Best Lawyers in America Selects 158 Phelps Lawyers, Names 10 "Lawyer of the Year," Adds 40 to "Ones to Watch" List
NEW ORLEANS — Aug. 18, 2022 — The Best Lawyers in America 2023 recognized 158 Phelps attorneys from 80 practice areas in its latest annual rankings. More than half of the firm’s attorneys made the list, which included lawyers from all of Phelps’ U.S. offices.
The publication named 10 Phelps attorneys as “Lawyer of the Year,” an award reserved for one attorney in each legal field and location. Almost 30% of the firm’s honorees are diverse attorneys, and the full list of Phelps “Lawyer of the Year” recipients includes:
Baton Rouge, La.
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- Jonathan C. Benda - Banking and Finance Law
- Virginia Y. Dodd - Litigation - Insurance
- Walt Green - Criminal Defense: White Collar
- Michael D. Hunt - Bet-the-Company Litigation
Birmingham, Ala.
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- Carolyn L. Duncan - Securities Regulation
Jackson, Miss.
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- Fred L. Banks Jr. - Arbitration
New Orleans, La.
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- Mark A. Fullmer - Venture Capital Law
- David D. Haynes - Health Care Law
- Alan C. Wolf - Utilities Law
Tampa, Fla.
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- Dennis M. McClelland - Employment Law - Management
Forty-one lawyers made the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” list, half of which are diverse attorneys and 46% of which are women lawyers. This list features lawyers with less than 10 years in practice. Those selected as “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” include:
Baton Rouge, La.
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- Madison T. DeWitt - Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Trevor J. Haynes - Banking and Finance Law
- Katherine Cicardo Mannino - Health Care Law, Labor and Employment Law – Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Molly C. McDiarmid - Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Kate Bernacchio Mire - Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law
- Monica Vela-Vick - Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
- Michael B. Victorian - Labor and Employment Law – Management, Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Kevin Welsh - Commercial Litigation, Government Relations Practice, Insurance Law
Birmingham, Ala.
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- Kenneth W. Boyles - Insurance Law - Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Fort Worth, Texas
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- Alicia A. Murphy – Insurance Law
Gulfport, Miss.
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- Drury S. Holland – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Houston, Texas
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- Andy R. Nash – Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law
- Sara Nau – Insurance Law
Jackson, Miss.
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- H. David Clark III - Administrative / Regulatory Law, Labor and Employment Law - Management
- Nicholas F. Morisani - Litigation - Labor and Employment
Mobile, Ala.
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- E. Barrett Hails - Commercial litigation, mass tort litigation / class actions - defendants
- Danielle Mashburn-Myrick - Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Bankruptcy, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
- Sumpter M. McGowin II - Corporate Law, Tax Law
- Breanne Stanley Zarzour - Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
New Orleans, La.
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- Carys A. Arvidson – Insurance Law, Litigation - Construction
- Lindsay Calhoun - Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Law
- Caroline F. Crosby - Insurance Law
- James H. Gilbert - Commercial Litigation
- Harrison Golden – Banking and Finance Law, Commercial Litigation
- Ashley W. Hinton – Insurance Law
- Arthur R. Kraatz - Commercial Litigation
- Thomas H. Peyton - Insurance Law
- Matthew R. Slaughter - Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction
- Katherine L. Wyly – Insurance Law
Raleigh, N.C.
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- Anna Pulliam Cathcart – Insurance Law
Tampa, Fla.
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- Robert H. Gidel, Jr. – Corporate Law, Real Estate Law
- Jonathan E. Lewerenz - Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law
- Katherine Martinez - Insurance Law
- Michael A. McGriskin - Insurance Law
- Catriana N. Messina - Insurance Law
- Rhett C. Parker - Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
- Sarah J. Smith - Insurance Law
- Mallory H. Thomas - Insurance Law
Tupelo, Miss.
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- Blake Adams – Health Care Law
- Robert C. Bass – Real Estate Law
Of the 158 Phelps attorneys recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2023, 14 made the list for the first time this year:
Baton Rouge, La.
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- Gregory Thomas Stevens – Commercial Litigation
Birmingham, Ala.
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- Diane Maughan – Commercial Litigation, Railroad Law
Gulfport, Miss.
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- Lauren McCrory – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- Heather Murphy – Insurance Law, Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants
New Orleans, La.
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- Pamela G. Michiels – Insurance Law
- Katie Myers – Insurance Law
- Rebecca Sha – Commercial Litigation
- Michael S. Williams – Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
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- Blake Bailey – Litigation – Antitrust
- Alan C. Duncan – Trusts and Estates
Tampa, Fla.
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- Raquel R. Jefferson – Commercial Litigation
- Patricia A. McLean – Insurance Law
Tupelo, Miss.
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- Andrew V. Garner – Corporate Law
Since 1983, Best Lawyers has been hailed as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Each year, it ranks lawyers by practice areas and locations. The 2023 edition is based on more than 13 million evaluations of lawyers by their peers and recognizes more than 131,000 lawyers in 147 practice areas worldwide.
Read about the 158 Phelps attorneys that made The Best Lawyers in America 2023 list on the publication's website.
About Phelps Dunbar
Phelps is a full-service law firm of more than 350 attorneys. We blend valuable traditions and progressive ideas to foster a culture of collaboration among our lawyers in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and London. Our six core practice groups — admiralty, business, health care, insurance, labor and employment, and litigation — work together to offer clients a progressive, diverse practice and partnership that handles a broad range of sophisticated business needs regionally, nationally, and internationally.