Author Michael Connelly (image by Flickr user ala_members)

Michael Connelly has been awarded the 2012 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction for his novel The Fifth Witness. The Harper Lee Prize is cosponsored by ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law and “celebrates the role of lawyers in society and the ideals represented by Atticus Finch.”

The selection committee this year included novelists, legal analysts and former Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice. ABA Journal also surveyed its readers.

The Fifth Witness is Connelly’s fourth book to star lawyer Mickey Haller. Previous titles in the series are The Lincoln Lawyer (recently made into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey), The Brass Verdict and The Reversal.