Three Ogletree Deakins Attorneys Named to 2006 Legal Elite List

ATLANTA – January 11, 2006 – Three attorneys from Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins) have been named to North Carolina’s Legal Elite list for 2006. Thomas A. Farr and Robert A. Sar of the firm’s Raleigh office and James B. Spears, Jr. of the firm’s Charlotte office were all voted top lawyers in the area of employment law by their professional peers.

Published by Business North Carolina magazine, the Legal Elite list names the best lawyers in the state. This year Business North Carolina distributed ballots to more than 16,000 lawyers from the North Carolina Bar asking them to nominate attorneys in twelve practice categories including Antitrust, Bankruptcy, Business Law, Construction, Corporate Counsel, Criminal Defense, Employment, Environmental, Litigation, Patents/Intellectual Property, Real Estate, and Tax/Estate Planning. The top vote getters in each category earned a place on the 2006 Legal Elite list which will be published in this month’s issue of Business North Carolina.

“We are honored these attorneys have been recognized on this year’s Legal Elite list,” said Gray Geddie managing shareholder of the firm. “They are all top-notch lawyers and are well deserving of this distinction.”

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 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.