Hirschler Earns Best Lawyers in America Recognitions for 51 Attorneys, One Honored as “Lawyer of the Year” and 23 as “Ones to Watch”

08.21.2025

Hirschler is pleased to announce that 51 of its attorneys have been included among Best Lawyers in America for 2026. Additionally, 23 attorneys were named “Ones to Watch,” and John McManus was named “Lawyer of the Year” for the Real Estate Law category in Washington, D.C.

As one of the oldest and most distinguished legal directories, Best Lawyers conducts peer-review surveys to compile its annual list of top attorneys across various practice areas. The 2026 edition of the publication is available today at www.bestlawyers.com.

“Hirschler’s inclusion once again in Best Lawyers reflects the favorable remarks from our clients and colleagues in the legal field," said Courtney Paulk, president of Hirschler. "We are thrilled that the number of attorneys recognized again increased from the previous year, particularly with so many included on the ‘Ones to Watch’ list. This shows the firm’s continued strategic efforts to attract and nurture talent across our footprint that will allow us to provide high quality counsel to clients for years to come.”

Hirschler attorneys honored as 2026 Best Lawyers are:

Fredericksburg, Va.

• John F. McManus for Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, and Real Estate Law
• Charles W. Payne, Jr. for Corporate Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law

Richmond, Va.

• R. Robert Benaicha for Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law
• Kelly J. Bundy for Construction Law
• Andrew K. Clark for Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Banking and Finance, Litigation – Construction, and Litigation – Trusts & Estates
• Franklin R. Cragle III for Commercial Litigation
• Brian J. Daly for Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law
• Paul H. Davenport for Real Estate Law
• Thomas J. Dillon III for Commercial Litigation, Franchise Law, and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• J. Benjamin English for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Venture Capital Law
• Brittany B. Falabella for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Laura Lee Garrett for Real Estate Law
• Jeffrey P. Geiger for Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law
• Barry A. Hackney for Construction Law, and Litigation – Construction
• Lisa J. Hedrick for Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• Robert P. Henley for Copyright Law, and Litigation – Intellectual Property
• John C. Ivins, Jr. for Litigation – Real Estate
• Lisa Spickler Ivins for Environmental Law
• Brian K. Jackson for Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law
• Joshua D. Kelly for Trust and Estates
• David S. Lionberger for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, and Tax Law
• Andrew M. Lohmann for Corporate Law
• J. Kevin Muldowney for Corporate Law, and Tax Law
• Courtney Moates Paulk for Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Litigation – Construction
• N. Pendleton (Penn) Rogers for Litigation and Controversy – Tax, and Tax Law
• Charles H. Rothenberg for Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law
• Robert N. Saffelle for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
• Emily M. Scott for Commercial Litigation, and Litigation – Health Care
• Andrew P. Sherrod for Employment Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Roderick W. Simmons for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
• John W. (Jay) Steele for Real Estate Law
• Brandt H. Stitzer for Real Estate Law
• Nathaniel L. Story for Construction Law
• Michael H. Terry for Real Estate Law
• James W. Theobald for Land Use and Zoning Law, and Real Estate Law
• John R. Walk for Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law, Litigation – Real Estate, and Litigation – Trusts and Estates
• James L. Weinberg for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities / Capital Markets Law
• Jaime B. Wisegarver for Commercial Litigation, Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Construction, and Litigation – Real Estate
• Charles F. Witthoefft for Arbitration, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Mediation

Tysons, Va.

• Kristen E. Burgers for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Mihir V. Elchuri for Commercial Litigation
• David C. Hannah for Real Estate Law
• Stacey Rose Harris for Commercial Litigation, and Criminal Defense: White Collar
• Lawrence A. Katz for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Litigation - Bankruptcy
• Stephen E. Leach for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, and Litigation – Bankruptcy
• David I. Swan for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and Litigation – Real Estate
• Wayne G. Travell for Commercial Litigation
• Robert R. Vieth for Commercial Litigation, and Litigation – Real Estate
• William L. Walsh, Jr. for Corporate Governance Law, and Government Contracts
• M. Jay Yurow for Real Estate Law

Included among “Ones to Watch” in the 2026 edition are: In Fredericksburg, Va., Logan Brunette and Kristin Shields are both recognized for Real Estate Law. In Richmond, Kollin Bender is recognized for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Connor Bleakley for Commercial Litigation; Kimberly Castleman for Commercial Litigation; Enyonam Enninful for Corporate Law; Caroline Jaques for Corporate Law; Erin Deal Johnson for Corporate Law; Andrea M. Marafatsos for Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Scott Miller, Jr. for Land Use and Zoning Law; Alexandria Pinkleton for Construction Law; Caroline M. Poma for Real Estate Law; Evan Reid for Corporate Law; Matthew Sarfan for Labor and Employment Law – Management; Jackson Smith for Corporate Law; Eliza Unrein for Commercial Litigation; Anastasia Uzilevskaya for Commercial Litigation; Marieke van Rijn for Corporate Law; Ryan Witt for Real Estate Law; and Amari Wright for Real Estate Law. In Tysons, Allison P. Klena for Litigation – Bankruptcy; Ekitoviya Nabugero for Corporate Law; and Nana Yeboah for Real Estate Law. The “Ones to Watch” recognitions are awarded to individual attorneys who are earlier in their careers and display outstanding professional excellence in private practice.

First published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Globally, almost 110,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote and nearly 19 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world were received. For the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, more than 13 million votes were analyzed. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor.