Twenty-four Bell Nunnally attorneys are recognized in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® published by the legal research and ranking service Best Lawyers® and a sister list to The Best Lawyers in America®.
“As a firm, Bell Nunnally has operated with a core principle that our goal is to help attorneys develop to their fullest, and we are proud of our next-generation talent pipeline – a portion of which is represented here on the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® list,” said Bell Nunnally Managing Partner Christopher B. Trowbridge. “We congratulate this amazing group and look forward to their continued success.”
The 2026 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® was compiled based on more than four million votes from attorneys across the U.S. These peer reviews were analyzed and vetted by Best Lawyers®, yielding a selection of more than 27,000 attorneys across the United States.
Lawyers named to the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch®’s 2026 list and their respective areas of recognition are:
- Catherine B. Baldo – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Real Estate
- J. Reid Burley – Commercial Litigation
- Christian J. Cowart – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Nathan Cox – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Kimberly A. Cruz – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Real Estate Law
- Matthew J. DeWitte – Corporate Law
- Jason Elgersma – Commercial Litigation
- Joshua D. Fuller – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Troy “T.J.” Hales – Labor and Employment Law – Management
- Catherine Helm – Commercial Litigation
- Dylan T. Hughes – Labor and Employment Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Mason G. Jones – Commercial Litigation
- Laura K. Lavernia – Commercial Litigation
- Greg Nieman – Commercial Litigation
- Meredith N. Palmer – Commercial Litigation; Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Tylynn R. Payne – Commercial Litigation
- Caitlin M. Richardson – Commercial Litigation
- Kate Rosenow – Commercial Litigation
- Sydnie A. Shimkus – Labor and Employment Law – Management
- Joshua T. Smith – Corporate Law; Mergers and Acquisitions Law; Real Estate Law
- Olivia G. Stedman – Commercial Litigation
- Brandon N. Stephens – Commercial Litigation
- Sven Stricker – Commercial Litigation
- Shane Thomas – Commercial Litigation
In addition to those recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch®,25 additional Bell Nunnally attorneys have been named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 list.