Attorneys from Denver, Kansas City, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis Offices Listed
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has announced its 2012 Lawyers of the Year selections. Twelve Husch Blackwell attorneys from the firm's Denver, Kansas City, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis offices made the list.
From the Denver office:
Jeffrey A. Chase has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Denver Bet-the-Company Litigation Lawyer of the Year. Chase's practice focuses on Business Litigation including securities, oil and gas, intellectual property, telecommunications, banking, media and legal malpractice. Chase is an American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow and one of Colorado's most prominent litigators, having acquired one of the largest verdicts in Colorado history for an international cable TV company.
From the Kansas City, Mo., office:
Steven F. Carman has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Kansas City-MO Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law Lawyer of the Year. A member of the firm's Partner Board and Chair of the Corporate Department, Carman delivers strategic advice to boards of directors and senior executives of publicly traded operating companies and investment management firms. He has structured mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and venture capital transactions in excess of $5 billion.
Curt J. Chase has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Kansas City-MO Health Care Law Lawyer of the Year. Chase is Chair of the firm's Healthcare Department and a member of the firm's Partner Board. He has developed a national healthcare practice providing transactional, regulatory and compliance guidance for hospitals, physicians and other types of healthcare providers. He also routinely serves as outside counsel to hospitals and health systems regarding complex hospital/physician integration arrangements.
Larry L. McMullen has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Kansas City-MO Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants Lawyer of the Year. Having successfully represented surgeons and physicians in Missouri and Kansas for over 40 years, McMullen has achieved many defense victories for doctors accused of injuring patients by substandard medical care. In addition, McMullen has served on the Missouri Civil Rules Committee and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
John R. Phillips has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Kansas City-MO Mediation Lawyer of the Year. A Partner in the Labor & Employment Department, Phillips acts as a neutral mediator and arbitrator in commercial, healthcare and a variety of class action matters. Due to his extensive mediation experience, he recently published an article in Ingram's Magazine about the benefits and risks of mediation and arbitration. Phillips is also an American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Distinguished Fellow and a member of the College of Commercial Arbitrators and the American College of Labor and Employment Law.
From the Memphis, Tenn., office:
Herbert B. "Bert" Wolf, Jr. has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 Memphis Tax Law Lawyer of the Year. Wolf concentrates his practice in the areas of Corporate law and Tax planning for public and private businesses and individuals, providing services in areas ranging from business mergers, sales and acquisitions to individual estate planning, healthcare transactions and tax disputes of all kinds. He regularly consults with clients concerning operational matters such as owner disputes, employment and non-compete agreements, aircraft acquisitions and operations, tax structuring of real estate transactions and business operations tax planning.
From the St. Louis office:
Craig S. Biesterfeld has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Real Estate Law Lawyer of the Year. Biesterfeld has extensive experience in commercial Real Estate & Development law, including issues related to acquisition, leasing and development, zoning and land use regulation and government regulation and permitting. This is the second straight year Biesterfield made this list; last year he was named Best Lawyers' 2011 St. Louis Land Use & Zoning Lawyer of the Year.
Dave L. Cornfeld has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Tax Law Lawyer of the Year. Cornfeld advises clients in the areas of Tax and Trusts & Estates law regarding lifetime financial planning involving special needs of children, spouses and financial planning related to divorce. He also advises clients on estates and trusts in federal estate tax audits and litigation. Cornfeld served as an adjunct tax professor at Washington University's School of Law for more than 20 years.
Alan E. Popkin has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Litigation – Antitrust Lawyer of the Year. Engaged in trial practice for nearly 50 years, Popkin has extensive experience in defense of product failure cases and a variety of antitrust, corporate, personal injury, securities and tax litigation in various state and federal courts throughout the United States. Additionally, he is an American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow.
Maury B. Poscover has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year. Poscover provides counsel to middle-market and multinational companies alike, assisting with mergers, acquisitions and disposition of their businesses. He also represents commercial financial institutions on a variety of matters and handles financial restructurings and advising on lender liability avoidance. Last year, Poscover was named as Best Lawyers' 2011 St. Louis Equipment Finance Lawyer of the Year.
David G. Richardson has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Land Use & Zoning Law Lawyer of the Year. Chair of the firm's Real Estate & Development Department and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Richardson represents developers and municipalities in land use, real estate and related litigation matters. He advises clients on various development issues including zoning, redevelopment, Tax Increment Financing, annexation, public financing, economic development and incentives, and capital improvements and facilities financing. Richardson has also drafted subdivision, zoning, impact fee, growth management systems and other development regulations for over two dozen municipalities. In addition, he has represented cities in litigation on annexation, eminent domain and inverse condemnation matters.
John R. Short has been named Best Lawyers' 2012 St. Louis Securities/Capital Markets Law – Defendants Lawyer of the Year. A firm Partner since 1975, Short's considerable experience includes advising broker-dealers and investment advisers on securities regulatory requirements and represents clients in investigations by securities regulatory authorities. He also advises issuers and broker-dealers in securities transactions exempt from registration under federal and state securities laws and entities in merger and acquisition transactions.
Best Lawyers designates “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The current 18th edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2012) is based on more than 3.9 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high survey ratings by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism and integrity.