Eighty-six attorneys from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, the legal profession’s oldest and most respected peer-review publication. Attorneys from 10 of Brownstein’s offices were recognized in 40 different law categories ranging from bankruptcy, litigation and gaming to corporate, real estate and government relations. They included:
- Steven E. Abelman, Litigation – Bankruptcy
- Pacifico Agnellini, Gaming Law
- Adam J. Agron, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law
- Peter H. Ajemian, Copyright Law, Trademark Law
- Nicole R. Ament, Real Estate Law
- Sarah Auchterlonie, Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Compliance Law
- Richard B. Benenson, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Compliance Law, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants
- Gregory W. Berger, Tax Law
- Melissa Kuipers Blake, Government Relations Practice
- Norman Brownstein, Government Relations Practice
- Adam K. Bult, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction
- Eric R. Burris, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
- Justin L. Cohen, Commercial Litigation
- Beth Collins, Land Use and Zoning Law
- David A. Curfman, Real Estate Law
- Diane C. De Felice, Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law
- Steven C. Demby, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Marc Diamant, Real Estate Law
- Amy J. Diaz, Real Estate Law
- William J. Downey III, Gaming Law
- Jason R. Dunn, Commercial Litigation, Government Relations Practice
- Affie Ellis, Native American Law
- Frank M. Flansburg III, Commercial Litigation
- Wayne F. Forman, Land Use and Zoning Law, Water Law
- Matthew D. Francis, Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Douglas J. Friednash, Government Relations Practice
- Emily R. Garnett, Government Relations Practice
- Phillip A. Gosch, Real Estate Law
- Erin E. Grolle, Copyright Law, Trademark Law
- Benno M. Guggenheimer, Patent Law
- Dulcinea Z. Hanuschak, Litigation – Environmental, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
- Stephanie Osler Hastings, Water Law
- S. Craig Hemenway, Patent Law
- Bradley J. Herrema, Water Law
- Christopher M. Humes, Litigation – ERISA
- Aaron M. Hyatt, Real Estate Law
- Bruce A. James, Real Estate Law
- Gregory M. Janssen, Corporate Compliance Law
- Carrie E. Johnson, Commercial Litigation
- Robert Kaufmann, Real Estate Law
- Michael W. King, Corporate Law, Health Care Law
- Albert Z. Kovacs, Business Organizations (Including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Marc S. Lampkin, Government Relations Practice
- Mitchell J. Langberg, First Amendment Law, Media Law
- Kirk B. Lenhard, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation
- Mark F. Leonard, Family Law
- Blair E. Lichtenfels, Real Estate Law
- Avi Loewenstein, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Bryce Loveland, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation – ERISA
- Janae Magee, Real Estate Law
- Mark J. Mathews, Environmental Law
- Gino A. Maurelli, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Andrew Meyers, Construction Law, Real Estate Law
- Rebecca L. Miltenberger, Real Estate Law
- Alfred E. Mottur, Communications Law
- Sarah A. Murray, Gaming Law, Native American Law
- Christopher L. Ottele, Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Angela Turriciano Otto, Real Estate Law
- Michael J. Pankow, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Elizabeth D. Paulsen, Corporate Law
- Jonathan G. Pray, Litigation – Construction
- Mark L. Pryor, Government Relations Practice
- Caitlin Quander, Construction Law, Real Estate Law
- Patrick J. Reilly, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation
- Airina L. Rodrigues, Copyright Law, Trademark Law
- Christine A. Samsel, Employment Law – Management
- Robert J. Saperstein, Water Law
- Scott Scherer, Gaming Law
- Frank A. Schreck, Gaming Law
- Ellen L. Schulhofer, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law
- Adam P. Segal, Litigation – ERISA
- George G. Short, Trusts and Estates
- Steven O. Sims, Water Law
- Scott S. Slater, Water Law
- Ryan A. Smith, Native American Law
- David M. Spaulding, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Amy M. Steinfeld, Water Law
- Nancy A. Strelau, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Russell W. Sullivan, Tax Law
- Jamie L. Thalgott, Real Estate Law
- Gregory A. Vallin, Real Estate Law
- Sonia Church Vermeys, Administrative/Regulatory Law, Corporate Law, Gaming Law, Land Use and Zoning Law
- Kevin P. Walsh, Litigation – Construction
- Carolynne C. White, Government Relations Practice, Land Use and Zoning Law, Municipal Law, Real Estate Law
- Ashley B. Wingfield, Real Estate Law
- Arthur Zorio, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property
To see which attorneys were recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” recipients, click here.
In addition, 31 attorneys from seven of the firm’s offices were listed in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America in 20 different law categories. They included:
- Jena Shoaf Acos, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental, Municipal Law, Natural Resources Law
- Matthew C. Arentsen, Commercial Litigation
- Courtney E. Bartkus, Commercial Litigation
- James A. Carter, Land Use and Zoning Law, Real Estate Law
- Travis F. Chance, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Lance T. Collins, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Jessica L. Diaz, Energy Law, Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Environmental, Natural Resources Law
- Emily L. Dyer, Commercial Litigation
- Erin Elliott, Land Use and Zoning Law
- Elisabeth Esposito, Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Environment, Natural Resource Law
- Andrew J. Freyer, Intellectual Property Law
- Lucas Garcia, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Litigation – Securities
- Salma G. Granich, Corporate Law
- Shane C. Griffin, Real Estate Law
- Christopher R. Guillen, Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Environmental, Natural Resources Law
- Justin M. Hahn, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Health Care Law
- Mackenzie Warren Kay, Government Relations Practice
- Lindsey A. McDougall, Intellectual Property Law
- Jia D. Meeks, Government Relations Practice, Land Use and Zoning Law
- David B. Meschke, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Securities
- Navid Morè, Real Estate Law
- Debashree (Reema) Nandy, Commercial Litigation
- Trayton D. Oakes, Administrative/Regulatory Law
- Colin Oldberg, Tax Law
- Charlotte S. Phelps, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Julia E. Rhine, Energy Law
- Paige Samblanet, Environmental Law
- Connor H. Shea, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Zachary Siegel, Real Estate Law
- Michael P. Smith, Energy Law
- Eric D. Walther, Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation
Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which tens of thousands of leading attorneys cast almost 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”