Contributed by Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Thirty- eight Columbia Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough attorneys are among the 70 from the firm who have been selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

The 2009 edition ranks Nelson Mullins as No. 1 in 16 practice areas in South Carolina and four practice areas in North Carolina. Lawyers from seven different Nelson Mullins locations are listed.

Lawyers are selected for inclusion based on a peer- review survey. Lawyers are not allowed to pay a fee to be listed. Best Lawyers is based on confidential evaluations by and interviews of the top attorneys in the country.

The Columbia attorneys listed and their practice areas are

• Stuart M. Andrews, Jr., Health Care Law

• George S. Bailey, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates

• Linda K. Barr, Bankruptcy and Creditor- Debtor Rights Law

• C. Mitchell Brown, Appellate Law, Commercial Litigation

• George B. Cauthen, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights Law

• Karen A. Crawford, Environmental Law

• Christopher J. Daniels, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• William S. Davies, Jr., Product Liability Litigation, Workers' Compensation Law

• Gus M. Dixon, Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Securities Law

• Dwight F. Drake, Government Relations Law

• David E. Dukes, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• Mark C. Dukes, Intellectual Property Law, Technology Law

• Carl B. Epps III, Personal Injury Litigation

• Daniel J. Fritze, Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Securities Law

• James C. Gray, Jr., Administrative Law, Insurance Law

• Kevin A. Hall, Commercial Litigation

• Sue Erwin Harper, Labor and Employment Law

• Bernard F. Hawkins, Jr., Environmental Law

• P. Mason Hogue, Jr., Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, Securities Law

• William C. Hubbard, Commercial Litigation

• S. Keith Hutto, Commercial Litigation, Franchise Law

• Kenneth Allan Janik, Employee Benefits Law, Tax Law

• Catherine H. Kennedy, Trusts and Estates

• Frank B.B. Knowlton, Product Liability Litigation

• D. Larry Kristinik III, Commercial Litigation

• John F. Kuppens, Commercial Litigation

• James K. Lehman, Commercial Litigation

• Steven A. McKelvey, Jr., Franchise Law

• John T. Moore, Banking Law

• Stephen G. Morrison, Commercial Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• Edward W. Mullins, Jr., Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation,

• R. Bruce Shaw, Mass Tort Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• B. Rush Smith III, Commercial Litigation

• Joel H. Smith, Betthe Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• David G. Traylor, Jr., Mass Tort Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation, Product Liability Litigation

• Ralston B. Vanzant II, Real Estate Law

• Daniel J. Westbrook, Health Care Law

• George B. Wolfe, Government Relations Law

Nelson Mullins, established in 1897, has more than 400 attorneys practicing from offices in Atlanta, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Raleigh, Washington, and Winston-Salem.