Best Lawyers® 2024 Recognizes 46 Downey Brand Lawyers with Four Receiving Prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” Honors

August 17, 2023


Downey Brand is pleased to announce that 36 of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, including four who received the highly acclaimed 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” honor: Brian Cragg (San Francisco) for both Energy Regulatory Law and Administrative/Regulatory; Christian Marsh (San Francisco) for Natural Resources Law; Steven Goldberg (Sacramento) for Environmental Litigation; and Mary Martinelli (Sacramento) for Family Law.

In addition to these achievements, 10 of the firm’s up-and-coming attorneys were selected for the Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list.

Here are the 36 Downey Brand attorneys who were honored as The Best Lawyers in America:

  • David R.E. Aladjem– Water Law
  • Annie Amaral – Commercial Litigation
  • Meghan Baker – Commercial Litigation
  • Andrea Clark – Water Law, Natural Resources Law
  • Brian Cragg – Administrative/Regulatory Law, Energy Law, Energy Regulatory Law, Utilities Law
  • Michael Day – Energy Law, Utilities Law
  • Joseph De Angelis – Corporate Law, Tax Law
  • Jamie Dreher – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Litigation – Bankruptcy
  • Jay-Allen Eisen – Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Matthew Ellis – Commercial Finance Law, Real Estate Law
  • Sean Filippini – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction
  • Janlynn Fleener – Commercial Litigation
  • Jeffrey Galvin – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
  • Steven Goldberg – Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental
  • Nicole Granquist – Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • Tyson Hubbard – Litigation – Trusts and Estates
  • Thomas MacBride, Jr. – Communications Law, Energy Law
  • Christian Marsh – Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Land Use and Zoning, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • Mary Martinelli – Family Law
  • Scott McElhern – Construction Law, Litigation – Construction
  • Daniel McVeigh – Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Labor & Employment
  • Stephen Meyer – Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Environmental
  • Meredith Nikkel – Litigation – Environmental, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • Kevin O’Brien – Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • Kathryn Oehlschlager – Environmental Law
  • Kelly Pope – Commercial Litigation, Family Law
  • Silvio Reggiardo III – Tax Law
  • Scott Shapiro – Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • Rebecca Smith – Natural Resources Law
  • Megan Somogyi – Administrative/Regulatory Law, Energy Regulatory Law
  • Robert Soran – Litigation – Environmental
  • James Squeri – Communications Law, Energy Law
  • Danielle Stephens – Real Estate Law
  • Melissa Thorme – Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Water Law
  • William Warne – Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
  • Matthew Weber – Construction Law, Litigation – Construction

Here are the 10 Downey Brand attorneys named to the “Ones to Watch” list:

  • Samuel Bivins – Natural Resources Law
  • Kristin Capritto – Business Organizations, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates
  • Bradley Carroll – Commercial Litigation
  • Austin Cho – Natural Resources Law
  • Hina Gupta – Land Use and Zoning Law
  • Brian Hamilton – Environmental Law, Litigation – Environmental, Natural Resouces Law
  • Christopher Kolkey – Commercial Litigation
  • Alexandra LaFountain – Labor and Employment Law – Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment
  • Michael Laino – Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Intellectual Property
  • Patrick Veasy – Environmental Law

The Best Lawyers in America® recognizes outstanding attorneys by using a sophisticated survey process based entirely on peer review on a national level. Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence. The prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” designation is presented to only one attorney in each practice area per geographical region each year.