72 Richards, Layton & Finger Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers
August 21, 2025
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WILMINGTON, Delaware (August 21, 2025) – Seventy-two Richards, Layton & Finger attorneys are named in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, more lawyers than from any other Delaware firm. Best Lawyers has also selected four Richards Layton attorneys as Wilmington, Delaware Lawyer of the Year in five practice areas, an award presented to one outstanding lawyer in each specialty in a metropolitan area:
- Mark Collins in Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Kelly Farnan in Litigation – Patent
- Mark Gentile in Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Jennifer Jauffret in Employment Law – Management
“We are proud to have so many of our attorneys recognized by Best Lawyers in America,” said Paul Heath, president of Richards Layton. “This honor reflects their exceptional talent, dedication to clients, and commitment to the highest standards of our profession.”
The Richards Layton attorneys named in The Best Lawyers in America are:
- Michael Allen – Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law
- Paul Altman – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law
- Stephen Bigler– Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Robert Burns – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Malcolm Cochran IV – Commercial Litigation
- Susan Hannigan Cohen – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Mark Collins – Banking and Finance Law; Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Peter Conaty Jr. – Tax Law; Trusts and Estates
- Frederick Cottrell – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Patent; Patent Law; Trademark Law
- Brock Czeschin – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Doneene Damon – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Catherine Dearlove – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions
- Daniel DeFranceschi – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Raymond DiCamillo – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions
- Daniel Dreisbach – Commercial Litigation
- Richard Facciolo – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Kelly Farnan – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Patent
- Steven Fineman – Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Anne Foster – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions
- Kevin Gallagher – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Mark Gentile – Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Kevin Gross – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- William Haubert – Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Paul Heath – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- John Hendershot – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Tara Hoffner – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Travis Hunter – Commercial Litigation
- Jennifer Jauffret – Commercial Litigation; Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Cynthia Kaiser – Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
- Cory Kandestin – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bernard Kelley – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law
- Beth Gansen Knight – Trusts and Estates
- John H. Knight – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Rudolf Koch – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions
- Mark Kurtz – Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
- Gregory Ladner – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law
- James Leyden Jr.– Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law; Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Claire Love– Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Stephen Lukes Jr. – Commercial Transactions / UCC Law
- Elisa Erlenbach Maas – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Michael Merchant – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Katharine Lester Mowery – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Jeffrey Moyer – Commercial Litigation; Copyright Law; Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Patent; Patent Law
- Stephanie Norman – Corporate Law
- Matthew Perri – Corporate Law
- J. Weston Peterson – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Mark Purpura – Banking and Finance Law; Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Financial Services Regulation Law
- Srinivas Raju – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law
- Marcos Ramos – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Jason Rawnsley – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Blake Rohrbacher – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law
- Richard Rollo – Corporate Law
- Lisa Schmidt – Commercial Litigation; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions
- Chad Shandler – Litigation – Intellectual Property; Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Zachary Shapiro – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Russell Silberglied – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Donald Sparks II – Tax Law; Trusts and Estates
- Robert Stearn Jr. – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Amanda Steele – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Stanford Stevenson III – Tax Law
- Melissa Stubenberg – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Sara Wagner – Real Estate Law
- Robert Whetzel – Environmental Law; Litigation – Environmental
- Gregory Williams – Appellate Practice; Bet-the-Company Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Litigation – Mergers and Acquisitions; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Securities / Capital Markets Law
- William Yemc – Commercial Transactions / UCC Law; Insurance Law
- John Mark Zeberkiewicz – Corporate Governance Law; Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law
The Richards Layton attorneys named in Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” are:
- Edward Little – Insurance Law
- Brian Mammarella – Corporate Governance and Compliance Law
- Janice Matier – Trusts and Estates
- Sara Metzler – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Philip Micha – Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental, Real Estate Law
- John O’Toole – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Corporate Law
Best Lawyers bases their rankings on the peer reviews of attorneys in the same geographical and practice area.
About Richards, Layton & Finger
Richards, Layton & Finger has been defining Delaware law since 1899. Delaware’s largest law firm and one of its oldest, Richards Layton helps sophisticated clients navigate complex issues and the intricacies of Delaware law. We advise global companies, business partnerships, leading financial institutions, local businesses, and individuals across a wide range of practices, including corporate law, alternative entities, commercial law, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, intellectual property, tax, trusts and estates, commercial real estate, and litigation.