Only a single lawyer in each practice area in each community is being honored as a “Lawyer of the Year.” Lawyers who receive this honor are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the exhaustive peer–review assessments that Best Lawyers conducts with thousands of leading lawyers each year.
Jim Alsup was selected as Austin’s Real Estate Law Lawyer of the Year. Jim has extensive experience in real estate related areas. He represents both sellers and purchasers of all types of real estate, including raw land, office complexes, industrial projects, and retail centers. Jim is regularly involved in lease negotiations on behalf of both landlords and tenants. He has experience in real estate development, construction issues, and the formation of business entities. In connection with his representations of purchasers and owners of real estate projects, he often represents the borrower in loan and other financing transactions. In addition to his real estate practice, Jim has been involved in general business transactions involving contracts and other matters. He has represented both the seller and the purchaser in the sale and purchase of businesses, particularly in transactions which involve extensive real estate assets. Jim’s clients include both individual investors and private and publicly traded companies. Jim received his B.A., with honors, from the University of Texas and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law.
Don Griffis was selected as Lubbock’s Mediation Lawyer of the Year. Don has practiced for over 40 years in West Texas and, prior to that, served as a law clerk to Honorable Joe E. Estes, United States District Judge, in Dallas. Before going to work for Judge Estes, Mr. Griffis served for three years on active duty as an Officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served in Vietnam as both a Staff Legal Officer and as an Infantry Officer and then was assigned to teach military law at the Marine Corps Basic School, Quantico, Virginia. Don has extensive personal injury and commercial litigation experience and has appeared in a variety of state and federal courts. His primary areas of interest include personal injury defense, products and premises liability defense, employment litigation, medical and legal malpractice litigation, and general business litigation. He is the managing partner of the firm’s San Angelo office. Don received his B.A., with honors, from the University of the South and his LL.B. from the University of Texas School of Law.
Gary Ingram was selected as Dallas’ Litigation – Labor and Employment Law Lawyer of the Year. Gary has more than 35 years of experience representing management in labor relations and employment law matters, including wage–hour litigation, labor union disputes, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice charges, OSHA (safety) investigations, individual and class action employment discrimination suits, and non-competition/non–disclosure matters. For more than 20 years, Gary served as the state–wide Practice Group Leader for Jackson Walker’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and maintains offices in Fort Worth and Dallas. Gary received his B.A. from Hendrix College and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Susan Mead was selected as Dallas’ Land Use and Zoning Law Lawyer of the Year. Susan focuses her practice on the representation of clients in the areas of zoning, planning and entitlements law, including implementation of tax increment financing districts and other economic development incentives. Her practice includes representation before city councils, city planning commissions, board of adjustment, urban renewal boards, review boards and landmark committees throughout the nation. Susan is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects. She has been active in neighborhood preservation, redevelopment of cities, and art organizations for most of her career. Susan received her B.A. from Trinity College and her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Jed Morrison was selected as San Antonio’s Healthcare Law Lawyer of the Year. Jed focuses on the regulatory and transactional aspects of healthcare law. He has extensive background in Medicare and Medicaid regulatory and reimbursement issues, antitrust, fraud and abuse, physician referral legislation (including recruitment contracts and joint ventures), and managed care issues. He is also experienced in strategic planning for hospitals and health systems regarding formation of entities and coordination of care to meet new federal and state-sponsored managed care initiatives. He frequently consults with healthcare organizations to help them navigate healthcare structures and laws to position themselves for future healthcare initiatives. Jed received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Oklahoma.
James Pledger was selected as Austin’s Financial Services Regulation Law Lawyer of the Year. James focuses his practice on the regulation and operation of commercial banks, savings associations, savings banks, credit unions and financial institution holding companies, and the regulation of mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers. He has experience in such areas as acquisitions and control of depository institutions and holding companies, the establishment of de novo charters and charter conversions, resolution of supervisory and enforcement matters, transactions with affiliates, loans to one borrower, subsidiary, affiliate and service corporations, and public equity and debt offerings by depository institutions and their holding companies. James received his B.A. from the University of South Alabama and his J.D. from the University of Alabama.
Scott Rose was selected as San Antonio’s Litigation – Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year. For over 25 years, Scott has served as attorney and counselor to national lending, finance and investment institutions on all aspects of commercial business transactions. Known for his practical yet creative approach to matters, Scott’s involvement often leads to consensual resolution of multi–party business disputes. His experience includes numerous complex corporate, partnership, and individual bankruptcy reorganization proceedings, as well as out–of–court restructurings involving numerous secured creditors and competing claimants. Scott received his B.A., with highest honors, from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law.