36 Lieff Cabraser Lawyers Named to 2026 Best Lawyers Listings

The Best Lawyers in America has announced its 2026 recognition of “outstanding attorney leaders” in the U.S., a list that we are proud to note includes thirty-six Lieff Cabraser lawyers. The publication’s 32nd edition spotlights the top 5% of private practicing attorneys in the U.S., and is based on more than 3.4 million peer evaluations. This newest edition recognizes 81,420 lawyers across 151 different practice areas.

We’re pleased to share that Lieff Cabraser partner Mark P. Chalos was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs in Nashville, Lieff Cabraser partner Kelly M. Dermody was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Employment Law – Individuals in San Francisco, and Lieff Cabraser partner Rachel Geman was named “Lawyer of the Year” for Employment Law in New York City. The “Lawyer of the Year” accolade bears particular significance, as only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored with the recognition.

Best Lawyers also continues their new-in-2021 “Ones to Watch” list, recognizing attorneys “earlier in their careers” for outstanding professional excellence. We are happy to announce that the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch includes sixth-time listings for Kevin Budner and Sean Petterson, third-time listings for Michael Levin-Gesundheit and Reilly Stoler, and second-time listing for Michelle Lamy. In addition, John T. Nicolaou and Mike Sheen join the list as first-time “Ones to Watch” for 2026.

The complete list of Lieff Cabraser’s 2026 Best Lawyers and their recognition categories is below.

San Francisco

• Donald C. Arbitblit – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Katherine Lubin Benson – “Litigation – Securities”
• William Bernstein – “Litigation – Antitrust” and “Consumer Protection Law”
• Elizabeth J. Cabraser – “Consumer Protection Law,” “Litigation – Securities,” “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs,” “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Lin Y. Chan – “Antitrust Law and Litigation – Antitrust”
• Kelly M. Dermody – “Employment Law – Individuals” and “Litigation – Labor and Employment”
• Nimish R. Desai – “Qui Tam Law”
• Eric B. Fastiff – “Litigation – Antitrust”
• Brendan P. Glackin – “Litigation – Antitrust”
• Lexi J. Hazam – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Qui Tam Law”
• Richard M. Heimann – “Bet-the-Company Litigation,” “Consumer Protection Law,” “Litigation – Antitrust,” “Litigation – Securities,” “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs”
• Daniel M. Hutchinson – “Employment Law – Individuals”
• Bruce Leppla – “Litigation – Securities”
• Robert J. Nelson – “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs” and “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Phong-Chau G. Nguyen – “Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Michael W. Sobol – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Fabrice N. Vincent – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs”

New York

• Edward A. Baker – “Qui Tam Law”
• Paulina do Amaral – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs”
• Steven E. Fineman – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs”
• Wendy R. Fleishman – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Rachel Geman – “Employment Law – Individuals”
• Jason L. Lichtman – “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Annika K. Martin – “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Kelly McNabb – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs” and “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Jonathan D. Selbin – “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Daniel E. Seltz – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs”

 Nashville

• Kenneth S. Byrd – “Consumer Protection Law,” “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs,” “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”
• Mark P. Chalos – “Consumer Protection Law,” “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs,” “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch

• Kevin R. Budner – “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs,” “Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs,” “Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs”

• Michelle Lamy – “Antitrust Law”
• Michael Levin-Gesundheit – “Labor and Employment Law – Employee,” “Labor and Employment Law – Management,” “Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs”
• John T. Nicolaou – “Litigation – Banking and Finance”

• Sean A. Petterson – “Commercial Litigation”
• Mike Sheen – “Commercial Litigation”
• Reilly Stoler – “Commercial Litigation”

Congratulations to all!