News
55 Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns LLP Lawyers Recognized by Best Lawyers® 2025
Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP is pleased to announce that 55 lawyers have been recognized by Best Lawyers 2025 in three categories including Lawyer of the Year, The Best Lawyers in America and Ones to Watch in America. A complete listing is categorized below:
Three Named As 2025 Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year
Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the Lawyer of the Year, making this a significant and coveted accolade. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments.
- Bruce Bokor – Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Joel Bronstein – Corporate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
- Wallace Pope, Jr. – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation and Controversy – Tax
41 Named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America
Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.
Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns LLP would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America list:
- Brandon Bellew – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Mark Bentley – Land Use and Zoning Law and Litigation – Land Use and Zoning
- Bruce Bokor – Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Joel Bronstein – Corporate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
- Charles Buford – Commercial Litigation
- Guy M. Burns – Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy), Litigation – Securities, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
- Susan Carlson – Tax Law
- Mary Jo Carney – Real Estate Law
- William T. Conroy – Corporate Law, Real Estate Law
- Joseph Covelli – Real Estate Law
- Lawrence Dougherty – Commercial Litigation
- Colleen Flynn – Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Andrew Ford – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Jeffrey Gad – Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Joseph Gaynor – Real Estate Law
- Holger Gleim – Trusts and Estates
- Alberto F. Gomez, – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Ryan Griffin – Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Real Estate, and Real Estate Law
- Vitauts Gulbis – Tax Law
- Thomas Hunt – Real Estate Law
- Scott Ilgenfritz – Commercial Litigation, Litigation Securities, Litigation Trust and Estates
- Frank Jakes – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Leonard Johnson – Real Estate Law
- Michael Little – Trusts and Estates
- Michael Magidson – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Health Care Law
- Michael Markham – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Zachary Messa – Trademark Law
- Michael Nolan II – Real Estate Law and Trusts and Estates
- Edward J. Peterson III – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Steven Pratico – Commercial Litigation
- Wallace Pope, Jr. – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation and Controversy – Tax
- Robert Potter – Commercial Litigation
- James Powell – Real Estate Law
- Darryl Richards – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Labor and Employment, and Litigation – Real Estate
- Peter Rivellini – Tax Law
- Joseph N. Rugg – Health Care Law
- Charles Samarkos – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Philip Shasteen – Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Securities Regulation
- Thomas Smith – Health Care Law
- Lauren A. Taylor – Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Litigation Trusts and Estates, Tax Law
- Patrick Traber – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
- Joan M. Vecchioli – Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation Labor & Employment
- Joseph Weissman – Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, and Trademark Law
- Rachael Wood – Employment Law – Individuals
Eleven named to Ones to Watch in America 2025
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.
- Christopher R. Dingman – Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
- Nicholas Grimaudo – Corporate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
- Caitlein Jammo – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, and Real Estate Law
- Adrienne Kendall – Real Estate Law
- Jamie Klapholz – Administrative / Regulatory Law, Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, and Health Care Law
- Matthew Kochinski – Commercial Litigation
- Luke Markham – Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law
- Caitlin Powell – Trusts and Estates
- Grant Sittig – Corporate Law, Tax Law
- JD Zarate – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- Christopher White – Corporate Law and Real Estate Law
About Best Lawyers
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected lawyer ranking service in the world. For 40 years, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers awards are published in leading local, regional and national publications across the globe.
Established 50 years ago in 1973, Johnson Pope remains committed to delivering the highest quality legal services to our clients.