Balch & Bingham LLP is pleased to announce that more than 95 of the firm’s attorneys recently were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America®. 

Best Lawyers is based on a peer–review survey in which attorneys are invited to rank the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice. The survey is designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. 

Five Balch attorneys were recognized as “Lawyer of the Year,” an honor given to a single attorney in each practice group in a designated metropolitan area. The Balch attorneys recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” include:

Birmingham

• Ed Haden — Appellate Practice
• Curt Gwathney — Public Finance Law
• Bo Lineberry — Nonprofit / Charities Law

Montgomery

• Jim Byram — Insurance Law
• Dorman Walker — Appellate Practice

Attorneys making their first appearance in the 2019 edition include: Ashley Eley Cannady, Tom DeLawrence, Jim Hollis, Lane Knight, Pam Smith, and Christy Crockett White.

The Balch attorneys recognized in the 2019 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 
• Josh Archer — Commercial Litigation 
• Jim Hollis — Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (newly listed)
• Hugh McNatt — Insurance Law (10 years)
• Dart Meadows — Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (10 years)
• Tom Penland — Energy Law (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
• 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
• 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 
• Foster Clark — Public Finance Law (15 years)
• Greg Cook — Commercial Litigation; Consumer Law; Litigation - Real Estate; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
• Tom DeLawrence — Environmental Law  (newly listed)
• 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 
• Paul Greenwood — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy 
• 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 
• Chris Kimble — 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 
• Phil Nichols — Antitrust Law; Corporate Law 
• 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 
• Pam Smith — Copyright Law (newly listed)
• Jeff Starling — Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment (10 years)
• Chris Still — Energy Law (10 years)
• Will Hill Tankersley — Antitrust Law; Trade Secrets Law; Trademark Law 
• 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)
• Jonathan Dyal — Commercial Litigation 
• Leo Manuel — Energy Law 
• John Rice — Banking and Finance Law; Real Estate Law 
• Jennifer 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 (newly listed)
• 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 
• Jennifer Skipper — Litigation - Insurance; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product 
• Liability Litigation - Defendants 
• Bill Smith — 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 (newly listed) 

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 (15 years)

• Lane Knight — Commercial Litigation (newly listed)

• Joe McCorkle — Appellate Practice; Banking and Finance Law; Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law (15 years)

• Joe Seawell Moore — Commercial Litigation 

• Kelly 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 

• Dorman Walker — Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Education Law; Employment Law - Individuals; Employment Law - Management; Health Care Law; Labor Law - Management (10 years)