Twenty-One Taft Attorneys Named Best Lawyers® 'Lawyer of the Year' 2026

Taft is pleased to announce that 21 attorneys have been recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers^® 2026. The "Lawyer of the Year" recognition is given to individual attorneys with the highest overall peer feedback for a specific practice and geographic area. Only one lawyer is awarded "Lawyer of the Year" for each specialty and location.

The following Taft attorneys have been named Best Lawyers^® "Lawyer of the Year."

Albuquerque, New Mexico

• Jill K. Sweeney, Public Finance Law

Chicago, Illinois

• Paul T. Jenson, Gaming Law

Cincinnati, Ohio

• Robert A. Bilott, Litigation - Environmental
• Samuel M. Duran, Worker's Compensation Law - Employers
• Jeremy A. Hayden, Litigation and Controversy - Tax
• Aaron M. Herzig, Appellate Practice
• Robert W. McDonald, Venture Capital Law

Cleveland, Ohio

• Eric M. Simon, Administrative / Regulatory Law

Columbus, Ohio

• Peter W. Hahn, Construction Law, Litigation - Construction
• Marc J. Kessler, Franchise Law

Dayton, Ohio

• Lowell T. Woods, Jr., Litigation - Construction
• Marc L. Fleischauer, Labor Law - Management

Denver, Colorado

• Bridget K. Sullivan, Tax Law
• Garth B. Jensen, Corporate Governance Law, Securities Regulation
• Mark W. Williams, Communications Law

Detroit, Michigan

• Marko J. Belej, Tax Law
• Susan S. Lichterman, Family Law

Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Elizabeth Brama, Administrative / Regulatory Law
• Stephen A. Brunn, Employment Law - Management
• Valerie T. Herring, Utilities Law

West Palm Beach, Florida

• Manuel Farach, Litigation - Real Estate

About Best Lawyers^®

Best Lawyers^® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Best Lawyers^® rankings are compiled by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. If the votes for an attorney are positive enough for inclusion in Best Lawyers^®, that attorney must maintain those votes in subsequent polls to remain on the list for each edition. Lawyers are not permitted to pay any fee to participate in or be included on the lists.