About Us
Recognition by Best Lawyers is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor, conferred on a lawyer by their peers. For more than four decades, our publications have earned the respect of the profession, the media and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals anywhere.
Our lists of outstanding lawyers are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for a lawyer are positive enough for recognition by Best Lawyers, that lawyer must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain in each edition. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be recognized by Best Lawyers.
Leadership
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Advisory Board Spotlight
Wade Cooper is the firmwide Managing Partner of Jackson Walker. His duties are those of the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, and he chairs two of the major committees of the partnership: the Management Committee and the Compensation Committee. In his legal practice, Mr. Cooper has handled substantial commercial litigation, arbitration, and bankruptcy matters in Texas, and in federal and bankruptcy courts in a number of other states. His clients include telecommunications carriers, nationa...
Thomas S. Heather joined the Firm in 1981 and became a partner in 1982 thru 2005; he rejoined Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau as a partner in 2013. Mr. Heather has more than 40 years of experience and has earned recognitions and distinctions as a leading lawyer in Mexico and Latin America. He specializes in banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, and alternative dispute resolutions. He is currently a director and member of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees of Grupo Financ...
Vladimir Penkov has extensive experience in negotiating, studies, preparation of legal documents and representation of clients in various areas of commercial law, such as banking and finance, corporate law and commercial contracts, competition, privatization and foreign investment, investment management, mergers and acquisitions, project financing, procurement, licensing and know-how contracts, tax law, telecommunications & media, energy law and renewable energy.
Eric J. Friedman has served as Skadden’s Executive Partner since 2009, furthering the firm’s mission to provide the highest quality legal service to clients, attract and develop top legal talent, and maintain our deeply rooted commitments to pro bono and diversity and inclusion. In 2011, the firm received the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s first-ever Law Firm of the Year Award, for our commitment to public service and diversity; and in 2012, Mr. Friedman received...
Advisory Board Member
Kare Stolt is Senior Partner at Accura. Mr. Stolt also heads the Mergers and Acquisitons team at the firm. Kare was one of the founders of ACCURA in 1999. Previously, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and managing director of Tellabs Danmark A/S (formerly DSC Communications A/S).
Kimberly Leach Johnson has been practicing trusts & estates law for more than 30 years. She specializes in post-mortem tax-mitigation techniques, comprehensive estate planning, which includes understanding the client's wishes, explaining and reducing the tax impact to carrying out the estate plan after a client's death.
Dr. Shlomo Cohen heads Dr. Shlomo Cohen & Co., one of the most respected boutique intellectual property firms in Israel. From 1999 to 2007, he was President of the Israel Bar, both the statutory professional trade union for Israeli lawyers and the organization that certifies lawyers to practice law in Israel.
Press Releases
In Brief
Georgia Laws Taking Effect in 2022
Three new pieces of Georgia legislation aim to improve medical bill transparency, lower the sales tax on vehicles and enact further safeguards to protect children in foster care.
On Neutral Ground
Years after the American Bar Association resolution on diversifying the pool of neutrals, alternative dispute resolution panels still fall short.
Largest Pain and Suffering Award Affirmed in New York History
Preeminent trial lawyer Benedict Morelli on achieving a precedent shifting result.
New England States With Incoming Legislation
Best Lawyers takes an in depth look at newly proposed bills, litigation and cases coming out of four New England states.
Loaded Arguments
The historic Sandy Hook settlement may set precedent for future liability, while some states loosen their gun laws.
Activism In Action
From action to “Action!,” Jeffery Robinson’s Who We Are project and new documentary chronicle his efforts to expose, confront and put a stop to the country’s long history of anti-Black racism.
