JUNE 5, 2023 – The annual Chambers guide to the U.S. legal market has recognized Davis Wright Tremaine for industry-leading excellence in 51 practices—including 14 nationwide practices, a record for the firm—and named 117 individual lawyers as top attorneys for business.
The results affirmed Davis Wright's leadership position across a number of industry sectors that are the focus of its strategic plan, including financial services, media and entertainment, food and beverage, and healthcare, as well as its ongoing commitment to DEI. Twenty-six individual lawyers at Davis Wright earned Chambers' highest rankings—either Band 1 or "Star" status—and more than half of those were women and/or from other underrepresented populations.
Chambers rankings are based on research gathered through extensive in-depth interviews with in-house counsel, industry experts, and peers in private practice. Lawyers and practice teams are assessed for "technical ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client."
Highlights of Davis Wright's 2023 Chambers results include the following:
- The firm's growing leadership in financial services was clearly reflected in the rankings. The practice team achieved a new nationwide ranking in Derivatives and two of the team members, Katherine Cooper and practice group co-chair Elizabeth Lan Davis, entered the nationwide Derivatives rankings at Band 1. This was in addition to the firm's established rankings in Securities, Banking, and FinTech.
- The firm's media and entertainment team was once again the only such group in the country to be awarded a Band 1 ranking in all three of the nation's media industry centers (New York, California, and D.C.). All told, the team's attorneys earned 34 individual rankings for excellence, along with five "Band 1" department rankings.
- Three partners at the firm earned the ranking of "Star Individual," Chambers' highest honor: Nancy Felsten (Nationwide - Advertising: NAD Proceedings), Elizabeth McNamara (New York - Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation), and Kelli Sager (Nationwide - First Amendment Litigation and California - Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation).
- Davis Wright's food and beverage team was once again the only one in the country ranked in both nationwide categories covering this industry—Alcohol and Regulatory & Litigation.
- The firm continued to advance in commercial litigation, with three Seattle practitioners rising in the rankings, and in healthcare, with three team members earning new or elevated rankings, including practice group co-chair Hope Levy-Biehl. The team won a higher nationwide ranking for healthcare privacy and security as well.
Below is the full list of DWT practice group rankings, by region:
Nationwide
Advertising: NAD Proceedings (Band 1)
Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory
Cannabis Law
Derivatives
Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance)
Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance & Enforcement)
First Amendment Litigation (Band 1)
Food & Beverages: Alcohol
Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation
Franchising
Healthcare: Highly Regarded
Labor & Employment
Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare (Band 1)
Alaska
Corporate/M&A (Band 1)
Labor & Employment (Band 1)
Litigation: General Commercial
Real Estate (Band 1)
California
Antitrust
Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation (Band 1)
Healthcare
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
Labor & Employment: The Elite
Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded
Media & Entertainment: Litigation (Band 1)
Washington, D.C.
Media & Entertainment (Band 1)
New York
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
Labor & Employment: Highly Regarded
Media & Entertainment: Advisory
Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation (Band 1)
Media & Entertainment: Litigation
Oregon
Corporate/M&A
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (Band 1)
Environment
Labor & Employment
Litigation: General Commercial
Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use (Band 1)
Washington
Banking and Finance
Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 1)
Corporate/M&A (Band 1)
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (Band 1)
Energy & Natural Resources
Environment
Healthcare (Band 1)
Immigration (Band 1)
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment (Band 1)
Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1)
Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
Real Estate
Tax (Band 1)
Below is the full list of individually ranked DWT lawyers, along with the practice area and geographic region in which they were recognized.
Alaska
Construction
Anne Marie Tavella (Up and Coming)
Traeger Machetanz (Band 1)
Corporate/M&A
Barbara Simpson Kraft
Vanessa Norman (Up and Coming)
Labor & Employment
Elizabeth Pifke Hodes (Band 1)
Michael O'Brien
Natural Resources & Environment
Scott Broadwell
Real Estate
Barbara Simpson Kraft (Band 1)
California
Antitrust
Allison A. Davis
Energy: State Regulatory & Litigation
Steven Greenwald (Senior Statesperson)
Vidhya Prabhakaran
Health Care
Hope Levy-Biehl
Kathleen Drummy
Terri D. Keville
Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
Nicolas Jampol (Up and Coming)
Labor & Employment
Judith Droz Keyes
Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation
Thomas R. Burke (Band 1)
Kelli L. Sager (Star Individual)
Alonzo Wickers IV (Band 1)
Media & Entertainment: Litigation
Peter Anderson
Nicolas Jampol (Up and Coming)
Jonathan Segal (Up and Coming)
Alonzo Wickers IV
District of Columbia
Media & Entertainment
Eric Feder (Up and Coming)
Laura R. Handman (Band 1)
Chelsea Kelly (Associates to Watch)
Alison Schary (Up and Coming)
Nathan E. Siegel
Technology & Outsourcing
Christopher D. Ford (Band 1)
New York
Labor & Employment
Laura Sack
Lyle S. Zuckerman
Media & Entertainment: Advisory
Graham Coleman
Robert Driscoll
Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation
Robert Balin
Katherine M. Bolger (Band 1)
Elizabeth A. McNamara (Star Individual)
James Rosenfeld
Rachel Strom
Victor A. Kovner (Senior Statesperson)
Media & Entertainment: Litigation
Elizabeth A. McNamara
James Rosenfeld
Oregon
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Joseph VanLeuven
Corporate/M&A
Clifford A. DeGroot
Jesse D. Lyon
Ryan Maughn
Michael C. Phillips
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Stuart C. Harris (Band 1)
Environment
Lawrence B. Burke
Olivier Jamin (Associate to Watch)
Intellectual Property
Sheila Fox Morrison
Labor & Employment
Jenna L. Mooney
Litigation: General Commercial
Kevin Kono
Andrew McStay
Real Estate
Stephen R. Ledoux
Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Elaine Albrich
USA - Nationwide
Advertising: NAD Proceedings
Nancy J. Felsten (Star Individual)
Advertising: Transaction & Regulatory
Robert Driscoll
Nancy J. Felsten
Derivatives: Enforcement
Elizabeth Lan Davis (Band 1)
Katherine Cooper (Band 1)
Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)
Sean Atkins
Michael N. Kunselman
Financial Services Regulation: Banking (Compliance)
Kevin L. Petrasic
Financial Services Regulation: Broker Dealer (Compliance)
Matthew Comstock
First Amendment Litigation
Robert Balin
Katherine M. Bolger
Thomas R. Burke
Laura R. Handman (Band 1)
Bruce E.H. Johnson
Victor A. Kovner (Senior Statesperson)
Elizabeth A. McNamara (Band 1)
Kelli L. Sager (Star Individual)
Nathan E. Siegel
Rachel Strom
Alonzo Wickers IV
Food & Beverages: Alcohol
Bethany K. Hatef (Up and Coming)
Jesse D. Lyon
Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation
Charles M. English
Franchising
Rochelle Spandorf (Band 1)
Outsourcing
Christopher D. Ford
Privacy & Data Security
Nancy Libin
Privacy & Data Security: Healthcare
Adam H. Greene (Band 1)
Rebecca Williams
Securities: Regulation: Enforcement
Stephen J. Crimmins
Washington
Banking & Finance
Michael Caughey
Ronald Law (Up and Coming)
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Hugh McCullough (Band 1)
Ragan Powers (Band 1)
Corporate/M&A
Matthew LeMaster
Sean McCann
Jonathan Michaels
Bradley Tubbs (Associate to Watch)
Sarah Tune
Joseph D. Weinstein
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Richard Birmingham
Christine Hawkins (Associate to Watch)
Dipa Sudra
Energy & Natural Resources
Craig Gannett (Band 1)
Scott MacCormack (Eminent Practitioner)
Environment
Lynn T. Manolopoulos
David J. Ubaldi
Healthcare
Darby Allen (Up and Coming)
Jason Farber
Brad Fisher
David Gee
Robert Homchick (Band 1)
Immigration
Diane Butler (Band 1)
Richard Rawson (Band 1)
Megan Vogel
Intellectual Property
Benjamin Byer
Cindy Caditz
Warren J. Rheaume (Senior Statesperson)
Labor & Employment
Mark W. Berry
Harry Korrell
Kelsey Sheldon
Litigation: General Commercial
Jaime Drozd Allen
Fred B. Burnside
Ambika Kumar
Robert Maguire
Stephen M. Rummage (Band 1)
Real Estate
Kevin Badgley (Up and Coming)
Anthony Caso
Jim Greenfield
Warren Koons
Lisa Peterson
Marco de Sa e Silva
Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Clayton Graham
Tax
Pamela Charles (Band 1)
Dirk Giseburt
Brian Todd (Band 1)
James Wreggelsworth (Band 1)
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is an AmLaw 100 law firm with more than 600 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. The firm is widely recognized as a leader in DEI and social impact. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.