Nineteen attorneys from the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC have been selected by peer-review for inclusion in the 2017 ranking of Best Lawyers in America ©. Two DRM attorneys have also been named Lawyers of the Year in their respective practices in selected market areas. The results are based on client, lawyer and law firm surveys conducted by Best Lawyers beginning in January of this year.
Attorney Peter B. Kunin was listed in copyright law, intellectual property litigation and trademark law and named a Lawyer of the Year in intellectual property litigation in the Burlington area. Attorney Peter D. Van Oot, who practices from the firm’s Lebanon, N.H., office, was listed in environmental, land use and zoning law and named Lawyer of the Year in environmental law in the Concord, N.H., market area.
Three DRM attorneys have been repeatedly recognized by Best Lawyers for more than 25 years. They are Robert D. Rachlin, a litigator in Burlington, James G. Wheeler, who practices corporate law, real estate law and trusts and estates in St. Johnsbury, and John H. Marshall, who works in energy law and environmental law in St. Johnsbury.
Other Burlington-based DRM lawyers and the practice areas for which they are recognized in Best Lawyers are Andre D. Bouffard, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights / insolvency and reorganization law, commercial litigation, and litigation – bankruptcy; Marc B. Heath, commercial litigation, and litigation – construction; Robert B. Luce, commercial litigation and personal injury litigation – plaintiffs; Johan W. E. Maitland, employment law – management and labor law – management; Lawrence H. Meier, litigation – patent, patent law, copyright law and trademark law; Thomas H. Moody, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law, and venture capital law; Paul H. Ode, Jr., corporate law and mergers and acquisitions law; and Wm. Roger Prescott, litigation and controversy – tax, and tax law.
Best Lawyers also recognized Brattleboro attorneys Timothy E. Copeland, employment law – management, labor law – management and litigation – labor and employment; and Peter B. Robb, employment law – management, and labor law – management.
In the Lebanon area the peer review organization recognized Thomas C. Csatari, litigation – trusts and estates, and trust and estate law and Willemien Dingemans Miller, trusts and estates law.
Montpelier-based lawyer John H. Hollar was recognized for administrative/regulatory law and for his government relations practice.
Best Lawyers® lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. More than 83,000 leading attorneys globally are eligible to vote, and the firm has received more than 13 million votes to date on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 55,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore 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."
Operating on the fundamental belief that anything is possible when imagination and pragmatism live side by side, the 60-plus attorneys of Downs Rachlin Martin apply creativity, connections and experience to solve the toughest legal problems. DRM represents regional, national and international entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, technology businesses and Fortune 100 companies. The legal services provided by the firm include bankruptcy and business restructuring, general business, captive insurance, renewable energy and telecommunications, health law, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, real estate and land use, environmental, tax, and trusts and estates, plus legislative and regulatory services through the firm’s Government and Public Affairs group. DRM is the exclusive member firm in Vermont for Lex Mundi – the world’s leading network of independent law firms with in-depth experience in more than 100 countries worldwide.