Super Lawyers has named dozens of Chattanooga attorneys to its 2016 Mid-South Super Lawyers and Mid-South Rising Stars lists, which recognize attorneys in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Attorneys on the Mid-South Super Lawyers and Mid-South Rising Stars lists have received a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, Super Lawyers said in a press release. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations.
Each year, the research team at Super Lawyers selects no more than five percent of the lawyers in each state to receive the honor of Super Lawyers and no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in each state receive the honor of Rising Stars.
Super Lawyers
Firm size doesn’t matter when it comes to being a Mid-South Super Lawyer, as attorneys at both large and small practices received the honor.
Super Lawyers named Jerry Summers of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers a Mid-South Super Lawyers in the field of criminal defense. Super Lawyers also selected Summers as one of the Top 100 attorneys in Tennessee.
Mid-South Super Lawyers at Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott & Cannon include Wayne Peters in the category of business and corporate law and Sam Elliott in the category of business litigation.
Husch Blackwell is home to two Mid-South Super Lawyers: Ron Feldman in the category of real estate and Alan Cates in the category of estate planning.
Four attorneys at Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan made the list of Mid-South Super Lawyers: Thomas Williams – personal injury: general defense; William Godbold III – personal injury defense: medical malpractice; Steven Keyt – workers’ compensation; and Michael Newton – personal injury: general defense.
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel has 11 Mid-South Super Lawyers: Max Bahner – business litigation; Richard Bethea – business litigation; Mark Cunningham – health care; Timothy Gibbons – construction litigation; Rosemarie Hill – employment and labor; Anthony Jackson –media and advertising; Hugh Moore, Jr. – civil litigation defense; Harold North, Jr. – consumer bankruptcy; and Dana Perry – estate planning and probate. Super Lawyers also selected Bahner as one of the Top 100 Tennessee attorneys from Chattanooga.
Eight Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz attorneys were named Mid-South Super Lawyers: Richard Faulkner – health care; Russell Gray – employment and labor; Thomas Helton – intellectual property litigation; Micheline Kelly Johnson – intellectual property; Virginia Love– estate planning and probate; Joshua Powers – medical malpractice; William Robinson – employee benefits; and Clinton Sanko – business litigation. Johnson was also named among the top 50 female attorneys in the Mid-South.
Mid-South Super Lawyers at Miller & Martin include: Donald Aho – business litigation; John Bode – employment and labor; Roger Dickson – business litigation; James Haley IV – real estate; Douglas Johnson – intellectual property; David Kesler – employment and labor; Crews Townsend – class action; William Trumpeter – employment and labor; and Randy Wilson – construction litigation. Super Lawyers also selected Dickson as one of the Top 100 Tennessee attorneys from Chattanooga.
Rising Stars
Super Lawyers named attorney Amanda Jelks, owner of Jelks Law, a Rising Star.
“I’m honored to be recognized as a Rising Star,” Jelks says. “I’ve put my heart and soul into the practice of law for over six years, and this tells me my practice is moving in the right direction.”
Jelks launched her firm in July 2015 to focus on the needs of her clients and to have more opportunities to make a difference in my community.
With an office in the INCubator, Jelks has made a name for herself in the community by offering free workshops on various legal topics, serving on local nonprofit boards, and hosting a Startup Week event.
Jelks Law focuses primarily on entrepreneurs and small business owners through business legal services and estate and succession planning.
Other Rising Stars from small firms in Chattanooga include Marya Schalk of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, Brian O’Shaughnessy of O’Shaughnessy & Carter, and Stevie Phillips of Davis & Hoss in the category of criminal defense, and Andrea Hayduk of Farinash & Hayduk in the DUI and DWI category.
The Mid-South Rising Stars at Gearhiser Peters include David McDowell in the category of consumer law and Gary Henry in the category of general litigation.
Rising Stars at Husch Blackwell include Chris Collins and Andrew Hodgson, both in the category of real estate.
Super Lawyers named Benjamin Reese of Leitner Williams a Rising Star in the category of civil litigation defense.
Super Lawyers named five attorneys in Baker Donelson’s Chattanooga office as Rising Stars: Marcie Bradley – employee benefits; Erno Lindner – creditor debtor rights; Sara McManus – tax; Eric Setterlund – business litigation; and Justin Sveadas – creditor debtor rights.
Rising Stars at Miller & Martin include: David Barnes – business litigation; Zachary Greene – general litigation; Nathan Hertzog – mergers and acquisitions; April Holland – mergers and acquisitions; Laura Ketcham – creditor debtor rights; Jimar Sanders – real estate; Craig Smith – bankruptcy: business; and David Spiller, Jr. – mergers and acquisitions.
Sources: Super Lawyers; Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers; Gearhiser Peters; Husch Blackwell; Leitner Williams; Chambliss Bahner; andBaker Donelson