88 Attorneys Named to Inaugural Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch List
Baker Donelson is pleased to announce that 289 of its attorneys have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© and that 88 attorneys have been selected in the inaugural edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list.
Thirty-two of the Firm's attorneys were also recognized by Best Lawyers as "Lawyers of the Year," a designation given to a select group of individuals in high-profile specialties in large legal communities. Only one attorney in each community for each specialty is honored.
The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list recognizes attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice. Honorees are individuals who have typically been in practice for five to nine years and have received positive feedback on the caliber of work from their peers.
In addition to the individual attorneys recognized, Baker Donelson is top-listed in the nation in six practice areas: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Finance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Nonprofit/Charities Law, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, and Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants.
The Firm's ten Florida attorneys named to the 2021 edition of Best Lawyers are:
- Zachary J. Bancroft: Litigation – Banking and Finance, Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law
- Donald E. Christopher: Commercial Litigation
- Ralph A. DeMeo: Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
- Stephen S. Dobson III: Criminal Defense: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Thomas M. Findley: Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Martha A. Hartley: Economic Development Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law
- Kelly Overstreet Johnson: Employment Law – Management
- Hal K. Litchford: Antitrust Law, Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust
- Amy W. Schrader: Administrative/Regulatory Law
- James M. Talley: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate
Ten of the Firm's Orlando attorneys were also named Best Lawyers' 2021 "Lawyers of the Year":
- Martha A. Hartley: Orlando Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year”
- Hal K. Litchford: Orlando Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year”
Four of Baker Donelson’s Florida attorneys are included in the 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list:
- Lauren D. Brooks: Environmental Law
- Kyle Diamantas: Intellectual Property Law
- Spencer Leach: Commercial Litigation
- David B. Levin: Commercial Litigation
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. The 2021 Best Lawyers results are based on exhaustive peer-review surveys in which almost 108,000 eligible attorneys cast more than nine million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. The publication now covers over 75 countries and 146 practice areas, and Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."
Baker Donelson is among the 70 largest law firms in the country, with more than 650 attorneys and public policy advisors representing more than 30 practice areas to serve a wide range of legal needs. Clients receive knowledgeable guidance from experienced, multi-disciplined industry and client service teams, all seamlessly connected across 21 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
