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 — WINNER
- Bass, Berry & Sims
- King & Spalding
Attorney of the Year Finalists
- Andy Bayman, King & Spalding
- Kelly Dempsey, Fox Rothschild
- Angie Zimmern, McGuireWoods — WINNER
Best Legal Innovation Finalists
- Kilpatrick
- King & Spalding
- The Jeffcoat Firm
- Polsinelli — WINNER
Best Mentors Finalists
- Sandra Brown, Greenspoon Marder
- David Cox, Bass, Berry & Sims
- Christina Graham, Morris, Manning & Martin
- Jodi Westbrook Flowers, Motley Rice — WINNER
- 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
- Bradley Arant Boult Cummings — WINNER
- 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 — WINNER
- 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 — WINNER
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 — WINNER
- Eversheds Sutherland
- Greenberg Traurig
- Krevolin & Horst
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Insurance Winner
- Akerman — WINNER
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Intellectual Property Finalists
- Alston & Bird — WINNER
- 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 — WINNER
- Spaulding Injury Law
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice Products Liability Finalists
- Greenberg Traurig — WINNER
- King & Spalding
- Lightfoot, Franklin & White
- Motley Rice
- Nelson Mullins
Litigation Departments of the Year, Specialty Practice White Collar Finalists
- Bass, Berry & Sims
- King & Spalding — WINNER
- Womble Bond Dickinson
Managing Partner of the Year Finalists
- Mark Chalos, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
- Brian Kahn, McGuireWoods
- John T.L. Koenig, Barnes & Thornburg — WINNER
- Kelli Lester, Morgan & Morgan
- Todd Rolapp, Bass, Berry & Sims
Most Effective Dealmakers Finalists
- Hunter Carpenter, Akerman — WINNER
- 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 — WINNER
- 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
