his court has emerged mighty but wounded.
By Emily Bazelon
May|June 2002
"America's most interesting legal magazine."
—The Washington Post
"By far the best legal magazine in the business because there's so much first-rate reporting as well as opinion in it."
—Nat Hentoff, The Village Voice
"An insightful, creative, and unconventional publication."
—Jami Floyd, CourtTV
"You've pulled off something remarkable—a truly general-interest magazine about law...of immense value to people in the profession while remaining accessible and entertaining to people outside it."
—Cullen Murphy, managing editor, The Atlantic Monthly
"There's never been a magazine about law minus the legalese written for non-lawyers and lawyers alike. Enter Legal Affairs."
—"All Things Considered," NPR
"Entertaining as well as informative."
—"The Biz," CNN-FN
"Casts an intelligent eye over a broad and spacious intellectual terrain."
—The Nation
"Modern, general-interest journalism does a miserably poor job reporting on law and lawyers. So we are pleased to call our readers' attention to a new magazine specifically designed to redress this defect...Legal Affairs."
—The Weekly Standard
The "writing is superior and the topical variety amazing," going "deeper than the familiar legal discussions of the issues, and far beyond what we think of as a legal publication."
—Legal Information Alert
"Makes reading about the law a pleasure."
—Columbia Journalism Review
"... Legal Affairs brought elegant analytical precision to critical issues of the day, from hedge fund regulation to the future of the Supreme Court. It also covered a host of utterly unexpected and fascinating topics. (When Huck Finn failed to report finding a dead man by the Mississippi, was it a felony? Amish mores dictate forgiveness and community absolution, so how do the Amish handle serious repeat criminals such as sexual abusers?) Other publications recognized Legal Affairs as something exceptional."
—Yale Alumni Magazine
"The January-February issue of Legal Affairs magazine is further proof that there's no justice. A wonderfully accessible, educational, small circulation look at the law includes typically provocative efforts. There's a story on why both law and technology may be critical in dealing with awful viruses that could actually bring the Internet to a crashing halt; an argument against an increasingly popular notion that the Net is somehow erasing national borders from two Ivy League law professors who believe that national laws may be having the opposite impact by exerting more control over the online world; and a melancholy account of the travails of a war crimes court in Sarajevo, a city whose victimization recedes in our collective memory. ... And, sadly, there will be not much more of Legal Affairs. An independent magazine that is scrupulously fair-minded, and surely boasts both liberal and conservative readers, it just couldn't generate enough operating capital. Sometimes quality doesn't win out."
—Chicago Tribune
