103 Balch & Bingham Attorneys Named 2020 Best Lawyers in America®

Balch & Bingham is pleased to announce that 103 of the firm’s attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America^®, recognized as one of the oldest and highly-regarded legal directories. According to The Best Lawyers in America^®, in the 2020 edition, 8.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in the inclusion of more than 62,000 lawyers, or approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the United States.

11 Balch attorneys were also recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year,” an honor given to attorneys with the highest peer-feedback in each specific practice area and geographic region. Only one lawyer is recognized as the "Lawyer of the Year" for each practice area and location.

The Best Lawyers in America^® invites attorneys to rank the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice through a peer–review process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. 

Balch attorneys recognized as a “Lawyer of the Year” include:      

AUGUSTA

• Benjamin H. Brewton — Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants

BIRMINGHAM

• Eason Balch Jr. — Administrative/Regulatory Law
• Stan Blanton – Energy Law
• Tim Tracy – Mergers and Acquisitions Law

GULFPORT

• Jennifer West Signs — Real Estate Law

JACKSON

• R. Pepper Crutcher, Jr. — Labor Law – Management
• William L. Smith, Sr. – Environmental Law

MONTGOMERY

• Jim Edwards — Real Estate Law
• Kelly Fitzgerald Pate — Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Dorman Walker —; Employment Law - Management

Attorneys making their first appearance in the 2020 edition include: Marcus Chatterton, Scott Grover, Brad Neighbors, David Duhé, Brant Pettis, Robin Laurie and April Wise.

Balch attorneys recognized in the 2020 edition of Best Lawyers are listed by below by office. Many Balch attorneys have been listed as “Best Lawyers” for multiple years. Attorneys who have been listed for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 35 years are denoted within the following list:

ATLANTA

• Chris Anulewicz — Appellate Practice
• Jim Hollis — Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
• Hugh McNatt — Insurance Law (10 years)
• Dart Meadows — Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (10 years)
• Tom Penland — Energy Law (10 years)

AUGUSTA

• Benjamin H. Brewton — Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants (10 years) 

BIRMINGHAM

• Amy Adams — Trusts and Estates 
• Leslie Garrett Allen — Energy Law 
• Bert Amason — Banking and Finance Law
• Allen Baker — Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (15 years)
• Eason Balch Jr. — Administrative / Regulatory Law; Energy Law; Government Relations Practice (10 years)
• Mac Beale — Corporate Law (15 years)
• Stan Blanton — Energy Law; Government Relations Practice (10 years)
• James Bradford — Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Real Estate; Real Estate Law (10 years)
• Chuck Burkhart — Construction Law; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
• Steven Burns — Environmental Law
• Greg Butrus — Government Relations Practice; Energy Law (10 years)
• Russ Campbell — Commercial Litigation
• Thomas Casey — Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental
• Marcus Chatterton – Commercial Litigation (newly listed)
• Foster Clark — Public Finance Law (15 years)
• Greg Cook — Commercial Litigation; Consumer Law; Litigation - Real Estate; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants (10 years)
• Tom DeLawrence — Environmental Law
• Mike Edwards — Antitrust Law; Arbitration; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Banking and Finance; Litigation - Securities; Mediation (30 years)
• Allen Estes — Commercial Litigation
• Rob Fowler — Environmental Law
• Tom Francis — Public Finance Law (10 years)
• Stephen Gidiere — Environmental Law; Litigation - Environmental  (10 years)
• Paul Greenwood — Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy 
• Scott Grover – Energy Regulatory Law (newly listed)
• Kelly Gwathney — Corporate Law
• Curt Gwathney — Public Finance Law
• Ed Haden — Appellate Practice; Energy Law (10 years)
• Jim Hancock — Water Law
• Doug Kauffman — Employment Law - Individuals; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment — Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Health Care Law; Insurance Law (10 years)
• Randolph Lanier — Real Estate Law (35 years)
• Lyle Larson — Energy Law; Energy Regulatory Law (10 years)
• Peter LeJeune — Administrative / Regulatory Law
• Debra Lewis — Banking and Finance Law
• Bo Lineberry — Economic Development Law; Nonprofit / Charities Law (10 years)
• Dan McCrary — Energy Law (10 years)
• Grady Moore — Environmental Law
• Brad Neighbors – Financial Services Regulation Law (newly listed)
• Phil Nichols — Antitrust Law; Corporate Law (10 years)
• John Pickering — Banking and Finance Law; Real Estate Law
• Eric Ray — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy (10 years)
• Jeremy Retherford — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Alan Rogers — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law (15 years)
• Monica Sargent — Corporate Law
• Bill Satterfield — Environmental Law (30 years)
• Tim Segers — Tax Law
• Sean Shirley — Commercial Litigation 
• Jeff Starling — Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment (10 years)
• Chris Still — Energy Law (10 years)
• Martha Thompson — Workers' Compensation Law - Employers 
• Leonard Tillman — Commercial Transactions / UCC Law 
• Jason Tompkins — Appellate Practice 
• Tim Tracy — Corporate Compliance Law; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law (10 years)
• Andy Tunnell — Energy Law (10 years)
• Jesse Vogtle — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Banking and Finance; Litigation - Bankruptcy; Litigation - Real Estate (10 years)
• Chris Yeilding — Litigation - ERISA; Litigation - Health Care; Litigation - Insurance 
• Lee Zell — Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Banking and Finance; Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy); Litigation - Securities (25 years)

GULFPORT

• Ricky Cox — Energy Law (10 years)
• Paul Delcambre — Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (10 years)
• David Duhé – Corporate Law (newly listed)
• Jonathan Dyal — Commercial Litigation 
• Leo Manuel — Energy Law 
• Brant Pettis – Product Liability Litigation – Defendants (newly listed)
• John Rice — Banking and Finance Law; Real Estate Law 
• Jennifer West Signs — Project Finance Law; Real Estate Law (10 years)
• Ben Stone — Energy Law; Gaming Law (25 years)
• Rodger Wilder — Energy Law (20 years)
• Teri Wyly — Environmental Law (20 years)

JACKSON

• Scott Andress — Corporate Law; Gaming Law (15 years)
• Walter Boone — Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation - Real Estate; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants 
• Ashley Eley Cannady — Litigation - Labor and Employment
• R. Pepper Crutcher — Copyright Law; Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment (10 years)
• Tara Ellis — Gaming Law 
• Armin Moeller — Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management (30 years)
• Bill Reeves — Commercial Litigation; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (10 years)
• Jennifer Skipper — Litigation - Insurance; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
• William L. Smith, Sr.— Commercial Litigation; Environmental Law; Litigation - Real Estate (10 years)
• Chris Waddell — Public Finance Law 
• Christy Crockett White — Litigation - Labor and Employment; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants

MONTGOMERY

• Dave Boyd — Appellate Practice; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Education Law (25 years)
• Jim Byram — Commercial Litigation; Environmental Law; Insurance Law; Litigation - Environmental; Litigation - Real Estate (10 years)
• Pete Cobb — Product Liability Litigation - Defendants; Workers' Compensation Law - Employers (25 years)
• Jim Edwards — Real Estate Law (20 years)
• Lane Knight — Commercial Litigation
• Robin Laurie – Government Relations Practice (newly listed)
• Joe McCorkle — Appellate Practice; Banking and Finance Law; Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law (15 years)
• Joe Seawell Moore — Commercial Litigation
• Kelly Fitzgerald Pate — Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
• Riley Roby — Trusts and Estates
• John Smith — Litigation - Labor and Employment; Litigation - Municipal; Litigation - Trusts and Estates
• Will Hill Tankersley — Antitrust Law; Copyright Law; Trade Secrets Law; Trademark Law
• Dorman Walker — Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Education Law; Employment Law - Individuals; Employment Law - Management; Health Care Law; Labor Law - Management (10 years)
• April Wise – Elder Law (newly listed)