Ogletree Deakins Receives Highest Ranking in 2005 Chambers USA Edition

 ATLANTA – June 27, 2005 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins) received top marks in the recently published 2005 edition of Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Offices of the firm in ten different states were recognized by their peers and clients for their outstanding legal skills.

Ogletree Deakins’ offices in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas received high praise for their exceptional abilities in representing management in labor and employment law matters. The Greenville, South Carolina office of Ogletree Deakins also was recognized for the “depth and range of skills” of its general commercial litigation practice. In Illinois, the firm’s Chicago office received “top marks” from Chambers USA for its “expertise and vast resources” in the area of construction law.

Rated “number one” in Chambers USA were Ogletree Deakins’ labor and employment law groups in Indiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These offices received top ranking for excelling in the areas of technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities valued by clients.

Further, 22 of the firm’s attorneys were individually listed for their superior legal work. These individuals, listed by city, include:

• Margaret H. Campbell (Atlanta, GA)
• A. Craig Cleland (Atlanta, GA)
• Homer L. Deakins, Jr. (Atlanta, GA)
• Michael W. Fox (Austin, TX)
• Peyton Lacy, Jr. (Birmingham, AL)
• Margery Newman (Chicago, IL)
• Randolph E. Ruff (Chicago, IL)
• Charles T. Speth II (Columbia, SC)
• Donald A. Cockrill (Greenville, SC)
• Lewis T. Smoak (Greenville, SC)
• J. Hamilton Stewart III (Greenville, SC)
• Fred W. Suggs, Jr. (Greenville, SC)
• Jeffrey C. Londa (Houston, TX)
• Thomas M. Melo (Houston, TX)
• Kim F. Ebert (Indianapolis, IN)
• Charles B. Baldwin (Indianapolis, IN)
• Brian L. McDermott (Indianapolis, IN)
• Richard C. Mariani (Morristown, NJ)
• Patrick M. Stanton (Morristown, NJ)
• Keith D. Frazier (Nashville, TN)
• Thomas A. Farr (Raleigh, NC)
• C. Matthew Keen (Raleigh, NC)

About Chambers USA

Chambers USA is published annually by Chambers and Partners in London, England. Designed as a guide for clients, this book provides law firm and attorney recommendations throughout the United States. The 2005 edition was compiled from over 7,000 interviews conducted with clients and lawyers over a span of eight months. The rankings and editorial comments cited in the book are independent and objective.

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm focused exclusively in the representation of management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has nearly 300 lawyers located in 24 offices from Miami to Los Angeles. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law. Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Karen Gonzales, communications manager, at 210-277-3606.