Another legal industry accolade that comes out each year is the Super Lawyers list, which is a publication of Thomson Reuters. Super Lawyers is a rating service of lawyers across the nation. Peer nominations and evaluations along with third-party research are used to review candidates. A number of local attorneys also were named to Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list. To be eligible for the Rising Stars category, candidates have to be either 40 or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.
H. Mark Hamlet
Category: Top 100
Firm: Hamlet & Associates
Title: Founding partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Melody Jolly
Category: Top 100
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Melody Jolly
Category: Top 50 Women
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Algernon L. Butler III
Category: Bankruptcy - Business
Firm: Butler & Butler,
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Kathleen O’Malley
Category: Bankruptcy - Business Rising Stars
Firm: Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych
Title: Attorney
Richard Cook
Category: Bankruptcy - Consumer
Firm: Cape Fear Debt Relief
Title: Managing attorney
Henry “Hal” L. Kitchin Jr.
Category: Business Litigation
Firm: McGuire Woods
Title: Partner (Legal Elite Hall of Fame)
Stephen Bell
Category: Business Litigation - Rising Stars
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Partner
Christopher M. Hinnant
Category: Civil Litigation - Defense
Firm: Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms
Title: Partner
Andrew Dandison
Category: Civil Litigation - Defense Rising Stars
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Attorney
Conor Regan
Category: Civil Litigation - Plaintiff
Firm: The Regan Law Firm
Title: Attorney
Christopher K. Behm
Category: Construction Litigation
Firm: Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
H. Mark Hamlet
Category: Construction Litigation
Firm: Hamlet & Associates
Title: Founding partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Rebecca Ann Knudson
Category: Construction Litigation
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
Nicole B. Slaughter
Category: Construction Litigation
Firm: Hamlet Law
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
Geoffrey Hosford
Category: Criminal Defense
Firm: Hosford & Hosford
Title: Partner
Bruce Mason
Category: Criminal Defense
Firm: Mason Mason & Smith
Title: Partner
James F. Rutherford
Category: Criminal Defense
Firm: James Rutherford Attorney at Law
Title: Founder (Also named to Legal Elite)
Emily Jones Queen
Category: Criminal Defense - Rising Stars
Firm: Burney & Jones
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
William Gray Smith
Category: Criminal Defense - Rising Stars
Firm: Mason Mason & Smith
Title: Junior partner
James McGee Jr.
Category: Criminal Defense - DUI/DWI
Firm: McGee Law Firm
Title: Attorney
Gint Krulikas
Category: Category: Criminal Defense - DUI/DWI Rising Stars
Firm: Minick Law
Title: Attorney
Patrick Mincey
Category: Criminal Defense - White Collar
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
Kevin Marcilliat
Category: Criminal Defense - White Collar Rising Stars
Firm: Marcilliat & Mills
Title: Managing partner
Lisa Salines-Mondello
Category: Elder Law
Firm: Salines-Mondello Law Fir
Title: Principal attorney
Norwood Blanchard III
Category: Employment and Labor
Firm: Crossley McIntosh Collier Hanley & Edes
Title: Attorney
Andrew K. McVey
Category: Employment and Labor
Firm: Murchison Taylor & Gibson
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
William Oden
Category: Employment and Labor
Firm: Ward and Smith
Title: Attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
Benton Toups
Category: Employment & Labor
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Norvell West IV
Category: Employment Litigation - Defense Rising Stars
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Attorney
Jill Peters Kaess
Category: Estate Planning & Probate
Firm: Lee Kaess
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
James W. Lea III
Category: Family Law
Firm: Lea/Schultz Law Firm
Title: Founder (Also named to Legal Elite)
John M. Martin
Category: Family Law
Firm: Ward and Smith
Title: Founder
Amanda B. Mason
Category: Family Law
Firm: Mason Mason & Smith
Title: Partner
Linda B. Sayed
Category: Family Law
Firm: Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Melissa D. Wright
Category: Family Law
Firm: Melissa Wright Mediations,
Title: Owner
Matthew Q. Geiger
Category: Family Law - Rising Stars
Firm: Cape Fear Family Law
Title: Attorney
Allie C. Moore
Category: Family Law - Rising Stars
Firm: Cape Fear Family Law
Title: Attorney
Helen Laura Tarokic
Category: Immigration
Firm: Helen Tarokic Law
Title: Managing attorney (Also named to Legal Elite)
Katherine Haddock
Category: Immigration - Rising Stars
Firm: Helen Tarokic Law
Title: Attorney
Diane K. Pappayliou
Category: Insurance Coverage - Rising Stars
Firm: Butler Snow
Title: Attorney
Stephen Diab
Mergers & Aquisitions
Firm: Murchison, Taylor & Gibson
Title: Attorney (Legal Elite Hall of Fame)
Deedee Gasch
Category: Personal Injury General - Defense
Firm: Cranfill Sumner
Title: Attorney
Chamberlain Collier
Category: Personal Injury General - Defense Rising Stars
Firm: Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms
Title: Attorney
Bradley A. Coxe
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: Law Office of Bradley Coxe
Title: Owner
Devlin K. Horton
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: Horton & Mendez
Title: Founding partner
H. Scott Overholt
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: The Overholt Law Firm
Title: Founder
Martin A. Ramey
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: CR Legal Team
Title: Attorney
Woody White
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: Woody White Lawm Firm
Title: Senior partner
Jeremy M. Wilson
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff
Firm: Ward and Smith
Title: Attorney
Nicholas Brookes Mendez
Category: Personal Injury General - Plaintiff Rising Stars
Firm: Horton & Mendez
Title: Attorney
M. Justin Holoman
Category: Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice Plaintiff
Firm: Daniel Holoman & Associates
Title: Attorney
Faison B. Gibson
Category: Real Estate
Firm: Murchison Taylor & Gibson
Title: Member
Jeffrey P. Keeter
Category: Real Estate
Firm: Block Crouch Keeter Behm & Sayed
Title: Partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Michael V. Lee
Category: Real Estate
Firm: Lee Kaess
Title: Managing member
Seth P. Buskirk
Category: Transportation/Maritime
Firm: Clark Newton & Evans
Title: Partner
Don T. Evans Jr.
Category: Transportation/Maritime
Firm: Clark Newton & Evans
Title: Managing partner (Also named to Legal Elite)
Geoffrey A. Losee
Category: Transportation/Maritime
Firm: Rountree Losee
Title: Managing partner
Christina D. Cress
Category: Utilities - Rising Stars
Firm: Ward and Smith
Title: Partner
Kathleen Shannon Glancy
Category: Workers' Compensation
Firm: Law Offices of Kathleen Shannon Glancy
Title: Founder
Lauren Travers
Category: Workers' Compensation - Rising Stars
Firm: Hedrick Gardner Kincheloe & Garofalo
Title: Attorney
Click here to view the 2025 LEGAL ELITE list.
See other stories on Law:
District Attorney Lays Down the Law
Promise, Peril and the Path Forward: Legal Industry AI
Area Attorneys Chosen for the 2025 LEGAL ELITE List
Area Attorneys Chosen for the 2025 SUPER LAWYERS List
Law Firm, Others Tackle Trafficking
