Richards Layton Tops The Best Lawyers in America Rankings
August 15, 2017
Firm News
WILMINGTON, Delaware (August 15, 2017) – Richards, Layton & Finger tops the 2018 Best Lawyers in America rankings with more attorneys named on the Best Lawyers list, more attorneys chosen as Lawyers of the Year, and more top-listed practice areas than any other Delaware firm.
Fifty-six Richards Layton directors have been named in The Best Lawyers in America, and the firm is ranked first in Delaware in seven practice areas: Appellate Practice, Bankruptcy Litigation, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, and Securitization and Structured Finance Law.
In addition, seven firm attorneys—F. Peter Conaty Jr., Mark Gentile, Jeffrey Moyer, Srinivas Raju, Chad Shandler, William Wade, and Gregory Williams—have been selected as 2018 Wilmington, Delaware Lawyers of the Year, an award presented to one outstanding lawyer in each practice area in a designated metropolitan area.
“We are proud that Richards Layton has so many talented, first-rate lawyers who have built the firm’s excellent reputation across many practice areas,” says Gregory Varallo, president of the firm. “We’re honored that our attorneys continue to be recognized for their outstanding skills and exceptional service.”
The Richards Layton attorneys named in The Best Lawyers in America and the practice areas in which they are recognized are:
Michael Allen – Corporate Law
Paul Altman – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law
Stephen Bigler – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Donald Bussard – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
C. Malcolm Cochran IV – Commercial Litigation
Mark Collins – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation
F. Peter Conaty Jr. – Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
Fred Cottrell – Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law, Trademark Law
Matthew Criscimagna – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
Brock Czeschin – Corporate Law
Doneene Damon – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
Catherine Dearlove – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
Daniel DeFranceschi – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation
Raymond DiCamillo – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation
Daniel Dreisbach – Commercial Litigation
Richard Facciolo – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
Kelly Farnan – Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation
Steven Fineman – Intellectual Property Litigation
Jesse Finkelstein – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
Anne Foster – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation
Mark Gentile – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
William Haubert – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance 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
Jennifer Jauffret – Commercial Litigation, Labor and Employment Litigation
Cynthia Kaiser – Commercial Transactions/UCC Law, Privacy and Data Security Law
Bernard Kelley – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law
Daniel Klein (retired) – Real Estate Law
John H. Knight – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Rudolf Koch – Commercial Litigation
Robert Krapf – Real Estate 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
Elisa Erlenbach Maas – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
Eric Mazie – Securitization and Structured Finance Law
Michael Merchant – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Jeffrey Moyer – Commercial Litigation, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, Patent Law
Samuel Nolen – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
Mark Purpura – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
Srinivas Raju – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law
Blake Rohrbacher – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law
Richard Rollo – Corporate Law
Lisa Schmidt – Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation
Chad Shandler – Intellectual Property Litigation, Trust and Estates Litigation
Russell Silberglied – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation
Donald Sparks II – Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
Robert Stearn Jr. – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bankruptcy Litigation
Stanford Stevenson III – Tax Law
Melissa Stubenberg – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
Sara Toner – Real Estate Law
Gregory Varallo – Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation
William Wade – Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, Trusts and Estates Litigation
Robert Whetzel – Environmental Law, Environmental Litigation
Gregory P. Williams – Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Litigation, Securities/Capital Markets Law
John Mark Zeberkiewicz – Corporate Law, Corporate Governance Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
About The Best Lawyers in America
Best Lawyers, the oldest peer review publication in the legal profession, compiles its annual list of distinguished lawyers by conducting national surveys in which thousands of lawyers provide substantive evaluations of their peers.
About the Firm
Richards, Layton & Finger, Delaware’s largest law firm and one of its oldest, helps 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 restructuring, and litigation.