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THE BEST LAWYERS IN LITTLE ROCK - 2011

Who are the best lawyers in Little Rock? Little
Rock Soiree polled lawyers and readers to find
out. Here are the top 78 in 16 specialties.

 

 

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION — MEDIATION

John A. “Jack” Davis III - ADR, Inc.
Frank S. Hamlin - Hamlin Dispute Resolution, LLC
W. Michael Reif - Dover Dixon Horne PLLC
John Dewey Watson - ADR, Inc.

BANKRUPTCY

Charles T. Coleman - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
Lyndsey D. Dilks - The Brad Hendricks Law Firm
Joseph F. Kolb - Barber Law Firm
Harry A. Light - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Kelly W. McNulty - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.

BUSINESS LITIGATION

William H. “Bill” Edwards - Barber Law Firm
Judy Simmons Henry - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
Lloyd W. “Tre” Kitchens - The Brad Hendricks Law Firm
Chad W. Pekron - Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC
Amy Lee Stewart - Rose Law Firm

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Amy Clemmons Brown - McMullan Law Firm
Kelly Hopkins Halstead - Halstead Law Firm
Marian Major McMullan - McMullan Law Firm
Heartsill Ragon III - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.
Jay Taylor - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP

CORPORATE FINANCE — MERGER & ACQUISITIONS

Walter M. “Skip” Ebel III - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Price C. Gardner - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
H. Watt Gregory III - Kutak Rock LLP
M. Sean Hatch - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
John S. Selig - Mitchell Williams

CORPORATE INSURANCE

John K. Harriman - Mitchell Williams
Allan W. Horne - Dover Dixon Horne PLLC
Derrick W. Smith - Mitchell Williams
Scott M. Strauss - Barber Law Firm

CRIMINAL DEFENSE

Patrick Benca & Kara Benca - Benca & Benca
Tommy L. Bennett - Law Offices of Bennett & Williams
John Wesley Hall, Jr. - John Wesley Hall
William O. "Bill" James, Jr. - The James Law Firm
Jack T. Lassiter - Lassiter & Cassinelli

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Jim L. Julian - Chisenhall Nestrud & Julian
Kelly M. McQueen - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.
Ross Noland - McMath Woods P.A.
Brian Rosenthal - Rose Law Firm
Walter G. Wright, Jr. - Mitchell Williams

ERISA

Danny Broaddrick - Hyden, Miron & Foster, PLLC
Bryant K. Cranford - Rose Law Firm
Joseph B. Hurst, Jr. - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Troy A. Price - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP

FAMILY LAW

Katherine E. Blackmon - Law Offices of Katherine E. Blackmon
Beth Echols - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.
Sam Hilburn - Hilburn, Calhoon, Harper, Pruniski & Calhoun, Ltd
David W. Kamps - Dodds, Kidd & Ryan

LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW

John D. Davis - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
Dan Herrington - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Jane A. Kim - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
James D. Robertson - Barber Law Firm
Dylan Potts - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.

LITIGATION

Matthew B. Finch - Gill Elrod Ragon Owen & Sherman, P.A.
Edwin L. Lowther, Jr. - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP
Chad W. Pekron - Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC
Amy Lee Stewart - Rose Law Firm
Perry L. Wilson - Barber Law Firm

PERSONAL INJURY

Michael L. Alexander - Barber Law Firm
David Couch - Couch Law Firm
Judson Kidd - Dodds, Kidd & Ryan
Brandon K. Moffitt - Moffitt & Phillips, PLLC
Bruce Munson - Munson Rowlett Moore and Boone, PA
Michael Rainwater - Rainwater Holt & Sexton P.A.

TAXATION

Christopher D. Brockett - Hatfield, Sayre & Brockett
Neil Deininger - Deininger, Wingfield & Corry
W. Wilson Jones - Rose Law Firm
Jennifer R. Pierce - Mitchell Williams
David A. Smith - Kutak Rock LLP
Thomas Tarpley - Williams & Anderson PLC
John R. Tisdale - Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP

TRUSTS & ESTATES

Wayne Ball - Ball & Stuart PLLC
Tom Baxter - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Sarah M. Cotton - Friday Eldredge & Clark LLP
Lillian Dee Davenport - Delta Trust & Bank
Lori L. Holzwarth - Hyden, Miron & Foster, PLLC

WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAW

Chuck Banks - Banks Law Firm PLLC
William O. "Bill" James, Jr. - The James Law Firm
Shelly Hogan Koehler - Shelly Hogan Koehler, Attorney at Law
Samuel A. Perroni - Law Offices of Sam Perroni

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

HOW DOES LITTLE ROCK SOIRÉE DETERMINE WHICH LAWYERS MAKE THE LIST?

Best Lawyers is a two-component voting system: peer review voting and voting by readers of Arkansas Business and Little Rock Soirée. We rely on the lawyers’ expertise to determine who deserves to be on the list and on the readers to tell us how their experiences with individual lawyers rank. This year, we emailed local lawyers from our online directory, inviting them to vote using an online ballot on our website. We solicited votes from readers through our e-newsletter, social  media pages and websites. The nomination form asked all to cast a vote bearing in mind the following question: “Which lawyers in Little Rock, would you rank among the best based on your experience with them?” Our research editor tallied the votes and we examined the list to confirm Arkansas Bar status and reviewed practice specialty for each lawyer.

HOW DO YOU PICK THE CATEGORIES?

We included categories that would be helpful to a business client as well as a personal client. We presented the categories to the panel of lawyers to make certain we did not leave out a worthy category.

DO LAWYERS HAVE TO PAY TO BE ON THE LIST?

No, a lawyer cannot pay to be on the list. After the editorial staff finalizes the list, it is given to our sales department, which invites lawyers to buy profiles. Those profiles appear on the following pages and are labeled as paid advertising. But whether the lawyers advertise has no bearing on this list. The editorial department does not know who purchased a profile in the magazine until the magazine is in the final stages of production.

HOW DO YOU PREVENT CHEATING?

Our online ballot records each voter’s IP address. If we notice a suspicious pattern—a block of votes from the same IP address, for instance, or a high number of votes cast in a short time—we investigate.

WHAT IF I DON’T SEE MY LAWYER ON THE LIST?

This list is by no means inclusive. If you don’t see your lawyer here, and he/she is someone you like and trust, you should stick with them. The process selection will start over next year.