Best Lawyers in America for Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants
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Beth is tenacious and a rigorous thinker. Her practice focuses on business disputes of all kinds, in courtroom and arbitration settings, including FINRA. Beth’s clients include publicly traded and private companies and their officers and employees operating in a wide array of industries such as real estate development, insurance, energy and utility, restaurant and retail, financial investing, and health care. Beth’s litigation experience also includes trust and estate work, and ap...
With a background in finance and accounting, and with specialized training in business valuation, Paul helps clients determine the value of privately held business interests, often in high-stakes, complex and (sometimes) contentious shareholder and family law disputes. Business valuation expertise is critical to his clients with respect to shareholder and governance issues, shareholders looking to exit companies who either have or lack liquidity rights, families in multi-generational business...
PRACTICE AREAS Commercial Litigation White Collar Criminal Defense Appellate Litigation EXPERIENCE Reuben Cahn is a courtroom advocate of rare experience and ability. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he has tried over 100 cases to jury verdict and has argued twice before the Supreme Court (in 2011 and 2018) in addition to numerous arguments before both the 9th and 11th Circuits. This combination of skill and experience at the highest levels establish Mr. Cahn as one of the m...
Samuel W. Outten is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Samuel W., who practices law in Greenville, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Samuel W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and leg...
Benjamin Gooding is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Benjamin, who practices law in Columbia, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Benjamin is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Paul Berg splits his time between managing the firm and his litigation practice. Paul’s practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation, along with personal injury and wrongful death actions. Paul co-authored the 2020 edition of Oregon Civil Pleading and Litigation , as well as the 2009 supplement to the “Case Investigation” chapter of the Oregon Civil Litigation Manual .
Richard C. Stanley is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law, Legal Malpractice Law - Defendants, Litigation - Antitrust, Litigation - First Amendment, Litigation - Real Estate, Litigation - Securities and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Richard C., who practices law in New Orleans, Louisiana, has been recognized since 2006. This recognitio...
In business and legal malpractice litigation, Betsy’s clients include small and large businesses, as well as individuals seeking to protect their business and personal interests. She represents clients before state and federal trial courts, in arbitration, and on related appeals. Betsy’s trial practice focuses on high-stakes business and legal malpractice litigation in disputes involving claims of breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, negligence, breach of contract, dissolution and r...
Jason Whittemore is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Legal Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jason, who practices law in Tampa, Florida, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jason is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
James Lance is an experienced trial attorney who has represented both plaintiffs and defendants for 38 years. He regularly represents defendants in bet-the-company litigation, and has obtained several 7 and 8 figure verdicts, judgments and settlements for personal injury and commercial plaintiffs. Lance obtained a judgment of $12,933,000 in 2024 for an individual plaintiff asserting an employment claim. In addition to commercial matters, Lance routinely represents individuals asserting seriou...
Marc J. Kaplan is a practicing trial lawyer, special master and arbitrator. Having been certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Mr. Kaplan is a formidable advocate in court. Mr. Kaplan provides to the firm expertise in civil litigation and appeals, including complex divorces. Mr. Kaplan practices in all civil areas of the law, but primarily in the areas of family law and legal malpractice. Kaplan is the Immediate Past President of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, represented...
John Allen focuses his practice on business and commercial litigation. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate, by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. With over 30 years experience handling legal problems, John has written and co-written dozens of articles and books, and speaks frequently to business and law groups. On a regular basis, he teaches courses in law and trial practice to other lawyers, and often serves as an expert witness. He is a certified arbitrator and mediator.
Terry Johnson is a Shareholder and Chair of the firm’s Professional Liability Section. Terry has tried hundreds of cases to a verdict in matters ranging from complex legal malpractice cases to major construction defect disputes to major personal injury actions. Terry has had an impact in the development of Wisconsin law through appellate work in a wide spectrum of areas. Terry was asked to serve by the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on the Office of Lawyer Regulation (&ldq...
Jesse Gessin is trial counsel for businesses and individuals. He is the rare attorney who successfully tries both civil and criminal cases. For example, his multimillion-dollar jury verdict was recognized as the highest California verdict in several categories for that year. He entered the case only a few months before trial. In 2022, hired less than ten days before trial, Jesse achieved a complete defense verdict for a successor trustee against multimillion-dollar claims of wrongful investme...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.