Philadelphia, PA – August 8, 2006 – LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – Ten practice areas and 17 lawyers from Pepper Hamilton LLP have been recognized by Chambers USA as leaders in the 2006 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Pepper, whose Health Effects practice is headed by Nina M. Gussack, received a national ranking as one of the top 29 product liability firms in the country. The firm was recognized for its leadership in defending producers of pharmaceuticals, experimental drugs including gene therapies, and medical devices including cranial drills, bone screws and cardiac pacemakers.
Ms. Gussack herself was recognized as one of the country’s top 18 leaders in product liability and was cited for being “a born leader” and “a brilliant strategist and excellent communicator.”
Other Pepper practice areas singled out by Chambers included antitrust, bankruptcy and restructuring (in both Delaware and Pennsylvania), corporate/mergers & acquisitions, employee benefits, employment, general commercial litigation, insurance litigation, securities litigation and real estate.
In addition to Ms. Gussack, 16 other Pepper partners were profiled in this year’s directory. They are: Barry M. Abelson (corporate/M&A, Philadelphia); Francis P. Devine, III (general commercial litigation and insurance litigation, Philadelphia); David M. Fournier (bankruptcy/restructuring, Wilmington); Michael H. Friedman (corporate/M&A, Philadelphia); Robert L. Hickok (general commercial litigation and securities litigation, Philadelphia); Jonathan Kane (employment, Berwyn); Christopher J. Lamb (real estate, Wilmington); Francis J. Lawall (bankruptcy/restructuring, Philadelphia); Barbara W. Mather (antitrust and general commercial litigation, Philadelphia); J. Gregg Miller (bankruptcy/restructuring, Philadelphia); Michael H. Reed (bankruptcy/restructuring, Philadelphia); Andrew J. Rudolph (employee benefits, Philadelphia); Laurence Z. Shiekman (antitrust, Philadelphia); Barbara T. Sicalides (antitrust, Philadelphia); and David B. Stratton (bankruptcy/restructuring, Wilmington). Leon R. Barson, who joined Pepper as a partner in Philadelphia in July 2006, also is listed in the directory for his bankruptcy work.
For the current U.S. directory, Chambers researchers conducted more than 10,000 interviews throughout the United States over a period of six months. Qualities assessed included technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness/astuteness, diligence, commitment and other qualities valued by clients.
Chambers and Partners (www.chambersandpartners.com), based in London, began as a general book publisher in 1969. In 1990, it published the Chambers Directory of the UK’s leading law firms and thereafter specialized in legal publishing. Chambers’ staff of full-time researchers now prepares several directories worldwide, ranking leading lawyers based upon their reputation among peers and clients. Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business published its first edition in 2003.
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with 400 lawyers in six states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
