Katten Attorneys Recognized as Best Lawyers® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® Award Recipients

(CHICAGO) Katten announced today that 180 firm attorneys were recognized in the 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America as a result of their peers identifying them in a wide range of practice areas.

Partner Karen M. Nelson, who also serves as Managing Partner of Katten's Charlotte office, was recognized by Best Lawyers as the "Lawyer of the Year" for Real Estate Law in the Charlotte area. Only one attorney in each practice and in each geographic region is selected as "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers. This designation is based on high ratings in surveys demonstrating a great level of respect among peers for abilities, professionalism and integrity.

Katten attorneys selected by their peers for the first time in the 2025 edition of the guide are: Michelle Apodaca for Health Care Law; Adam M. Damerow for Trusts and Estates; Alexander T. Deland for Municipal Law and Public Finance Law; William F. Dudine for Public Finance Law; Miriam K. Harwood for International Arbitration — Commercial; Sharon Kantrowitz for Health Care Law; Peter P. Knight for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law; Jitty Malik, PhD, for Litigation — Patent and Patent Law; Theodore Ryan for Public Finance Law; and Natalie Youkel for Public Finance Law.

Several attorneys were also acknowledged for being named to the Best Lawyers list for a decade: Richard L. Farley for Commercial Litigation; William B. Freeman for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law; and Charles Harris for Trusts and Estates. Others were recognized for 20 years on the Best Lawyer list: Janet Goelz Hoffman for Public Finance Law; Alvin Katz for Real Estate Law; Stuart P. Shulruff for Banking and Finance Law; Mark C. Simon for Real Estate Law; and Walter S. Weinberg for Corporate Law and Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law.

More than 75 Katten attorneys were named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list. This list recognizes attorneys who are early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice.

A complete list of Katten attorneys recognized in the 2025 editions of The Best Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America can be found here.