The publication The Best Lawyers in America® has been ranking attorneys annually since 1983 and has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers® bases its rankings on an exhaustive peer review survey in which almost 50,000 attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers® is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers® "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."
Ward and Smith attorneys recognized as 2014 Best Lawyers are the following (the year following each name indicates the first year the attorney was listed):
Asheville
Derek J. Allen (2009) — Land Use and Zoning Law; Litigation - Land Use and Zoning
William S. Durr (2013) — Family Law
Michael L. Miller (1991) — Arbitration; Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Mediation; Tax Law;
Trusts and Estates
Greenville
A. Charles Ellis (1995) — Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs; Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Lynwood P. Evans (2013) — Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs
Paul A. Fanning (2011) — Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights /
Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy
Merrill G. Jones, II (2013) — Commercial Litigation
John M. Martin (1995) — Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
New Bern
James Lee Davis (1993) — Real Estate Law
Donalt J. Eglinton (2009) — Commercial Litigation; Copyright Law; Litigation - Construction;
Litigation - Intellectual Property; Litigation - Patent; Patent Law; Trademark Law
Michael P. Flanagan (1995) — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and
Reorganization Law; Litigation - Bankruptcy
S. McKinley Gray, III (2009) — Litigation – Labor & Employment; Workers' Compensation Law -
Employers
William R. Lathan (2005) — Banking and Finance Law; Financial Services Regulation Law
Gregory T. Peacock (2010) — Litigation - Trusts and Estates; Trusts and Estates
C. H. Pope, Jr. (1995) — Land Use and Zoning Law; Real Estate Law; Timber Law
E. Knox Proctor V (2010) — Administrative / Regulatory Law; Banking and Finance Law;
Corporate Law; Financial Services Regulation Law
Clint D. Routson (2005) — Real Estate Law
Frank H. Sheffield, Jr. (1995) — Environmental Law; Litigation - Environmental
J. Troy Smith, Jr. (1987) — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
David L. Ward, Jr. (1983) - Banking and Finance Law; Corporate Law; Financial Services Regulation
Law; International Trade and Finance Law; Litigation - Antitrust
Leigh A. Wilkinson (2010) — Health Care Law
A. Rexford Willis, III (2012) — Corporate Law; Tax Law
Kenneth R. Wooten (2005) — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Litigation -
Construction
Raleigh
William Joseph Austin, Jr. (2009) — Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management;
Workers' Compensation Law - Employers
Albert R. Bell, Jr. (1995) — Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management
Stuart B. Dorsett (2001) — Trusts and Estates
William E. Martin (2013) — Real Estate Law
E. Eric Mills (2012) — Copyright Law
Gary J. Rickner (1995) — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation;
Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
James F. Verdonik (1995) — Corporate Law; Technology Law
Wilmington
Thomas S. Babel (2013) — Commercial Litigation
Jenna Fruechtenicht Butler (2010) — Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Securities; Litigation –
Trusts & Estates; Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
Ryal W. Tayloe (2009) — Bet-the-Company Litigation; Litigation - Construction; Litigation -
Real Estate
(Year) First year the lawyer was listed.
* Please see http://www.bestlawyers.com for a further explanation of the selection process discussed above.
