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Robinson & McElwee Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2020

Eleven lawyers from Robinson & McElwee PLLC were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020. 

The Robinson & McElwee attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 for Charleston, WV include:

  • Joseph S. Beeson, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Kent J. George, Commercial Finance 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, 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

The Robinson & McElwee attorney listed in The Best Lawyers in America© 2020 for Alliance, Ohio is Michael A. Ogline for Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Tax Law and 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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Robinson & McElwee Member Mark Hayes Elected President of DTCWV

Robinson & McElwee is pleased to announce that firm Member Mark H. Hayes was elected President of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia (DTCWV) earlier this summer.  Mr. Hayes was officially installed at the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia annual meeting at Glade Springs Resort in June when he began his one-year term.

Mr. Hayes’s plans for his year as the organization’s president include enhancing its role as the voice of the defense bar, and expanding the services it provides to its members and the community at large.  DTCWV is the only state-wide representative of corporate and business litigators, and works with Chambers of Commerce, the legislature, judicial officers and state administration to enhance West Virginia’s court system and that laws that govern it.  Mr. Hayes and the DTCWV Board of Governors also support a diverse community of West Virginia lawyers, and the organization is committed to promoting a legal community of inclusion and equality. 

Mr. Hayes has been involved with the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia since 1991, a member of the organization’s Board of Governors for ten years, and in the officers’ rotation since 2016.  He is a resident of Huntington and has over thirty years of experience representing businesses in West Virginia, specifically in litigation.  Outside of the office, Mr. Hayes serves his alma mater Marshall University as a member of the Board of the Directors for the Marshall University Alumni Association and by mentoring undergraduate students on the law and its effect on their future profession as a part of the University’s John Marshall Legal Society.  He also serves his other alma mater, the West Virginia University College of Law, as a member of its “Visiting Committee”, providing insight, advice and support to its administration and students.



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Robinson & McElwee Recognized by Chambers USA 2019 Guide

Robinson & McElwee has been named among the leaders in West Virginia business law in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA, with three practice groups recognized and three individual attorneys ranked as prominent practitioners in their fields.

When interviewed on Robinson & McElwee’s strengths, clients describe the group as an “excellent team,” adding that it is “very strong due to the personal attention and detail in all aspects.” Such feedback, from clients and peers, earned the firm and its attorneys rankings for:  

Douglas McElwee, Real Estate (Band 1)

Joseph Price, Labor & Employment (Band 1)

Kent George, Real Estate (Band 1) and Corporate/Commercial (Band 2)

Real Estate (Band 2)

Labor and Employment (Band 4)

Corporate/Commercial (Band 3)

About Chambers USA

Chambers USA ranks leading law firms and lawyers by carrying out thousands of interviews with lawyers and clients. The rankings are based on such criteria as legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence and commitment to the client.  Inclusion in the guide is based solely on the research.



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Robinson & McElwee Welcomes New Associate

Robinson & McElwee is pleased to announce that Jack Willems has joined the firm.  Mr. Willems will practice out of the firm’s Charleston, West Virginia office.

Mr. Willems practice is concentrated on real estate, trusts, corporate agreements and general business law.  Prior to joining Robinson & McElwee, Mr. Willems worked as an attorney in Wheeling, West Virginia where he gained extensive experience drafting title opinions in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and supported clients by drafting legal memorandum concerning changes in oil and gas law and contract interpretation.

Mr. Willems received his JD from Harvard Law School, and he received a BA in Journalism and Political Science, with a minor in Economics from the University of Arkansas.