55 Kaufman & Canoles Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America 2025, 7 Named “Lawyer of the Year,” and 13 Named “Ones to Watch”
Kaufman & Canoles is pleased to announce that the following attorneys were selected for inclusion in
The Best Lawyers in America® 2025:
Eric E. Ballou, Public Finance Law, Richmond
Michael E. Barney, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Virginia Beach
Dale Truitt Berrett, Family Law, Virginia Beach
John M. Bredehoft, Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Norfolk
Patrick M. Brogan, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Norfolk
Kristan B. Burch, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation –Intellectual Property, Norfolk
Catherine A. Byrd, Commercial Litigation, Norfolk
Vonda W. Chappell, Real Estate Law, Trusts and Estates, Chesapeake
Lawrence G. Cumming, Real Estate Law, Newport News
Gregory R. Davis, Real Estate Law, Trusts and Estates, Williamsburg
Jason R. Davis, Litigation – Insurance, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Norfolk
David M. Delpierre, Corporate Law, Norfolk
Dustin H. DeVore, Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Williamsburg
Douglas M. Foley, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, Richmond
Paul W. Gerhardt, Real Estate Law, Williamsburg
Megan Martz Gilliland, Public Finance Law, Richmond
Laura Geringer Gross, Labor Law – Management, Nonprofit / Charities Law, Norfolk
Robert C. Goodman Jr., Corporate Law, Mutual Funds Law, Virginia Beach
Amy L. Harman, Real Estate Law, Chesapeake
Nicole J. Harrell, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law, Franchise Law, Norfolk
Philip L. Hatchett, Trusts and Estates, Newport News
Frank A. Hirsch Jr., Banking and Finance Law, Raleigh
John E. Holloway, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Norfolk
William L. Holt, Real Estate Law, Newport News
Joseph E. Houchin, Criminal Defense: White Collar, Raleigh
Barry W. Hunter, Public Finance Law, Real Estate Law, Norfolk
Robert Q. Johnson, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Newport News
David Kamer, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates, Norfolk
Alison V. Lennarz, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates, Williamsburg
Dennis T. Lewandowski, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, Norfolk
Richard C. Mapp III, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Commercial Transactions / UCC Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Norfolk
Vincent J. Mastracco Jr., Corporate Law, Norfolk
T. Braxton McKee, Health Care Law, Virginia Beach
Charles V. McPhillips, Corporate Law, Norfolk
Sarah E. Messersmith, Trusts and Estates, Newport News
Stephen E. Noona, Litigation – Antirust, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Norfolk
Patrick H. O’Donnell, Government Contracts, Litigation – Antitrust, Norfolk
John M. Peterson, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Tax Law, Norfolk
Alexander W. Powell Jr., Trusts and Estates, Williamsburg
Alfred M. Randolph Jr., Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Financial Services Regulation Law, Norfolk
L. Scott Seymour, Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, Norfolk
Mark A. Short, Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law, Newport News
Randy C. Sparks Jr., Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Richmond
W. Edgar Spivey, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning, Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions, Litigation – Real Estate, Litigation – Securities, Norfolk
Jeffrey M. Stedfast, Real Estate, Norfolk
Edward R. Stolle, Trusts and Estates, Virginia Beach
Stephen E. Story, Franchise Law, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Norfolk
Raymond H. Suttle Jr., Municipal Law, Real Estate Law, Newport News
Neil S. Talegaonkar, Employment Law – Management, Richmond
Timothy O. Trant II, Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law, Newport News
William R. Van Buren III, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Health Care Law, Norfolk
Lewis W. Webb III, Trusts and Estates, Norfolk
Burt H. Whitt, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Norfolk
J. Britton Williston, Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law, Norfolk
James L. Windsor, Litigation – Construction, Real Estate Law, Newport News
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Almost 87,000 industry-leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received almost 10 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.8 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in almost 60,000 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.”
Additionally, K&C is pleased to announce that seven of the firm’s attorneys have been named Best Lawyers 2025 “Lawyer of the Year.”
Nicole J. Harrell was named Norfolk Business Organizations Lawyer of the Year
John E. Holloway was named Norfolk Admiralty and Maritime Law Lawyer of the Year
Alfred M. Randolph Jr. was named Norfolk Banking and Finance Law Lawyer of the Year
W. Edgar Spivey was named Norfolk Litigation – Real Estate Lawyer of the Year
Stephen E. Story was named Norfolk Litigation – Patent Lawyer of the Year
Timothy O. Trant II was named Norfolk Land Use and Zoning Law Lawyer of the Year
William R. Van Buren III was named Norfolk Health Care Law Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers in America is designating “Lawyer of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities, honoring a single lawyer in each specialty as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Lawyers being honored as “Lawyer of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in our surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.
Additionally, K&C is pleased to announce that thirteen of the firm’s attorneys have been named Best Lawyers 2025 “Ones to Watch.”
Brandon S. Allred, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, Norfolk
Clark J. Belote, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Norfolk
Samantha J. Forsyth, Banking and Finance Law, Trusts and Estates, Richmond
Lauren S. Kadish, Health Care Law, Norfolk
Morgan A. Lambert, Trusts and Estates, Norfolk
Chenxi Lu, Securities / Capital Markets Law, Tax Law, Norfolk
Shannon M. McDonough, Corporate Law, Norfolk
William M. Palmer, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Norfolk
Adam B. Pratt, Commercial Litigation, Williamsburg
Sharon Kerk Reyes, Labor and Employment Law – Management, Norfolk
Laura Dickson Rixey, Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Health Care Law, Virginia Beach
Benjamin A. Wills, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Public Finance Law, Richmond
Benming Zhang, Corporate Law, Trusts and Estates, Williamsburg
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch awards recognize extraordinary lawyers who have been in private practice for less than 10 years in the United States. Like traditional Best Lawyers awards, a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition is based entirely on peer review.
The contents of this publication are intended for general information only and should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on specific facts and circumstances. Copyright 2024.