Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” and honorees are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the exhaustive peer-review assessments Best Lawyers® conducts annually. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.
Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 2.8 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country. The CPM lawyers named as Best Lawyers® in America for 2013 are:
Robert B. Barnett, Jr. for Trusts and Estates Law
Barnett represents individuals, executives and owners of family businesses with respect to their estate and business planning needs, including ownership succession planning, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and probate.
Dennis J. Concilla for Litigation-Securities, Securities/Capital Markets, and Securities Regulation Law
Concilla concentrates in the area of securities industry arbitration and regulation. He represents registered securities professionals and the firms that employ them in litigation, employment, and regulatory matters. He heads the firms securities practice group and is a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Law and Compliance Division.
Bryan K. Hogue for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Trusts and Estates
Hogue represents individuals, business owners and closely held businesses with respect to their estate and tax planning, business succession planning, and general corporate and business matters. He currently chairs the family wealth planning group at Carlile Patchen & Murphy, which provides integrated income, gift, estate, and wealth transfer planning for individuals, business executives and business owners.
H. Ritchey Hollenbaugh for Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law
Hollenbaugh’s practice includes business litigation, white collar criminal litigation, election law and professional responsibility. He is the head of the litigation group at Carlile Patchen & Murphy. He is a past president of the Ohio State Bar Association and past president of the Columbus Bar Association. He recently served on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association.
Marie-Joëlle C. Khouzam for Employment Law-Management and Labor Law-Management
Khouzam, the firm’s managing partner, concentrates on representing and advising employers/management in labor and employment law matters, workers’ compensation, and municipal law. She also provides onsite management training on a variety of employment subjects, including wage and hour, workplace harassment, and personnel record-keeping.
James R. Moats for Banking and Finance Law
Moats focuses his practice on commercial banking, commercial law and transactions, workouts and restructurings, creditor rights and real estate. He is a former Special Agent with the FBI, has spoken and written on various commercial and not-for-profit law topics. He is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, the Ohio Society of Association Executives and the Business Law section of the American Bar Association.
Carol A. Sheehan for Non-Profit/Charities Law
Sheehan focuses her practice on development and financing of affordable housing, and she represents real estate developers (both for profit and non-profit) as well as other small businesses. She currently chairs CPM's tax practice group and is a current Trustee of the Ohio Housing Council. Sheehan is also a member of the American Bar Association Forum Committee on Affordable Housing and the Business Law, Taxation and Real Estate Committees of the Columbus Bar Association.
Michael A. Smith for Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
Smith concentrates on business, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, technology transactions, technology licensing, banking and securities. He currently serves as chairman of CPM's business law practice group and is a member of both the Ohio State Bar Association’s Section on Corporation, Banking and Business Law and Columbus Bar Association’s Securities Law Committee. He is a frequent speaker on business and securities issues.
For more than a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers has been regarded – by both the profession and the public – as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Because no fee or purchase is required, being listed in Best Lawyers is considered a great honor by lawyers across the country. Best Lawyers® in America distributes this annual, advertisement-free publication that has been described by The American Lawyer as “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”
The law firm of Carlile Patchen & Murphy has for over 40 years concentrated on responsively serving the legal and business needs of mid-sized Central Ohio businesses and their owners and executives. Beyond the traditional advice on choice of the appropriate business entity and structure of ownership interests, the firm lends its extensive experience in counseling on financing, tax planning and operations; and ultimately to sale or transfer of the business to a strategic buyer, the employees or succeeding generations. Employment matters, and litigation if all else fails, are also areas where the firm’s attorneys frequently offer skilled advice and timely assistance.
