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Robinson & McElwee Listed in U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for 2021

Robinson & McElwee PLLC has been recognized in three metropolitan tiers in two cities in the 2021 U.S. News – Best Lawyers© “Best Law Firms” list.  Firms included in this list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers, according to the Best Lawyers© press release.

Metropolitan Tier 1: Akron

  • Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
  • Trusts & Estates Law

Metropolitan Tier 1: Charleston-WV

  • Administrative / Regulatory Law
  • Commercial Finance Law
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
  • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Real Estate Law
  • Utilities Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Akron

  • Litigation – Trusts & Estates
  • Tax Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Charleston-WV

  • Employment Law – Management
  • Environmental Law
  • Labor Law – Management
  • Litigation – Bankruptcy
  • Litigation – Labor & Employment

Metropolitan Tier 3: Charleston-WV

  • Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Law
  • Energy Law
  • Litigation – Environmental
  • Mergers & Acquisitions Law
  • Natural Resources Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

For a firm to receive a tier designation there must be present a high level of respect for that firm among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their capabilities, their professionalism and their integrity.  The tier rankings were determined through the firm’s overall evaluation derived from a combination of clients’ impressive feedback, the high regard attorneys from different firms in the same practice area hold for Robinson & McElwee, and information provided by the firm.



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Robinson & McElwee Welcomes New Associate

Robinson & McElwee is pleased to announce that Lindsay Stollings has joined the firm.  She will practice out of the firm’s Charleston, West Virginia office and concentrate her practice in Business Litigation.

Ms. Stollings earned her J.D. in 2020 from West Virginia University’s College of Law.  During her time in law school, Ms. Stollings spend a semester externing in the litigation department for West Virginia University Medicine’s General Counsel.  Throughout her third year, she worked in the University’s Clinical Law Program’s general practice clinic, where she represented indigent clients in an array of issues.

While in law school, Ms. Stollings also served as Cache (Treasurer) of Mountain Honorary (the University’s ranking honorary), Treasurer of the Student Bar Association, and Vice President of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia – Student Society.  Ms. Stollings holds a B.A. in International Studies from West Virginia University, with an emphasis on International Business and a minor in Business Administration.  As an Honors’ College student at West Virginia University, she also studied abroad in Poland, focusing on Transitional Economies of Eastern Europe.

Now a resident of Charleston, Ms. Stollings grew up in Summersville, West Virginia and enjoys spending time outdoors and hiking during the summer in the New River Gorge, paddle boarding on Summersville Lake, and she is an avid skier in the wintertime.



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Robinson & McElwee Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2021

Fifteen lawyers from Robinson & McElwee PLLC were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021. 

The Robinson & McElwee attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 for Charleston, WV include:

  • Stephen D. Annand, Insurance Law
  • Joseph S. Beeson, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Kent J. George, Commercial Finance Law, Construction Law, Corporate Law
  • Mark H. Hayes, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • David K. Higgins, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law
  • Robert E. Lannan II, Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
  • Douglas C. McElwee, Land Use and Zoning Law, Natural Resources Law, Real Estate Law
  • John C. Palmer IV, Commercial Litigation, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
  • William C. Porth, Administrative / Regulatory Law, Energy Law, Utilities Law
  • Joseph M. Price, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment
  • W. Bradley Sorrells, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy, Real Estate Law

The Robinson & McElwee attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 for Clarksburg, WV include:

  • Richard W. Gallagher, Commercial Litigation
  • Stephen F. Gandee, Transportation Law

The Robinson & McElwee attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2021 for Alliance, OH include:

  • Brent A. Barnes, Commercial Litigation
  • Michael A. Ogline, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which almost 50,000 leading attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed.  Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”



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Energy & Environmental Industry Attorney Anne Blankenship Joins Robinson & McElwee

Robinson & McElwee announced today that Anne Blankenship has joined the firm’s energy and environmental practice as Senior Counsel.  For over 18 years, Ms. Blankenship has worked in West Virginia’s energy industry in various capacities.   She has over 15 years of experience as an attorney in the environmental, regulatory, and utility sectors, in addition to her time serving as the West Virginia Oil and Gas Association’s Executive Director.

As an energy industry attorney, Ms. Blankenship has represented clients in West Virginia’s state and federal courts before a number of authorities and West Virginia’s Public Service Commission.  Her practice includes advising clients on environmental issues, including air quality, water and waste management, as well as public utility regulation. 

 “Anne’s skills and experience bring another layer of capability to our energy and environmental practice which will directly benefit our clients,” said Chief Executive Officer Kent George. “She is an excellent attorney and will help us continue to serve our clients in navigating the challenging regulatory and environmental matters in the state.”

Ms. Blankenship will be based in the firm’s Charleston, WV office.  She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in biological sciences from Marshall University and a J.D. from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She returned to West Virginia after law school and has built her career and raised her family in Charleston.



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Robinson & McElwee Message Regarding COVID-19

Given the circumstances surrounding the highly contagious nature and expected spread of COVID-19, the CDC recommendations, and the guidelines suggested by federal, state and local officials for the safety of our employees and their families, and the safety of our clients, their colleagues, and their families, Robinson & McElwee PLLC has made the decision to temporarily serve our clients remotely and will close our physical offices (Charleston, Clarksburg and Wheeling, West Virginia and Alliance, Ohio) starting Monday 3/23/2020.  

During this time, we are committed and are prepared to continue to uphold the highest level of client service and to maintain the continuity of our firm’s operations on behalf of our clients.  Accordingly, and for the following 14 days, it will be business as usual, just from remote locations.  In accordance with policies and protocols that we have instituted over the years for unexpected events that may preclude the availability of our physical office, all of our lawyers and staff are trained and equipped to work remotely through our secure remote network system.  It is our intention that by serving clients remotely, we will allow our attorneys and staff to play their part in complying with social distancing and other such recommendations of authorities in an effort to control the spread and minimize the adverse impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Our receptionist will be available through a remote connection to answer all calls to our main number (304-344-5800) and will route calls to our lawyers and other staff as requested.  Everyone at Robinson & McElwee PLLC will continue to have access to their email and firm systems and their direct office telephone numbers, in most cases, will be automatically directed to the telephone number that is accessible to them at their remote location. 

Please rest assured that our systems are secure and designed for this type of remote operation and that all of our attorneys and essential staff have been previously trained and experienced with working by means of secure remote connectivity.



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Robinson & McElwee Listed in U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” for 2020

Robinson & McElwee PLLC has been recognized in three metropolitan tiers in two cities in the 2020 U.S. News – Best Lawyers© “Best Law Firms” list.  Firms included in this list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers, according to the Best Lawyers© press release.

Metropolitan Tier 1: Charleston-WV

  • Commercial Finance Law
  • Litigation – Labor & Employment
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
  • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Real Estate Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Akron

  • Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
  • Tax Law
  • Trusts & Estates Law

Metropolitan Tier 2: Charleston-WV

  • Corporate Law
  • Employment Law – Management
  • Labor Law – Management
  • Litigation – Bankruptcy
  • Utilities Law

Metropolitan Tier 3: Charleston-WV

  • Commercial Litigation
  • Energy Law
  • Environmental Law
  • Litigation – Environmental
  • Mergers & Acquisitions Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants

For a firm to receive a tier designation there must be present a high level of respect for that firm among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their capabilities, their professionalism and their integrity.  The tier rankings were determined through the firm’s overall evaluation derived from a combination of clients’ impressive feedback, the high regard attorneys from different firms in the same practice area hold for Robinson & McElwee, and information provided by the firm.