Eight Eastman & Smith Ltd. Attorneys Make 2008 Ohio Super Lawyers List

7/22/2008
Eight Eastman & Smith attorneys were recognized by Law & Politics as 2008 Ohio Super Lawyers. Attorneys so recognized were either nominated by other attorneys or identified by Law & Politics through articles, databases and meetings with law firms. The attorneys were scored utilizing a number of factors including experience, education, honors, certifications, verdicts, professional activity and community service. Those with high scores were asked to be on peer review panels to select the best of the best. In Ohio, only 5% of attorneys are so recognized. Those enjoying 2008 recognition included:

Morton Bobowick Category: Estate Planning and Probate

Mr. Bobowick is a member of the Firm who practices in the area of wealth preservation, estate planning and business entities. He is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he was a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Probate Law Journal of Ohio.

Peter R. Casey III Category: Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice

Mr. Casey is a member of the Firm with 33 years of trial experience. A former trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force, Mr. Casey concentrates on defending physicians, hospitals and other health care personnel and entities from medical malpractice claims and other types of professional liability claims. Mr. Casey has been an organizer of continuing legal education programs in the medical/legal area for both lawyers and physicians and is an adjunct faculty member of The University of Toledo College of Law.

Robert J. Gilmer, Jr. Category: Business Litigation

Mr. Gilmer, a member of the Firm, concentrates his practice in the areas of employment, commercial and professional liability litigation. He has represented business clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies and is listed in Best Lawyers of America.

Joseph A. Gregg Category: Environmental

A member of the Firm as well as head of the Environmental Law Section, Mr. Gregg regularly represents and counsels public entities, as well as manufacturing, industrial and landfill clients, with respect to permitting issues, enforcement cases, remediation projects, VAP, RCRA, CERCLA, the negotiation of federal and state lead Administrative Orders on Consent, Consent Decrees and Statements of Work, and implementation of solid waste management plans and flow control rules and regulations. Mr. Gregg also works in the employment area assisting industrial/manufacturing clients in the defense of appeals of workers compensation cases in state court.

Gary M. Harden Category: Tax

Mr. Harden, a member of the Firm as well as head of its tax practice, practices in the areas of general business law and executive benefits. He has experience in the related fields of commercial law, health care law and real estate law. Mr. Harden has testified and commented on regulations and, in connection with his service on numerous bar association committees, participated in the drafting, reviewing and lobbying of proposed legislation. Since 1998, Mr. Harden has served as a specialization board member for certification of attorneys in the specialty of federal taxation. He is a regular speaker and author on tax and business related topics. Mr. Harden has been listed in Best Lawyers in America consistently since 1995.

Patrick J. Johnson Category: Employment and Labor

Mr. Johnson, of counsel, practices in all aspects of employment law throughout the United States, with an emphasis on employee handbooks, collective bargaining, individual employment contracts, mediation, arbitration and government agency disputes. He has authored several "how to" manuals for employers and lectured extensively for corporations, employment organizations and educational institutions. Since 1987, he has been named annually to the list of Best Lawyers in America.

James F. Nooney Category: Personal Injury Defense: Medical Malpractice

A Firm member, Mr. Nooney concentrates his practice in the defense of professional liability and products liability claims and in complex commercial litigation. Before joining the Firm in 1971, he served four years as a staff judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force and, during the same period of time, was a part-time law clerk for Kent County, Delaware Superior Court Judge William J. Storey. In December 2007 he received the Robert A. Kelb Distinguished Service Award from the Toledo Bar Association and is listed in Best Lawyers in America.

Richard T. Sargeant Category: Environmental

Mr. Sargeant is a member of the Firm. He has practiced in the area of environmental, administrative and public law for the past 32 years, chaired both the Administrative Law Committee and the Environmental Law Committee of the Ohio State Bar Association, authored articles and chapters published in several treatises as well as been a frequent speaker on a variety of environmental and administrative law subjects before legal, engineering and business. Since 1992 Mr. Sargeant has been listed in Best Lawyers in America.

Earlier this year, Law & Politics named seven Eastman & Smith Ltd. attorneys as rising stars. These attorneys were Daniel O. Cecil, Heidi N. Eischen, Matthew D. Harper, Maria Limbert Markakis, Fadi V. Nahhas, Michael W. Regnier and Connie S. Swemba.

The Firm congratulates these attorneys on their inclusion in the 2008 Ohio Super Lawyers.