(Photo: PWP Event Photographers) 2023 Southeastern Legal Awards Honorees Announced
The honors will be presented at a gala on June 22 at Flourish Atlanta.
April 20, 2023 at 04:26 PM
4 minute read
The Daily Report is pleased to announce its winners and finalists for the 2023 Southeastern Legal Awards.
The honors will be presented at a gala on June 22 at Flourish Atlanta. In June, we'll publish a special section, further highlighting these skilled attorneys and their important accomplishments. We'll announce the Attorney of the Year and Law Firm of the Year winners from among this group of three finalists at the awards gala.
Previously known as the Georgia Legal Awards, the program was expanded this year to include Georgia plus North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
The award winners and finalists are:
Diversity Initiative: Adams and Reese and King & Spalding
In-House Impact Award: Rachel George of Aaron's
Law Firm of the Year Finalists: King & Spalding, McGuireWoods and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Legal Innovators:
Larry Bridgesmith of DASH4Law DAO/Vanderbilt
Jonathan Friedman and Shane O'Neill of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial
John Martin of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Heather McCullough of Society 54
Sarah Sawvell of Honeywell
Litigation Department of the Year – Small/Midsize Firms: Caplan Cobb
Most Innovative Law Firms: Hall & Lampros, McGuireWoods, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders
Attorney of the Year Finalists:
Jonathan Ellis of McGuireWoods
Parker Miller of Beasley Allen
Robert "Bob" Wilson Jr. of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Best Mentors:
Kimberly Barone Baden of Motley Rice
Denise Gunter of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Daniel Huynh of Morris, Manning & Martin
Rose Jones of King & Spalding
Jon Jordan of King & Spalding
Johanna Jumper of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
Courtney Noce of Greenberg Traurig
Jocelyn Mallette of McGuireWoods
Adria Perez of Kilpatrick Townsend
Distinguished Leaders:
Kevin Abernethy of University of Georgia
Mark Carter of Taylor English Duma
Mark Chalos of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
David Esquivel of Bass, Berry & Sims
Greg Kilpatrick of McGuireWoods
John McDonald of McGuireWoods
Steven Meckler of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick
Tracy Ann Moore-Grant of Patterson Moore Butler
Mike Rafi of the Rafi Law Firm
Kevin Sharp of Sanford Heisler Sharp
Joseph Silver of DLA Piper
Lester Tate of Akin and Tate
Mike Terry of Bondurant Mixson & Elmore
Jim Vann of Dentons Sirote
Rocky Wilkins of Morgan & Morgan
Ricardo Woods of Burr & Forman
Lifetime Achievers:
Sarah Borders of King & Spalding
Randy Hafer of Kilpatrick Townsend
Jim Hardin of Offit Kurman
Harrison Marshall of McGuireWoods
Jill Steinberg of Baker Donelson
Most Effective Deal-Makers:
Billy Ching of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
G. Kirk Domescik of Duane Morris
Kate Hardey of McGuireWoods
John Kennedy of James Bates Brannan Groover
Wes Misson of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Matt Peurach of Morris, Manning & Martin
Gene Price of Burr & Forman
Joseph Rice of Motley Rice
Evan Rosenberg of Morgan & Morgan
On the Rise:
Marissa Coleman of Arnall Golden Gregory
Jackson "Jad" Dial of Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial
Chris Dickson of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Anna Altizer Dix of Troutman Pepper
Stephanie Nullman Eban of Thrift McLemore
Nick Foreste of Morris, Manning & Martin
Matthew Friedlander of Webb Daniel Friedlander
Rachel Friedman of Burr & Forman
Jasmine Gardner of McGuireWoods
Caroline Gieser of Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Meagan Griffin of Paul Hastings
TaCara Harris of King & Spalding
Ashley Heintz of Jones Day
Edward Ivey of Moore & Van Allen
Andrew Kaufman of Lieff Cabraser
Jeffrey Kelly of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Meredith Kingsley of Alston & Bird
Andrew Knowlton of Hall Booth Smith
Temitope Leyimu of Motley Rice
Benjamin Little of Dentons Sirote
Molly Lovedale of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
Jocelyn Mitnaul Mallette of McGuireWoods
Emily McGowan of Alston & Bird
Louis Mendez of Bressler Amery & Ross
Mary Alexander Myers of Jones Day
Erica Opitz of Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Jonathan Parente of Alston & Bird
Adam Peoples of Hall Booth Smith
Alex Peurach of Alston & Bird
Jonathan Porter of Husch Blackwell
Sarah Primrose of King & Spalding
Gautam Reddy of Kilpatrick Townsend
Donna Tillis of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
Laura Wagner of Hunton Andrews Kurth
For more information on the awards gala or to purchase tickets, visit https://bit.ly/43Qt9CN.
This article was updated at 8:29 p.m. April 27 with the correct spelling of Jasmine Gardner's last name.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Georgia Supreme Court Honoring Troutman Pepper Partner, Former Chief Justice
2 minute read
About the Awards: Southeastern Legal Awards Q&A with Regional Managing Editor Michael Marciano
'Strategy, Brains, Creativity and Passion' Drive Lori Cohen of Greenberg Traurig
Law Firms Mentioned
- Adams and Reese
- Alston & Bird
- Hunton Andrews Kurth
- Arnall Golden Gregory
- Bass, Berry & Sims
- Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.
- Bondurant Mixson & Elmore
- Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
- Bressler Amery Ross
- Burr & Forman
- Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft
- DLA Piper
- Dentons
- Duane Morris
- Greenberg Traurig
- Hall Booth Smith
- Husch Blackwell
- Jones Day
- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
- King & Spalding
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Lieff Cabraser
- McGuireWoods
- Moore Van Allen
- Morgan & Morgan
- Morris Manning Martin
- Motley Rice
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough
- Offit Kurman
- Paul Hastings
- Pepper Hamilton
- Shook Hardy & Bacon
- Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick
- Taylor English
- Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins
Trending Stories
- 1Uber Files RICO Suit Against Plaintiff-Side Firms Alleging Fraudulent Injury Claims
- 2The Law Firm Disrupted: Scrutinizing the Elephant More Than the Mouse
- 3Inherent Diminished Value Damages Unavailable to 3rd-Party Claimants, Court Says
- 4Pa. Defense Firm Sued by Client Over Ex-Eagles Player's $43.5M Med Mal Win
- 5Losses Mount at Morris Manning, but Departing Ex-Chair Stays Bullish About His Old Firm's Future
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
