2026 Best Lawyers in America Recognition Announced
Ellis & Winters has again been featured on the Best Lawyers in America list. The 2026 list recognizes 26 of the firm’s attorneys including two partners who received “Lawyer of the Year” honors for their jurisdiction.
The firm’s Lawyer-of-the-Year honorees include:
- Chuck Anderson – Raleigh Lawyer of the Year for Real Estate Law
- Leslie C. Packer – Raleigh Lawyer of the Year for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
Other Ellis & Winters Best Lawyers honorees are:
- Chuck Anderson – Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law (Raleigh Lawyer of the Year)
- Ryan Bakelaar – Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
- Jon A. Berkelhammer – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
- Tom Blue – Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law
- Donna K. Blumberg – Litigation – Real Estate, Real Estate Law
- Ashley K. Brathwaite – Litigation – Health Care
- Andrew S. Chamberlin – Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
- Kelly Margolis Dagger– Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: General Practice, Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Mary M. Dillon – Commercial Litigation
- Pamela S. Duffy – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- Alex J. Hagan – Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
- Ginger B. Hunsucker – Commercial Litigation, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
- Scottie Forbes Lee – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust
- Michelle Liguori – Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation
- Leslie C. Packer – Litigation – Health Care, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants (Raleigh Lawyer of the Year)
- Jon D. Sasser – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Securities
- Steven A. Scoggan – Commercial Litigation
- Tom Segars – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust, Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Curtis J. Shipley – Construction Law, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
- Paul K. Sun, Jr. – Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Criminal Defense: General Practice, Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Jamie Weiss – Commercial Litigation
- Dixie T. Wells – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation
- Mike Winters – Real Estate Law
Additionally, three Ellis & Winters lawyers were recognized by Best Lawyers of America as “Ones to Watch”:
- Brittany D. Levine – Health Care Law, Transportation Law
- Madeleine Pfefferle – Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
- Jeffrey Steven McConnell Warren – Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
About Best Lawyers in America
Best Lawyers in America is the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal industry recognized by the profession, the media, and the public as an unbiased source of legal referrals. Recognition in Best Lawyers in America is widely regarded by both clients and legal professionals as a significant honor awarded to a lawyer by his or her peers.