The Best Lawyers in America® has selected 11 Kutak Rock partners as “Lawyer of the Year” for 2024. This designation goes above and beyond traditional inclusion and is based upon the highest overall peer feedback in a specific practice area and metropolitan region. The “Lawyer of the Year” distinction reflects an extraordinary level of respect that an attorney has earned among his or her peers. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a "Lawyer of the Year" award.
The firm’s “Lawyer of the Year” designations for 2024 are:
Arkansas
Fayetteville
Rayburn W. Green: Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Mr. Green commonly represents financial institutions in both major and ordinary transactions. As lead counsel in major transactions, he represents financial institutions in mergers and acquisitions with other financial institutions. Throughout his career, Mr. Green has assisted clients with complex business transactions including mergers and acquisitions, stock purchases, bulk asset purchases, and primary asset purchases.
L. Kyle Heffley: Litigation – Real Estate
Mr. Heffley focuses his practice on trial work with a special emphasis on healthcare litigation representing numerous healthcare providers in malpractice-related litigation and before licensing boards. He provides extensive experience in real estate litigation, business disputes and employment law matters.
Little Rock
C. David McDaniel: Securities Regulation
Mr. McDaniel regularly represents publicly traded and privately held companies across multiple industries in various capital markets, transactional and compliance matters, including public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures.
David A. Smith: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Mr. Smith concentrates his practice in federal income tax matters, particularly as they relate to complex business and financing transactions. He regularly counsels public and private companies, partnerships, corporate entities, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), pension funds and healthcare organizations.
Missouri
Springfield
Dan R. Nelson – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Mr. Nelson practices in the areas of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, business and commercial litigation, banking and financial institutions. He has represented secured and unsecured creditors and trustees under Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Randell D. Wallace – Real Estate Law
Mr. Wallace concentrates his practice on counseling local, regional and national developers, lenders, healthcare and educational institutions in real estate acquisition and divestiture, planning and zoning matters, economic development and redevelopment incentives, lending transactions, foreclosure, bankruptcy and workouts, leasing, and condominium formation and operation.
Nebraska
Omaha
Thomas H. Dahlk: Litigation – Securities
As a trial lawyer who focuses on cases involving complex business transactions, Mr. Dahlk has successfully obtained verdicts for clients in federal and state court and provided litigation strategy and multidistrict litigation management for clients in the securities industry.
Matthew M. Enenbach: Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Mr. Enenbach represents designers, manufacturers, sellers, and others in high exposure and complex product liability and personal injury matters throughout the United States arising from explosions and fires, as well as industrial, construction and trucking accidents. Mr. Enenbach has litigated cases involving industrial, automotive, agricultural, recreational, household and energy-related products.
Bartholomew L. McLeay: Appellate Practice
Mr. McLeay’s practice for over three decades has focused on major commercial litigation, including breach of contract, class action, business torts and intellectual property matters and specialty experience in many different industries, including energy, financial services, construction and agribusiness. Mr. McLeay has been involved in numerous bench and jury trials, serving as lead trial counsel and appellate counsel.
John P. Passarelli: Franchise Law; Litigation – Intellectual Property
Mr. Passarelli concentrates his national practice on complex commercial litigation, at both the trial and appellate levels, with an emphasis on cases involving antitrust, intellectual property and information technology. He has tried bench and jury trials in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including complex commercial cases.
Jeffrey T. Wegner: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Mr. Wegner has 30 years of experience representing banks, institutional lenders, landlords and lessors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. He has appeared in business bankruptcy cases in over 40 jurisdictions on behalf of the firm’s clients. Mr. Wegner is a recognized expert in bankruptcy law.
About Best Lawyers
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