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Forty-two Davis Brown attorneys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 26^th edition of The Best Lawyers in America^© in the Des Moines metropolitan area in their respective fields. Selection is based on an annual peer-review survey in which more than 87,000 attorneys cast millions of votes on the legal abilities of other attorneys in their practice areas around the country.

Five attorneys were also recognized by their peers as “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas:

• Lori T. Chesser, Immigration Law
• Robert “Beau” A. Gamble, Banking and Finance Law
• Thomas J. Houser, Litigation - Trusts & Estates
• Becky S. Knutson, Education Law
• Jason M. Stone, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)

The following 42 attorneys are listed as “Best Lawyer” in their practice areas:

• Jeffrey A. Baker, Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
• William A. Boatwright, Non-Profit / Charities Law and Trusts and Estates
• Judith “Lynn” R. Böes, Health Care Law
• Scott M. Brennan, Commercial Litigation and Government Relations Practice
• Michele L. Brott, Litigation - Labor and Employment
• Frank J. Carroll, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Tax Law
• Lori T. Chesser, Immigration Law
• Robert J. Douglas, Banking and Finance Law and Real Estate Law
• David M. Erickson, Litigation - Real Estate and Real Estate Law
• Beverly Evans, Corporate Law
• Susan J. Freed, Health Care Law
• Robert “Beau” A. Gamble, Banking and Finance Law
• Tara Z. Hall, Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Joseph A. Happe, Litigation - Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
• Kent A. Herink, Litigation – Intellectual Property and Litigation – Patent
• Thomas J. Houser, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts & Estates, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
• Christopher P. Jannes, Commercial Litigation
• Becky S. Knutson, Administrative/Regulatory Law, Education Law, Employment Law – Management, and Labor Law – Management
• Michael G. Kulik, Corporate Law and Utilities Law
• Gene R. La Suer, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Matthew E. Laughlin, Litigation – Real Estate and Real Estate Law
• Sharon K. Malheiro, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Jodie Clark McDougal, Construction Law
• Julie Johnson McLean, Banking and Finance Law and Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Elizabeth R. Meyer, Litigation – Trusts and Estates ← New Ranking
• Gary M. Myers, Real Estate Law
• Michael C. Richards, Commercial Litigation ← New Ranking and Litigation - Insurance
• Jason M. Ross, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
• John D. Shors, Corporate Law, Health Care Law, and Tax Law
• Craig Sieverding, Health Care Law
• Jason M. Stone, Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Corporate Law, and Tax Law
• Courtney Strutt Todd, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
• Christopher S. Talcott, Real Estate Law
• Deborah M. Tharnish, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Litigation – Labor and Employment
• Stanley J. Thompson, Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Antitrust
• Elizabeth S. Van Arkel, Immigration Law ← New Ranking
• Margaret Van Houten, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
• David B. VanSickel, Public Finance Law
• Mark D. Walz, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law
• Jana Weiler, Trusts and Estates
• Jo Ellen Whitney, Employment Law – Management and Health Care Law
• Jonathan C. Wilson, Litigation – Real Estate and Real Estate Law

About Best Lawyers^®

Since it was 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. Almost 87,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received almost 10 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America^©, 7.8 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in almost 60,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers ""the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.""

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