ATLANTA (August 15, 2024) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that five of the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® as 2025 “Lawyer of the Year.” The Best Lawyers in America® is the leading peer review-based directory of legal practitioners.
Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” These lawyers are selected for receiving the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. For the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, more than 23 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 80,000 leading lawyers included in the milestone 31st edition.
The following SGR attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas and cities:
Dana G. Bradford II was named Best Lawyers® 2025 Product Liability Litigation – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year” in Jacksonville. He is Senior Trial Counsel in the Litigation Practice. Mr. Bradford has devoted his practice exclusively to civil litigation. He has handled and taken to trial a wide variety of cases in both state and federal courts and handled appeals in all of Florida’s five appellate District Courts (except the newly created 6th DCA), the Florida Supreme Court, the 5th and 11th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kenneth M. Crane was named Best Lawyers® 2025 Venture Capital Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Chicago. He is a partner in the Corporate Practice and serves as the Chicago Section Head. He is a deal lawyer who represents private equity, venture capital and family office–backed companies, focusing on acquisition and sale transactions. He gets involved at all stages in the business growth and succession process, from acquisition, capital raising, financing and growth equity transactions, strategic partnering and joint ventures, to pre-sale and succession planning. He was named Best Lawyers® 2017 Venture Capital Law “Lawyer of the Year in Chicago.
Justice Leah Ward Sears was named Best Lawyers® 2025 Appellate Practice and Mediation “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta. She is a partner in the Litigation Section With decades of experience as an attorney, a jurist and an elected official, Ms. Sears brings a powerful combination of strategy, analytical thinking and tactical action that gives her clients a compelling edge in complex litigation, appeal, and arbitration and mediation. She was awarded the 2019 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” Appellate Practice in Atlanta.
Jeffrey S. Tenen was named the Best Lawyers® 2025 Securitization and Structured Finance Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Miami. He is a partner in and a member of the Global Transport Practice. He is recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in Corporate Law, Derivatives and Futures Law, Securitization and Structured Finance Law, and Transportation Law. Previously, Mr. Tenen was named the Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in Miami in Transportation Law in 2020, Securitization and Structured Finance Law in 2022 and 2015, and Derivatives and Futures Law in 2023, 2021, and 2018.
Kathryn Zickert was named Best Lawyers® 2025 Land Use and Zoning Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta. She practices in all aspects of land use and zoning including environmental and land use litigation, condemnation, re-zonings, variances, special or conditional use permits, special exceptions, subdivision approvals and all other permitting, fair housing, developments of regional impact and historic preservation. She also received this honor in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
To view SGR’s list of the SGR attorneys named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America list, click here.
About Best Lawyers
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review® evaluation. More than 123,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received more than 20 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Visit www.bestlawyers.com for more information.
About Smith Gambrell Russell
SGR is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The Firm’s nearly 350 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 50 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, insurance/reinsurance, construction, employment law, international, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, SGR has 14 domestic and international offices, including Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Chicago; Jacksonville, FL; London; Los Angeles; Miami; Munich; New York; Southampton; Springfield, IL; Tampa, FL; and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.sgrlaw.com.