The Best Lawyers in America® has named 93 Husch Blackwell lawyers to its 2026 "Ones to Watch" listing, 35 of whom are being listed for the first time. The "Ones to Watch" list, established in 2020, recognizes attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.
*Denotes Ones to Watch honorees listed for the first time.
ARIZONA
Phoenix
- Andrew McNichol – Commercial Litigation
- *Brendan Melander – Commercial Litigation; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- *Brandon Stein – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles
- Hilda Akopyan – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Allison Scott – Labor and Employment Law – Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Rochelle Smith – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
COLORADO
Denver
- *Megan Beebe – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- *Maria Bock – Corporate Law
- Megan Fugier – Insurance Law; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
- Heather Gasper – Real Estate Law
FLORIDA
Palmetto Bay
- Caitlyn McCutcheon – Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
GEORGIA
Atlanta
- Baylee Culverhouse – Health Care Law
ILLINOIS
Chicago
- *Mary Deweese – Education Law
- *AJ Fabianczyk – Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law
- *Jon Micah Goeller – Energy Law; Environmental Law
- Claire LaFont – Real Estate Law
- Samuel M. Mitchell – Labor and Employment Law - Employee; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Jennifer Ralph – Labor and Employment Law - Management
- *Kayla Schmidt – Commercial Litigation; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
LOUISIANA
New Orleans
- Chelsea Gaudin Favret – Litigation - Environmental; Litigation - Labor and Employment; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Jordan Nixon – Commercial Litigation; Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendant; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston
- Samuel Lee – Energy Law, Real Estate Law
- *Mara Pollets – Energy Law, Real Estate Law
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis
- Natalia Kruse – Banking and Finance Law; Commercial Litigation
MISSOURI
Jefferson City
- *Elizabeth LaFoe – Health Care Law
Kansas City
- *Kenyon Briggs – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Drew Canning – Health Care Law
- *McKinley Duke – Trusts and Estates
- *Sierra Faler – Commercial Litigation
- Sara Fevurly – Commercial Litigation
- *A.J. James – Education Law
- Rachel Kim-Walter – Labor and Employment Law - Employee; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Brynna Krough-Deaton – Energy Law; Real Estate Law
- *Jessica McDowell – Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Nikki Multer – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Bryce Navarro – Banking and Finance Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- *Kip Randall – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Mary Sprouse – Corporate Law, Energy Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- *Courtney Steelman – Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- *Lucas Whited – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Springfield
- Christina Brunty – Commercial Litigation; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- *Ryan Olson – Commercial Litigation
St. Louis
- Lazaro Aguiar – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Molly Dugan – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Brandon Hall – Corporate Law
- *David Human, Jr. – Real Estate Law
- Katie Jenner – Real Estate Law
- Mary Kate Mullen – Commercial Litigation
- Theresa Mullineaux – Commercial Litigation; Education Law
- Nicholas Scholz – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Trusts and Estates
- *Shmuel Shulman – Commercial Litigation
- Sydney Thomas – Alternative Dispute Resolution; Commercial Litigation
- Ryan White – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
- Sarah Zimmerman – Commercial Litigation
NEBRASKA
Omaha
- *Amanda JoLee – Commercial Litigation; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Casey Kidwell – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia
- Marisa De Feo – Commercial Litigation
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga
- *Adam Buddenbohn – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs
Nashville
- Shelby Lomax – Banking and Finance Law; Financial Services Regulation Law
- Ryan Wautlet – Tax Law; Trusts and Estates
TEXAS
Austin
- *Lauren Collins – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Tara LeDay – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Taylor Wood – Real Estate Law
- Alaina Zermeno – Energy Law
Dallas
- Alex Brakefield – Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Colin Byrne – Litigation - Trusts and Estates
- Andrew Katon – Labor and Employment Law – Employee; Labor and Employment Law – Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- *Megan Mainiero – Real Estate Law
- *Cooper Page – Labor and Employment Law - Management
- Tom Zavala - Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Houston
- Jarett Dillard – Construction Law; Litigation - Construction
- Quinncy McNeal – Litigation - Construction
- *Brenda Phelps – Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
WASHINGTON, D.C.
- Joshua Gostel - Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation - Construction; Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs
- *Jamie Nakoa McCabe – Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
- Julia Kopcienski – Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- *Danny Solomon – Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation
- *Ryan Spraker – Education Law
WISCONSIN
Madison
- *Catherine Albrecht-Wiese – Banking and Finance Law
- Joseph Diedrich – Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Communications Law
- *Jordan Hughes – Corporate Law
- Mary Parmeter – Banking and Finance Law; Real Estate Law
Milwaukee
- Margaret Brend – Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Thomas Chmielnik – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Catarina Colón – Labor and Employment Law - Employee; Labor and Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Angela Harden – Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Real Estate
- *Brian Laning – Intellectual Property Law; Patent Law
- *Blake Nold – Commercial Litigation; Construction Law
- *Rachel Paulus – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Adam Roundy – Banking and Finance Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law
- Jason Smathers – Commercial Litigation; Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- McKenzie Tibbetts – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law; Tax Law
- Kelsey Toledo – Education Law; Health Care Law
The firm also has more than 280 attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 listing, which is based on a national survey involving detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.