Twenty two attorneys from the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC have been selected by peer review for inclusion in the 2018 ranking of Best Lawyers in America ©. Five of those attorneys have also been named lawyers of the year in Vermont in their respective practice areas. The results are based on client, lawyer and law firm surveys conducted by Best Lawyers beginning in January of this year.
DRM attorneys in the Burlington office named lawyers of the year are Johan WE Maitland in employment law (management); Marc B Heath in construction litigation; Paul H Ode, Jr, in mergers and acquisitions law; Peter B Kunin in intellectual property litigation; and R Prescott Jaunich, in real estate law.
Two DRM attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers for more than 25 years: 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 their respective practice areas recognized in Best Lawyers are Andre D Bouffard, bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights / insolvency and reorganization law, commercial litigation, and litigation – bankruptcy; Kathleen H. Davis, corporate law; William J Dodge, real estate law; Robert B Luce, commercial litigation and personal injury litigation – plaintiffs; 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; Christopher D Roy, litigation, land use and zoning and litigation, real estate; Wm. Roger Prescott, tax litigation and tax law, and David J Sylvester, corporate law.
Best Lawyers also recognized Brattleboro attorneys Timothy E Copeland, employment law – management, labor law – management and litigation – labor and employment; and R. Bradford Fawley, litigation, land use and zoning.
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.
St Johnsbury attorney James C. Gallagher is also listed in the area or personal injury litigation – defendants.
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 10 million evaluations regarding the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas. For the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.4 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 58,000 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."
From offices located in Vermont and New Hampshire, more than 55 DRM attorneys represent 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, energy and telecommunications, intellectual property law, labor and employment, litigation, real estate and land use, environmental and tax law, and trust and estate planning, 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.