The Daily Report and Law.com are pleased to announce its 2025 winners and finalists for the third annual Southeastern Legal Awards. Previously known as the Georgia Legal Awards, the program was expanded to include Georgia plus North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
The honorees will be recognized at a gala on May 1st at The Whitley, a Luxury Collection Hotel in Atlanta. In June, we’ll publish a special section, further highlighting these skilled attorneys and their important accomplishments. We’ll announce the winners in each finalist category, including Attorney of the Year and Law Firm of the Year, at the dinner.
Law Firm of the Year Finalists
Akerman
Bass, Berry & Sims
King & Spalding
Attorney of the Year Finalists
Andy Bayman, King & Spalding
Kelly Dempsey, Fox Rothschild
Angie Zimmern, McGuireWoods
Best Legal Innovation Finalists
Kilpatrick
King & Spalding
The Jeffcoat Firm
Polsinelli
Best Mentors Finalists
Sandra Brown, Greenspoon Marder
David Cox, Bass, Berry & Sims
Christina Graham, Morris, Manning & Martin
Jodi Westbrook Flowers, Motley Rice
Robert Friedman, King & Spalding
Kristine Roberts, Baker Donelson
Michael Stewart, Bass, Berry & Sims
Distinguished Leaders Honorees
Jeffrey D. Horst, Krevolin & Horst
Afi S. Johnson-Parris, Fox Rothschild
Edward Lindsey, Dentons
Rachel Reid, Eversheds Sutherland
Richard Valladares, Greenberg Traurig
Kyle Williams, Williams Teusink
Diversity Initiative Finalists
Akerman
Barnes & Thornburg
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
IMS Legal Strategies
McGuireWoods
Moore & Van Allen
Troutman Pepper Locke
In-House Counsel of the Year Finalists
Dara Steele Belkin, Global Payments
David Benck, JD Group North America
Jennifer Scantling, Mercedes-Benz USA
Jessica Young, Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc.
Legal Innovators Finalists
Rebecca Prosise, IMS Legal Strategies
Virginia Ring, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Greg Siskind, Siskind Susser
Jennifer Scotton, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete
Angelo Spinola, Polsinelli
Lifetime Achievers
Todd Brown, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Edward D. Buckley, Buckley Bala Wilson Mew
Gordon Giffin, Dentons
Steve Lewis, Troutman Pepper Locke
Litigation Departments of the Year, General Litigation Finalists
Beal Sutherland Berlin & Brown
Bondurant Mixson & Elmore
Dentons
Eversheds Sutherland
Greenberg Traurig
Krevolin & Horst
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Insurance Winner
Akerman
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Intellectual Property Finalists
Alston & Bird
Duane Morris
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Labor & Employment Winner
Seyfarth Shaw
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Personal Injury Finalists
Conley Griggs Partin
Spaulding Injury Law
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Products Liability Finalists
Greenberg Traurig
King & Spalding
Lightfoot, Franklin & White
Motley Rice
Nelson Mullins
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice White Collar Finalists
Bass, Berry & Sims
King & Spalding
Womble Bond Dickinson
Managing Partner of the Year Finalists
Mark Chalos, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
Brian Kahn, McGuireWoods
John T.L. Koenig, Barnes & Thornburg
Kelli Lester, Morgan & Morgan
Todd Rolapp, Bass, Berry & Sims
Most Effective Dealmakers Finalists
Hunter Carpenter, Akerman
Brett Moskowitz, Moore & Van Allen
Vince Phillips, Arrington & Phillips
Joseph Silver, DLA Piper
Most Promising Newcomer Finalists
Jessica Blau, McGuireWoods
Alyssa Cavanaugh, Troutman Pepper Locke
Juliana Mesa, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore
Mirabella Nwaka, Akerman
Rolando Rengifo, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Nicholas Williams, Motley Rice
On the Rise in Alabama Honorees
Amaobi J. Enyinnia, Lightfoot, Franklin & White
Warner Hornsby, Beasley Allen Law Firm
Wyatt Montgomery, Beasley Allen Law Firm
On the Rise in Georgia Honorees
Alexandra C. Apple, Troutman Pepper Locke
Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, Caplan Cobb
Gino Brogdon, Miles Mediation & Arbitration
Dan Englander, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton
Bryan Jacoutot, Clark Hill
Karan Jhurani, Fish & Richardson
Matthew Sellers, Bondurant Mixson & Elmore
Elaine Tapp, Alston & Bird
Alyssa Walker, Eversheds Sutherland
On the Rise in Mississippi Honorees
William Graves, Morgan & Morgan
Ira Rushing, Tully Rinckey
On the Rise in North Carolina Honorees
Michael Fulks, Akerman
Zachary Higbee, Alston & Bird
Kelsey Kingsbery, Alston & Bird
Barrett Morris, Moore & Van Allen
On the Rise in South Carolina Honorees
Megan Early-Soppa, Spencer Fane
Laura Stemkowski, Motley Rice
On the Rise in Tennessee Honorees
Leigh Anne St. Charles, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight
Alé Dalton, Bradley Arant
Brian Irving, Bass, Berry & Sims
Nicole Sims, Burr & Forman