by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Making the Pro Bowl is a big deal to football players. It means their teammates and opponents thought enough of their play over the course of a year to nominate them for Pro Bowl consideration and the trip to Hawaii that comes with making the team.
Attorneys have their own Pro Bowl. It’s the annual Best Lawyers in America list published by Chicago-based Woodward/White, Inc. Locally, 112 Jacksonville attorneys made the 13th, and most recent, edition. Overall, nearly 30,000 lawyers from the across the country made this year’s list.
“That’s 2.6 percent of the lawyers nationwide,” said Will Brooks, the vice president and director of communications for Woodward/White.
According to Brooks, there are about 1.1 million lawyers in the United States and his company gets anywhere from 80,000 to 90,000 nominations annually. He stressed nominations because, unlike other “best of” publications, his isn’t one in which an attorney or firm can buy an ad or three and wind up with several names on the list.
“This is not a pay-for-play publication,” he said. “We pare down the nominations and folks listed in the previous edition comprise the voting pool.”
Ballots are sent out or votes are taken over the phone. The nominations are also divided two ways: by geographic segment of the country and by legal speciality.
“But, tax lawyers cannot vote on other tax lawyers,” said Brooks, adding there are 80 areas of law listed in the book, which does leave a few specialities out — for now. “There is no sports law specialty because there are only a few nationwide.”
Off-the-wall and narrowly-focused specialities also aren’t listed. For example, there aren’t any lawyers listed who practice in the area of trucking law, gaming law or Native American law.
Of the 112 local attorneys listed this year, 14 have been on the list for 20 years while there are 22 newcomers. John DeVault of The Bedell Firm is a member of the 20-year club. In fact, he’s listed in four different areas of practice. DeVault said he appreciates the fact his peers have thought well of him for two decades.
“It makes you feel good that other lawyers know you,” he said. “It’s a good feeling, but it’s not a big deal in terms of revenue. I’d rather be in it than not.
“It’s nice that the lawyers you see day-in and day-out in the courtroom feel good enough about the job you do to vote for you.”
Linda Kelso is with Foley & Lardner where she practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions law and securities law. Kelso is a freshman member of the book.
“I think it’s commonly-regarded as one of the premier listings,” she said, adding she often uses it as a reference guide when looking for a quality attorney in another city. “If I see somebody’s name, it means something to me.”
David Barksdale is also with The Bedell Firm and he also made the list for the first time. He appreciates the nominations and approvals from his peers, but also understands there are many quality lawyers practicing in Jacksonville that may not make this or any other list.
“In this city there are a bunch of good criminal defense attorneys,” said Barksdale, who is listed for his work in white-collar and non-white-collar criminal defense. “I see them in the courthouse every day. There absolutely are a lot of others that should be on it.”
The following have made the list for 20 consecutive years:
• Kenneth Anderson; Anderson & Stevens; tax law
• Robert Beckham; Holland & Knight; personal injury litigation and professional malpractice law
• Patrick Coleman; Coffman, Coleman, Andrews & Grogan; labor and employment law
• Charles Commander; Foley & Lardner; real estate law
• Albert Datz; Datz & Datz; family law, non-white-collar criminal defense and white-collar criminal defense
• John DeVault; Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe; bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, legal malpractice law, white-collar criminal defense
• Guy Farmer; Holland & Knight; labor and employment law
• William Gentry; William C. Gentry; personal injury litigation
• John Grimsley; Grimsley Marker & Iseley; trusts and estates
• Kenneth Kirschner; Kirschner & Legler; corporate law
• Mitchell Legler; Kirschner & Legler; corporate law
• James Taylor; Taylor, Stewart, Houston & Duss; real estate law
• Steven Werber; Liles, Gavin, Costantino & George; commercial litigation
• Elliot Zisser; Zisser, Robison, Brown, Nowlis & Maciejewski; family law
The following have made the list for the first time:
• Michael Abel; Holland & Knight; transportation law
• David Barksdale; Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe; non-white-collar criminal defense and white-collar criminal defense
• James Bledsoe; Bledsoe, Jacobson, Schmidt & Wright; commercial litigation
• Andrew Brigham; Brigham Moore; eminent domain and condemnation law
• Ivan Colao; Holland & Knight; banking law
• William Deas; William J. Deas; real estate law
• Curtis Fallgatter; Fallgatter, Farmand & Roelke; non-white-collar criminal defense and white-collar criminal defense
• Robert Farnell; Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe; legal malpractice law, personal injury litigation
• Andrew Fawbush; LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae; employee benefits law
• Timothy Flanagan; Purcell, Flanagan & Hay; trusts and estates
• Lawrence Hamilton; Holland & Knight; transportation law
• Kenneth Keefe; McGuire Woods; real estate law
• Edward Kelly; Rogers Towers; banking law
• Linda Kelso; Foley & Lardner; mergers & acquisitions law and securities law
• Charles Lembcke; Charles B. Lembcke; non-white-collar criminal defense and white-collar criminal defense
• Ronald Oberdier; Humphries & Oberdier; railroad law
• David Otero; Akerman Senterfitt; bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law
• Rufus Pennington; Margol & Pennington; medical malpractice law
• James Post; Smith Hulsey & Busey; bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law and commercial litigation
• Lanny Russell; Smith Hulsey & Busey; commercial litigation
• John Thrasher; Smith Hulsey & Busey; government relations law
• Warren Tripp; Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe; construction law
These lists are excerpted from The Best Lawyers in America® 2007, which includes listings for over 29,000 lawyers in 80 specialties, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The Best Lawyers in America® is published by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, S.C. and can be ordered directly from the publisher. For information call 803-648-0300; write 129 First Avenue, SW, Aiken, S.C. 29801; email [email protected]; or visit www.bestlawyers.com. Online subscriptions to Best Lawyers® databases are available at www.bestlawyers.com
Woodward/White Inc., has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All listed attorneys have been verified as being members in good standing with their respective state bar associations as of August 1, 2006, where that information is publicly available. Consumers should contact their state bar for verification and additional information prior to securing legal services of any attorney.
Copyright 2006 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, SC. All rights reserved. This list, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. No commercial use of this list may be made without permission of Woodward/White, Inc. No fees may be charged, directly or indirectly, for the use of this list without permission.
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