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Fifteen Freeborn Partners Listed in Best Lawyers 2018 Edition

CHICAGO – Aug. 15, 2017 – Freeborn & Peters LLP is pleased to announce that 15 of the firm’s partners have been listed in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, which is one of the oldest and most respected attorney referral publications.

“We are honored to have many of Freeborn’s partners listed in the 2018 edition of Best Lawyers as among the top attorneys in the nation as determined by their peers,” said Freeborn Co-Managing Partner Michael A. Moynihan. “All are leaders in their practice areas and in providing top-quality legal services to our clients.”

The Freeborn attorneys who were named 2018 Best Lawyers, along with their recognized practice areas, are:

  • Jessica Kirkwood Alley (Commercial Litigation) – Ms. Alley is a Partner in the Tampa, Fla., office and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry Team. In the area of professional liability defense, she focuses on the defense of professional malpractice claims brought against insurance agents and attorneys. In the area of insurance coverage, she counsels insurers in construing insurance policies and litigating declaratory judgment actions on behalf of domestic and foreign insurers.
  • Roger H. Bickel (Government Relations Practice) – Mr. Bickel is a Partner in the Chicago office and Chairman of the Government and Regulatory Law Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of government relations and regulatory law, litigation and dispute resolution, lobbying and corporate representation, and procurement advocacy. He has more than two decades of experience in representing a wide array of clients in complex regulatory law matters and commercial litigation.
  • Theodore I. Brenner (Insurance Law) – Mr. Brenner is a Partner in the Richmond, Va., office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He has served as trial and appellate counsel in hundreds of civil matters in state and federal courts over his 39-year career. His practice areas of focus include insurance coverage disputes, litigation of claims against insurers, brokers and agents, bad faith litigation, and fraud investigations.
  • Philip L. Comella (Environmental Law) – Mr. Comella is a Partner in the Chicago office, a member of the Litigation Practice Group and Leader of the Environmental and Toxic Torts Practice Group. With a practice that spans regulatory counseling and environmental-based litigation, he has more than three decades of experience in environmental law. His practice has a particular focus on the solid and hazardous waste industry.
  • Kenneth M. Crane (Venture Capital Law) – Mr. Crane is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. He represents private equity, venture capital and family office-backed companies, focusing on acquisition and sale transactions. He works with entrepreneurs and companies from inception through closing of realization transactions. He also frequently represents the portfolio companies of his private equity, emerging growth and other clients in a wide range of transactions and legal matters.
  • Jeffery M. Cross (Antitrust Law) – Mr. Cross is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He has more than 42 years of trial experience representing a variety of corporations and businesses on antitrust, securities fraud, contract, real estate, environmental regulations, libel and slander, false advertising, commercial code, and trade regulation issues. He also has experience in distribution and franchise law as well as mergers and acquisitions.
  • Ronald S. Evans (Family Law) – Mr. Evans is a Partner in the Richmond office and a member of the Family and Personal Law Practice Group. He focuses his practice on complex family law matters, including valuation of closely held corporations and professional practices for purposes of Equitable Distribution, ERISA and Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, custody, visitation and support of children, and support of spouses.
  • Andrew L. Goldstein (Copyright Law, Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television) – Mr. Goldstein is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. He has more than 30 years of experience counseling clients in the areas of intellectual property and information technology law. He also has handled matters in the areas of advertising and promotion law, and media and entertainment law, including video production-, theater- and dance-related matters.
  • Mark R. Goodman (Insurance Law) – Mr. Goodman is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. He has more than three decades of experience advising the insurance industry on corporate, regulatory and transactional matters. He has represented a wide range of clients – including insurance holding companies, insurers, producers, agents and brokers, and managing general agents – in complex, high-profile matters. He also advises non-traditional sellers of insurance on insurance programs.
  • David C. Gustman (Antitrust Law, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Antitrust) – Mr. Gustman is a Partner in the Chicago office, Head of the Litigation Practice Group, Co-Leader of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group, and a member and former Chairman of the Executive Committee. He focuses his practice on complex business litigation cases involving antitrust, accounting, banking, bankruptcy, construction, finance, insurance coverage and broker disputes, real estate, and securities.
  • Lawrence P. Ingram (Commercial Litigation) – Mr. Ingram is a Partner in the Tampa office and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry Team. He concentrates his trial practice in professional liability defense, third-party insurance coverage, qui tam and healthcare fraud, and professional business disputes involving trade secrets and restrictive covenants. In the area of professional liability, his practice focuses on the litigation and trial defense of professional malpractice claims against insurance agents and attorneys.
  • John E. Stevens (Government Relations Practice) – Mr. Stevens is a Partner in the Springfield, Ill., office and a member of the Government and Regulatory Law Practice Group. He has more than 35 years of experience in assisting clients with legislative, regulatory, government procurement and public employee collective bargaining issues. He also assists corporate and not-for-profit clients with their licensing, franchising and economic development issues. He previously served as general counsel to the Illinois attorney general and two Illinois comptrollers.
  • Eileen B. Trost (Litigation – Trusts and Estates, Trusts & Estates) – Ms. Trost is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Corporate Practice Group. She focuses her practice in estate planning, trust and estate administration, and related income tax issues. She has extensive experience in all aspects of estate, gift, generation-skipping and income tax planning for trusts and estates. Of particular note is her experience in advising corporate fiduciaries and high-net worth clients.
  • Alexander S. Vesselinovitch (Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar) – Mr. Vesselinovitch is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on civil and criminal litigation involving breach of contract, anti-fraud, intellectual property and antitrust matters. He also handles domestic and international commercial arbitrations involving various contractual and licensing disputes.
  • Neal L. Wolf (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law) – Mr. Wolf is a Partner in the Chicago office and a member of the Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. He focuses his practice in the areas of business reorganizations, workouts, debt restructuring and business bankruptcy, as well as business litigation. 

Now in its 24th edition, Best Lawyers in America selects attorneys based on extensive, peer-review surveys of leading lawyers who are asked to evaluate other attorneys in their respective practice areas. Lawyers are not permitted to pay a fee to participate or be recognized, and honorees must maintain recommendations in each year’s surveys to remain on the list for each edition. The 2018 edition takes into account more than 7.4 million evaluations and recognizes over 58,000 attorneys in 140 practice areas.

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