2025 Best Lawyers Business Edition
The Litigation Issue
Featured Firms
Featured in Best Lawyers
Candice Klein is a founding partner of Chang | Klein LLP. She has over 20 years of experience fighting and championing causes for plaintiffs, specializing in wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse cases. Candice works on every case with an unshakable devotion to help those who have suffered permanent and serious physical or emotional injuries. She understands that these injuries not only affect the victims, but their family members as well. She...
Bio Deborah Chang, one of the founding members of Athea Trial Lawyers, has won record-breaking verdicts and settlements in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases across the country. As if this wasn’t enough, she’s also a partner at Los Angeles firm Chang | Klein LLP. As a trusted advocate at two powerhouse firms, Deborah has made a name for herself as an attorney capable of fighting complex and high-profile cases. At Athea Trial Lawyers, Deborah has been involved in some of ...
Jack Connelly John R. (Jack) Connelly has been practicing law in the Puget Sound for over 28 years, entirely in representation of plaintiffs. His practice is rooted in the core values upon which he founded the Connelly Law Offices; Truth, Justice, Accountability and Equal Access. Jack maintains a strong interest in cases which hold government and corporate entities accountable, which emphasize the dignity and value of every human being, and which make a difference in how government officials,...
Lincoln is a founding partner of Connelly Law Offices. He is a seasoned plaintiff trial lawyer with an in-depth knowledge of personal injury, civil rights and insurance bad faith law. Lincoln’s track record lists dozens of jury trials and settlements that far exceed multi-million dollar results on behalf of his clients. His powerful courtroom reputation brings him some of the best, most complicated cases in Washington state. He has a passion for taking on cases that involve the abuse of...
Nate Roberts is a trial lawyer who represents real, everyday people as they work to hold corporations and government accountable. His primary focus is on the litigation and trial of complex personal injury and wrongful death claims. Over the course of his career, he has successfully tried a wide variety of major cases in both state and federal court, resulting in seven-figure and eight-figure verdicts in the Superior Courts of King, Pierce, and Spokane Counties, as well as U.S. District Court...
David Sanford is the Chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP. He has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the United States government since 2004. David represents C-suite executives and non-managerial hourly employees throughout the US. He has served as lead counsel in more than 50 class actions and numerous qui tam cases around the country and represented more than 100 general counsel and attorneys (in-house and outside counsel) in contract dispute...
Vincent “Vince” McKnight, Jr., is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Washington, D.C., office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Whistleblower Practice. He also represents clients in employment discrimination and wrongful discharge cases. Vince represents whistleblowers in sealed and unsealed False Claims Act/qui tam suits under investigation by the United States and other governmental stakeholders. He has achieved significant success in such cases, including the ...
Featured in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch
Patrick Gunning is a trial attorney who exclusively represents victims in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. With a razor-sharp intellect and keen eye for the decisive details of every case, Patrick thrives in high-stakes trials and excels in finding creative ways to win. As a result, Patrick has recovered more than $250 million for clients and consistently been on the front lines of cases with large verdicts and impactful settlements, including: A $39.5 million settlement for a co...
After five years as a trial attorney at Panish Shea & Boyle, LLP, Sarah Kim joins Chang Klein, LLP with extensive experience in representing personal injury plaintiffs — especially in matters involving wrongful death, catastrophic injury, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. A compassionate and successful advocate, Sarah always takes the time to connect with her clients and understand their injuries and losses. According to her, there is nothing more rewarding than being able ...
Jonathan Tepe is a Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, a Co-Chair of the firm’s Public Interest Litigation Practice Group, and the Chair of the firm’s Fellows and Junior Associates Program. Since joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Jonathan has been recognized in the legal community as a Mid-South Rising Star by Super Lawyers and on Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under List – South. At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Jonathan’s practice has focused on p...
Leigh Anne is the Managing Partner of the Nashville office of Sanford Heisler Sharp. Since joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Leigh Anne has been recognized in the legal community as a Mid-South Rising Star by Super Lawyers, was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers in Tennessee by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and was recognized in the 2021 and 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” in the field of Employment Law – Individuals. At Sanford Heisl...
Kevin R. Budner is a partner in Lieff Cabraser’s San Francisco specializing in complex, high-impact litigation. Of particular note, Kevin was one of the lead attorneys prosecuting San Francisco’s case in the nationwide opioid litigation . Among other roles, Kevin directed the team’s discovery efforts against Walgreens and played a key role in the multi-month bellwether trial. In a milestone opinion , Judge Charles R. Breyer concluded that “the aggregate evidence that P...
Featured "Lawyer of the Year" Honorees
Alan S. Miller has more than thirty-eight years of experience in complex litigation and counseling, concentrating in the areas of environmental law, insurance coverage and bad faith, and commercial litigation. He chairs the firm’s Environmental and Energy Law practice and the Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Litigation practice. Alan’s environmental law practice has involved counseling, litigation and alternative dispute resolution of matters involving municipal, residual, and haz...
Kevin Durkin is a partner at Clifford Law Offices. Over a career that spans more than 35 years, Mr. Durkin has successfully represented clients in many practice areas, including: Aviation accident litigation and transportation liability Truck, railroad and automobile litigation Premises liability and negligent security Medical malpractice Mr. Durkin has been named a top-tier attorney by U.S. News-Best Lawyers in the areas of personal injury litigation, aviation law and product liability since...
PRACTICE AREAS Trials Commercial Litigation Intellectual Property Securities Insurance Recovery/Bad Faith White Collar Criminal Defense Legal Malpractice Entertainment/Sports EXPERIENCE Jennifer Keller is one of America’s most successful trial attorneys. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of high-stakes commercial litigation and white collar cases. Chambers USA and Chambers Global rank her among the top commercial litigators in the nation, quoting sources who...
PRACTICE AREAS Trials Commercial Litigation Bet-the-Company Trials Class Actions White Collar Criminal Defense EXPERIENCE Kay is a seasoned trial attorney, having tried over 100 jury trials to verdict. She represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of high-stakes commercial litigation and white collar cases. Chambers USA ranks her among the top commercial litigators in California, quoting sources who describe Kay as “having great instincts and clients listen breathlessly...
