Legal 500 has launched its latest US elite rankings, recognising some of the top lawyers across key practice areas in the cities of Philadelphia and Atlanta and the state of Ohio.
The new rankings are the largest yet in the US elite project, with 309 lawyers ranked from 117 firms, including 109 firms that had not previously been ranked by Legal 500.
The US elite recognises the top lawyers at firms outside of the global elite, with the latest city rankings coming on the back of the launch of the New York, Chicago and Washington DC rankings in February and the Boston, Miami and Charlotte rankings in April, as well as the full Legal 500 US guide, which was published earlier this month.
The rankings cover eight practice areas in total: commercial disputes, corporate and M&A, and intellectual property in Philadelphia; commercial disputes, corporate and M&A, and finance and restructuring in Ohio; and commercial disputes and corporate and M&A in Atlanta.
Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered national firm Thompson Hine has the highest number of individual rankings, with 12; 11 in Ohio and one in Atlanta. Philadelphia-bred firms Blank Rome and Duane Morris are tied for second place, each with nine rankings.
A further three firms have more than seven individual rankings, with Smith, Gambrell & Russell the top performer in the Atlanta rankings.
Firms with most individual lawyer rankings
| Firm | Rankings | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Thompson Hine | 12 | Ohio: commercial disputes (5), corporate and M&A (4), finance and restructuring (2); Atlanta: commercial disputes (1) |
| Blank Rome | 9 | Philadelphia: commercial disputes (2), corporate and M&A (3), IP (3); Ohio: commercial disputes (1) |
| Duane Morris | 9 | Philadelphia: commercial disputes (3), corporate and M&A (3), IP (3) |
| Keating Muething | 8 | Ohio: commercial disputes (3), corporate and M&A (3), finance and restructuring (2) |
| Ballard Spahr | 7 | Philadelphia: commercial disputes (3), corporate and M&A (3), IP (1) |
| Smith, Gambrell & Russell | 7 | Atlanta: commercial disputes (4), corporate and M&A (3) |
Meanwhile, three firms have four or more top-tier individual rankings. Thompson Hine is in first place, with five rankings, tied with Philadelphia-based national firm Ballard Spahr.
The final top-performing firm for tier one rankings is Atlanta-based Krevolin & Horst, which has four lawyers ranked in tier one across the Atlanta rankings.
Firms with at least four tier 1 individual rankings
| Firm | Lawyer name | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Ballard Spahr | Stephen Kastenberg | Philadelphia: commercial disputes |
| Jason Leckerman | Philadelphia: commercial disputes | |
| Brian Doerner | Philadelphia: corporate and M&A | |
| Gregory Seltzer | Philadelphia: corporate and M&A | |
| Lynn Rzonca | Philadelphia: intellectual property | |
| Thompson Hine | Edward G. Babbitt | Ohio: commercial disputes |
| Will Henry | Ohio: corporate and M&A | |
| Tony Kuhel | Ohio: corporate and M&A | |
| Louis F. Solimine | Ohio: finance and restructuring | |
| Curtis L. Tuggle | Ohio: finance and restructuring | |
| Krevolin & Horst | Allegra Lawrence-Hardy | Atlanta: commercial disputes |
| Joyce Gist Lewis | Atlanta: commercial disputes | |
| Lovita Tandy | Atlanta: commercial disputes | |
| Cristiane Wolfe | Atlanta: corporate and M&A |
Legal 500 is continuing to build out its US elite coverage, with rankings covering key markets from Austin, Dallas, and Houston to Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Check the US elite page to learn more.
