Six Baltimore attorneys named "Lawyer of the Year" in their practices


Washington, DC (August 15, 2017) – Ninety Venable attorneys were recognized in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. The attorneys from the Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Towson, Tysons, and Washington, DC offices represent a broad cross section of the firm's business, government, intellectual property, and litigation divisions.

Best Lawyers also named six Baltimore attorneys as "Lawyer of the Year" in their practices. Only a single attorney in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is recognized as a Lawyer of the Year. This honor reflects the high level of respect attorneys have earned among their peers in their communities and respective practice areas for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity. The following Venable attorneys were named "Lawyer of the Year" in Baltimore:

Walter R. Calvert – Public Finance Law, Tax Law
James J. Hanks, Jr. – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law
Sharon A. Kroupa – Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law
Thomas M. Lingan – Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
Brian J. O’Connor – Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law
Bruce R. Parker – Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation –Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

Five attorneys were listed in Best Lawyers for the first time this year: William R. Burford (Trusts and Estates), Roger A. Colaizzi (Advertising Law), Patricia McGowan (Corporate Law), W. Bryan Rakes (Mergers and Acquisitions Law), and Michael W. Robinson (Commercial Litigation).

The complete list of additional Venable attorneys honored in The Best Lawyers in America 2018 follows below. The year next to each attorney's name indicates the first year in which he or she was included in Best Lawyers:

Robert G. Ames (2006)
- Employment Law – Management
- Labor Law – Management

Jeffrey P. Ayres (2007)
- Employment Law – Management
- Labor Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment

Jennifer J. Bruton (2014)
- Real Estate Law

Courtney G. Capute (2012)
- Leisure and Hospitality Law
- Real Estate Law

Wallace E. Christner (2007)
- Corporate Compliance Law

Bryson L. Cook (1993)
- Corporate Law
- International Trade and Finance Law
- Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Tax Law

John F. Cooney (2012)
- Administrative/Regulatory Law

William D. Coston (2009)
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Litigation – Patent

Gregory A. Cross (2012)
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Litigation – Bankruptcy

James E. Cumbie (2008)
- Public Finance Law

Douglas C. Emhoff (2014)
- Litigation – Intellectual Property

Alan J. Epstein (2014)
- Tax Law

Geoffrey C. Etnire (2006)
- Real Estate Law

Kurt J. Fischer (2008)
- Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law
- Real Estate Law

Michael D. Foster (2016)
- Tax Law

Thomas W. France (2008)
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law

Stephen K. Gallagher (2007)
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Commercial Litigation
- Litigation – Bankruptcy

Geoffrey R. Garinther (2013)
- Criminal Defense: White-Collar

Nora E. Garrote (2014)
- Technology Law

Lawrence H. Gesner (2007)
- Real Estate Law

Jeffrey K. Gonya (2006)
- Non-Profit/Charities Law
- Trusts and Estates

Robert G. Gottlieb (2006)
- Real Estate Law

Jessica L. Grant (2017)
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants

Douglas H. Green (2012)
- Environmental Law
- Litigation – Environmental

Gary D. Hailey (2009)
- Advertising Law

W. Warren Hamel (2015)
- Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Government Relations Practice

Mark B. Harrison (2010)
- Technology Law

Marta D. Harting (2006)
- Commercial Litigation
- Energy Law

Adam R. Hess (2006)
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Litigation – Patent
- Patent Law

Kenneth R. Hoffman (2006)
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law

Robert A. Hoffman (2011)
- Land Use and Zoning Law
- Litigation – Land Use and Zoning

Todd J. Horn (2009)
- Employment Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment

Philip M. Horowitz (1993)
- Real Estate Law

Stuart P. Ingis (2015)
- Advertising Law
- Privacy and Data Security Law

Thora A. Johnson (2016)
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law

Jeffrey D. Knowles (2012)
- Advertising Law

Claudia A. Lewis (2017)
- FDA Law

Michael B. Luftman (2013)
- Trusts and Estates

Jonathan C. Lurie (1999)
- Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Trusts and Estates

Michael B. MacWilliams (2013)
- Commercial Litigation

Christopher R. Mellott (2015)
- Commercial Litigation

Thomas E.D. Millspaugh (2008)
- Real Estate Law

Mitchell Y. Mirviss (2013)
- Appellate Practice

Charles J. Morton, Jr. (2010)
- Corporate Law
- Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Technology Law
- Venture Capital Law

Amy Ralph Mudge (2015)
- Advertising Law

Michele Mulrooney (2016)
- Trusts and Estates

Jeanne L. Newlon (2008)
- Trusts and Estates

Gregory J. Ossi (2014)
- Litigation – Labor and Employment

Jennifer A. Pratt (2013)
- Tax Law

Lawrence Roberts (2017)
- Communications Law

Maria E. Rodriguez (2013)
- Commercial Litigation

Jeffrey S. Sabin (2012)
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law

Michael A. Sartori (2008)
- Technology Law

Michael D. Schiffer (2013)
- Corporate Law

Joseph C. Schmelter (2013)
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law

Brian L. Schwalb (2010)
- Commercial Litigation
- Litigation – Real Estate
- Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Litigation and Controversy – Tax

A. Christopher Sega (2006)
- Tax Law
- Trusts and Estates

Randal M. Shaheen (2014)
- Advertising Law

Kevin L. Shepherd (2006)
- Real Estate Law

Douglas L. Siegler (2006)
- Trusts and Estates

William M. Sloan (2013)
- Environmental Law
- Land Use and Zoning Law

Eric R. Smith (2013)
- Corporate Law

John R. Stierhoff (2016)
- Government Relations Practice

Paul F. Strain (2006)
- Commercial Litigation
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

Ronald W. Taylor (2006)
- Employment Law – Management
- Labor Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment

Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum (2012)
- Non-Profit/Charities Law

Craig A. Thompson (2013)
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

Kenneth L. Thompson (2007)
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- Product Liability Litigation – Defendants

Stacie E. Tobin (2013)
- Commercial Litigation

Stefan F. Tucker (1987)
- Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
- Real Estate Law
- Tax Law
- Trusts and Estates

Ralph S. Tyler (2017)
- Health Care Law

Michael J. Volpe (2016)
- Employment Law – Management
- Labor Law - Management

Robert L. Waldman (2007)
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Non-Profit/Charities Law
- Tax Law

Thomas D. Washburne, Jr. (2006)
- Banking and Finance Law
- Corporate Law
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law

Richard L. Wasserman (1995)
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Litigation – Bankruptcy

G. Stewart Webb, Jr. (2014)
- Commercial Litigation

Edward L. Wender (2010)
- Real Estate Law

Po Yi (2017)
- Advertising Law
- Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television

A.J. Zottola (2014)
- Technology Law

###

Venable LLP is an American Lawyer Global 100 law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Virginia. Our lawyers and legislative advisors serve domestic and international clients in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property, regulatory matters, and government affairs.