The Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 105 SGR Attorneys in 2025 Edition

ATLANTA (August 15, 2024) - Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that 105 of its attorneys were selected for inclusion in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®, the leading peer review-based directory of legal practitioners. SGR has continued to increase the number of firm attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers^® each year.

Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing. For the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®, more than 23 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 80,000 leading lawyers included in the milestone 31st edition.

The following SGR attorneys were named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America list in their respective practice areas, listed by city:

Atlanta, GA
Ronald E. Barab (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law)
Jason S. Bell (Commercial Litigation)
Thomas D. Bever (Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense: White-Collar)
Elizabeth G. Borland (Litigation - Intellectual Property)
Benjamin J. Brooks (Banking and Finance Law; Public Finance Law)
Edward D. Burch, Jr. (Appellate Practice; Insurance Law; Litigation - Insurance; Litigation - Real Estate)
David J. Burge (Commercial Finance Law; Real Estate Law)
Scott D. Cahalan (Construction Law; Litigation - Construction)
Matthew W. Clarke (Cannabis Law; Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment)
Alexander S. Clay V (Real Estate Law)
Anthony L. Cochran (Administrative / Regulatory Law; Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense: White-Collar)
Randall A. Constantine (Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - ERISA; Litigation - Labor and Employment)
Peter M. Crofton (Construction Law; Litigation - Construction)
Gardner Culpepper III (Commercial Litigation)
Sharon Duvall (Real Estate Law)
Marcia M. Ernst (Commercial Litigation)
John C. Ethridge, Jr. (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
Stephen M. Forte (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Banking and Finance)
Lori A. Gelchion (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law)
Sarah T. Gordon (Commercial Litigation)
Brian P. Hall (Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Finance Law)
Edward J. Hardin (Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law)
Michael F. Holbein (Commercial Litigation)
Thomas H. Hong (Antitrust Law)
Phillip E. Hoover (Environmental Law)
Robert C. Hussle (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law)
Judy de León Jarecki-Black (Patent Law)
Alex Khoury (Commercial Litigation)
Teri King (Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law)
Gregory J. Kirsch (Litigation - Patent; Patent Law)
Kiyoaki Kojima (Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
Dale Lischer (Copyright Law; Litigation - Intellectual Property; Patent Law)
Brett Lockwood (Information Technology Law; Privacy and Data Security Law; Technology Law)
William F. Long (Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Patent; Patent Law; Technology Law)
Joseph C. Mandarino (Litigation and Controversy - Tax; Tax Law)
Don A. Mazursky (Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law)
James H. Morgan, Jr. (Trusts and Estates)
David C. Newman (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Securities)
Stephen E. O'Day (Energy Law; Environmental Law; Litigation - Environmental)
Andrew Patterson (Real Estate Law)
Everett Peaden (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Tax Law)
Mark G. Pottorff (Real Estate Law)
Robert B. Remar (Administrative / Regulatory Law; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; First Amendment Law; Litigation - Labor and Employment; Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
Thomas W. Rhodes (Antitrust Law; Commercial Litigation)
Dana M. Richens (Commercial Litigation)
Michael J. Riesen (Litigation - Intellectual Property)
Anthony J. Rollins (Tax Law)
Darren G. Rowles (Construction Law)
Arthur Jay Schwartz (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law)
Justice Leah Ward Sears (Appellate Practice* Lawyer of the Year; Commercial Litigation; Mediation* Lawyer of the Year)
Julie A. Sebastian (Corporate Law)
Laleh Sharifi (Immigration Law)
Gregory K. Smith (Commercial Litigation; Construction Law; Litigation - Construction)
John H. Spillman (Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
Thomas A. Spillman (Real Estate Law)
Andrew M. Thompson (Environmental Law; Litigation - Environmental)
David G. Thunhorst (Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law)
Matthew P. Warenzak (Litigation - Intellectual Property; Patent Law; Trademark Law)
Laura L. Wartner (Tax Law; Trusts and Estates)
Edward H. Wasmuth, Jr. (Commercial Litigation; Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law)
Dennis J. Webb, Jr. (Land Use and Zoning Law)
Daniel D. Zegura (Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Labor and Employment)
Kathryn M. Zickert (Land Use and Zoning Law* Lawyer of the Year; Litigation - Land Use and Zoning)

Austin, TX
Jason P. Blair (Trademark Law)

Charlotte, NC
Jason P. Huff (Equipment Finance Law)

Chicago, IL
Mitchell A. Carrel (Land Use and Zoning Law)
Kenneth M. Crane (Venture Capital Law* Lawyer of the Year)
Jeffery M. Cross (Antitrust Law)
James R. Figliulo (Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants; Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs; Litigation - Banking and Finance; Litigation - Securities)
Andrew L. Goldstein (Copyright Law; Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television)
Joseph T. McCullough IV (Insurance Law)
Michael A. Moynihan (Real Estate Law)
Steven D. Pearson (Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation - Insurance)
Jordan H. Peters (Real Estate Law)
Peter A. Silverman (Commercial Litigation)
Richard J. Traub (Real Estate Law)
Michael D. Whitty (Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law; Trusts and Estates)

Jacksonville, FL
Dana G. Bradford II (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Insurance; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants* Lawyer of the Year)
Steven E. Brust (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Insurance; Litigation - Securities)
Adam J. Buss (Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
Brandon C. Dodd (Corporate Law; Real Estate Law)
Andrew J. Fawbush (Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law)
Scott S. Gallagher (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Real Estate)
Thomas E. Gibbs (Banking and Finance Law; Corporate Law; Insurance Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law)
James R. McCachren III (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Real Estate)
James B. Porter (Corporate Law; Real Estate Law)
William S. Rogers, Jr. (Real Estate Law)
Alan S. Wachs (Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation - Insurance; Litigation - Intellectual Property)

Los Angeles, CA
Elizabeth B. Blakely (Corporate Law)
Patrick J. Cain (Litigation - Labor and Employment; Trusts and Estates)

Miami, FL
Jeffrey S. Tenen (Corporate Law; Derivatives and Futures Law* Lawyer of the Year; Securitization and Structured Finance Law; Transportation Law)

New York, NY
Neal T. Dorman (Trusts and Estates)
James Lotito (Litigation - Construction)
Roger Juan Maldonado (Litigation - Intellectual Property)
Dana L. Mark (Trusts and Estates)
Victor M. Metsch (Litigation - Real Estate)
Todd S. Pickard (Real Estate Law)
John T. Van Der Tuin (Litigation - Real Estate)
Svetlana Zagorina (Trusts and Estates)

Springfield, IL
Roger H. Bickel (Government Relations Practice)

Tampa, FL
Jason P. Stearns (Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Insurance; Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Patent; Trade Secrets Law)

Washington, DC
James L. Bikoff (Copyright Law)
John P. Moy (Patent Law)
Christoper J. Schulte (Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment)
Thomas G. Wiseman (Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice)

Five SGR attorneys, Dana Bradford, Jeffrey Tenen, Kathryn Zickert, Justice Leah Ward Sears, and Kenneth Crane were also recognized by Best Lawyers as 2025 "Lawyer of the Year" in their respective practice areas. Additionally, 32 attorneys were named to 2025 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch^® in America in their respective practice areas in the category's fifth year.

About Best Lawyers^®
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers^® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review^® evaluation. More than 184,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received more than 25.8 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Visit www.bestlawyers.com for more information.

About Smith Gambrell Russell
SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The Firm's nearly 350 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 50 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, insurance/reinsurance, construction, employment law, international law, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, SGR has 14 domestic and international offices, including Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Chicago; Jacksonville, FL; London; Los Angeles; Miami; Munich; New York; Southampton; Springfield, IL; Tampa, FL; and Washington, D.C.

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