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Best Lawyers in Nashville, Tennessee for Commercial Litigation
Practice Area Overview
Litigation increasingly occurs in various venues, from state and federal courts to private arbitrations and administrative hearings. Proceedings can involve business-to-business disputes or any number of government agencies. Understanding the motivations and outlook of each of the litigation participants is important for determining weak points to exploit and strong points that will persuade the audience in question. During the past decade, commercial litigators have seen a dramatic uptick in multidistrict and inter-disciplinary litigation, making the stakes higher, the cases more complex, the parties more numerous and the discovery more complicated and unwieldy. Firms that are able to develop and implement a creative legal approach to each individual problem, efficiently focus on the key legal and factual issues, and master and manage the various aspects of these complex matters will be the busiest in the years to come.
In the current challenging economic climate, commercial litigators are under increasing client pressure to keep costs in check, which has both sides testing the efficacy of alternative fee arrangements and the scope of reasonable discovery. Whether the “death of the billable hour” is ultimately realized, the keys to a commercial litigator’s success will continue to be strong client relationships, thought leadership, practical management skills, deep experience, and personal commitment.
The seeds of Mike Abelow’s success as a trial lawyer were planted early. As a formidable high school debater and strategy game enthusiast, Mike made compelling arguments and anticipated opponents’ moves and countermoves long before he took those same skills into the courtroom. Today, Mike’s determined and strategic advocacy has made him one of Nashville’s premier commercial litigation and commercial bankruptcy attorneys. Mike represents a diverse clientele in complex c...
Margaret L. Behm has earned the reputation as the go-to person in 45 years of representing clients and forging coalitions for change. After beginning her legal career in 1976 at Legal Services if Middle Tennessee, Inc., Behm and Marietta Shipley in 1980 founded Shipley and Behm, the city's first all-woman law firm. “Back then, women just weren’t taken seriously as business owners or lawyers,” Behm says. “I wanted to run my own business and demonstrate that women could ...
Brandon Bundren is a trial lawyer who represents both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts in Tennessee and Texas. Brandon’s clients range from small businesses to numerous publicly traded companies. While Brandon handles a variety of complex commercial cases, his practice is focused primarily on intellectual property and competitive practices litigation, including non-compete, trade secrets, patent, trademark, copyright, and similar unfair competition matters. Brandon ...
Webb Campbell’s business litigation practice focuses on representing companies and individuals in shareholder and corporate governance lawsuits, insurance coverage disputes, breach of contract and employment matters, business torts involving fraud and enforcement of restrictive covenants, and plaintiffs’ recovery cases in the area of antitrust. As a veteran trial lawyer with over three decades of experience spanning a wide range of high stakes matters, Webb also teams regularly wi...
Chris Cardwell is a trial lawyer in GSRM’s Litigation and Labor and Employment practice groups. He serves on the firm’s management, marketing and staff committees, and leads the Litigation and Labor and Employment practice groups. Chris represents life sciences, healthcare, railroad and transportation, and entertainment companies in complex commercial, employment, and intellectual property lawsuits.
George H. Cate, III, focuses his practice in civil litigation, crisis management, and representing corporations and individuals in connection with government and internal investigations. His civil litigation experience includes matters arising from a broad range of commercial and business transactions, misappropriation of trade secrets and other intellectual property disputes, non-competition and related business tort litigation, disputes under the False Claims Act, insurance litigation, bank...
Lauren Curry’s practice is focused primarily on business disputes, complex commercial litigation, employment matters, and evaluating and resolving insurance coverage controversies. She provides counsel to businesses and executives navigating employment disputes or litigation and advises them on day-to-day employee relations. In her insurance coverage practice, Lauren represents insurance companies and policyholders and has assisted clients in resolving multi-million dollar coverage disp...
Mr. Evans’s practice is focused on products liability, pharmaceutical, commercial and insurance litigation in both state and federal courts. Matthew built his practice defending pharmaceutical and products liability cases and is adept at handling complex litigation, having significant experience in MDL cases, both in Tennessee and across the country. Matthew routinely works with highly specialized experts ranging from physicians to fire investigators and professional engineers. Matthew ...
John Farringer is a trial lawyer focusing on complex business and commercial litigation. He practices in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate level and before administrative agencies. John is also experienced with all forms of alternative dispute resolution, regularly advises clients regarding litigation avoidance and assessment, and is listed as a Rule 31 General Civil Mediator. With over two decades of experience, John has litigated many high-stakes and high-profile matt...
Mr. Griffin’s practice is focused on commercial, intellectual property, and insurance litigation in both state and federal courts. He has extensive jury and non-jury trial experience in corporate, business, entertainment, insurance, and personal injury litigation. Mr. Griffin has represented Country Music Hall of Fame songwriters, as well as various record companies, music publishing companies, manufacturers, and insurance companies in a wide variety of disputes. Mr. Griffin is a Tennes...
Bill Harbison is a member of Sherrard & Roe and works primarily in the areas of corporate law and trusts and estates. He also handles litigation in those same practice categories. Mr. Harbison is a 1980 graduate of Harvard Law School, cum laude . He received his bachelor's degree with highest honors in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Harbison is listed in The Best Lawyers of America. He is a member of the American...
Mr. Harwell focuses his practice on commercial litigation, white-collar criminal defense and crisis management. Through the years he has been involved in many cases receiving national attention. He has been counsel for numerous public officials including judges, governors, congressmen, state senators, mayors and state attorneys general. For the last several years, he has represented Pilot Flying J, the sixth largest private company in the country, regarding numerous issues arising out of the ...
Lela M. Hollabaugh has served as the lead trial lawyer in more than a dozen jury trials, as well as more than two dozen bench trials, arbitrations and administrative hearings. She advises leading natural gas pipeline companies on issues involving location, land acquisition, construction and operations. Hollabaugh serves as lead counsel for several pipeline projects in the southeast involving more than 200 lawsuits. She also represents leading pharmaceutical, medical device and other manufactu...
Ryan practices complex commercial litigation. Among other high-stakes business disputes, Ryan has recently litigated covenants not to compete and trade secrets, commercial real estate transactions, contract disputes, business torts, and shareholder and corporate-governance issues. In 2024, Ryan was named the “Lawyer of the Year” in Nashville for Real Estate Litigation. Ryan’s practice includes antitrust litigation, in which he represents large corporate clients in courts aro...
Ty Howard brings the perspective of a former state and federal prosecutor to defending and counseling businesses and individuals involved in government investigations, compliance matters, False Claims Act and whistleblower cases, related business litigation, and white-collar criminal matters. As a litigator and chair of Bradley’s Government Enforcement and Investigations group, he works collaboratively with clients, across many industries, to find creative solutions to their compliance ...
Mr. Johnson’s practice focuses on business transactions, entertainment law, intellectual property, and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Johnson regularly handles copyright and trademark applications, intellectual property licensing, entertainment transactions, and corporate transactions. His clients include music licensing companies, tech companies, and various other businesses, for which he serves as a business advisor and outside general counsel. He also has extensive experience in ...
Ben Katz is a fintech attorney in Bradley’s Litigation, Banking and Financial Services, and Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights practice groups. He serves as a trusted advisor and outside general counsel to companies in the electronic payments industry. Ben also serves automotive industry clients in various bankruptcy and restructuring, including matters that involve supply chain crises that threaten production. In addition, his practice includes representing various stakeholders in comple...
Jim Kay is a native Nashvillian known for handling high profile cases in both litigation and mediation. Mr. Kay has vast experience in the courtroom as he has tried over 80 jury cases and hundreds of non-jury cases. He is the most sought after mediator in the state, having completed over 3200 mediations and presided over nearly 300 arbitrations. He is chosen daily to assist as a neutral in the most difficult cases across Tennessee. Mr. Kay is highly experienced in both residential and commerc...
Peter F. Klett III, a member in Dickinson Wright’s Nashville office, focuses his practice on labor and employment law with a particular emphasis on class action lawsuits. He has served as lead counsel in many high-profile wage and hour compliance suits throughout the U.S. For nearly 30 years, Peter has proudly served as primary regional and local litigation counsel for independent trucking companies in catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and personal injury cases. He also represents co...
Amy Rao Mohan provides a practical, problem-solving approach for her clients whether it involves litigation, crisis management or general counsel work. As a former Emmy-award winning television journalist, Amy brings a unique approach to the law to develop effective approaches to protect her clients’ interests and reputations inside and outside of the courtroom. She takes pride in her ability to connect with clients, ease their minds during a crisis, and provide them with a clear path f...
Russ Morgan is a trial lawyer in the firm’s Litigation Section. He represents and advises clients in health care, product liability and construction litigation. He has been recognized in several publications, including The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation and Construction); Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business ; Nashville Business Journal ’s “Best of the Bar”; and Super Lawyers . Healthcare Russ represents health care providers under...
Bill Norton focuses his practice in the business bankruptcy area, dealing in all aspects of bankruptcy cases, creditor rights and insolvency. He first became familiar with the bankruptcy law from his Dad who was a noted scholar and Bankruptcy Judge in Atlanta, Georgia. Bill went to Vanderbilt Law School intending to practice in bankruptcy law and has done so since 1984. Over more than 25 years of practice of bankruptcy and insolvency law, Bill has represented just about every kind of client i...
An accomplished attorney and Professor of Contracts, Eric sees litigation as an opportunity to protect his clients’ business and personal interests, to advance critical principles of justice and fairness, and to help people in times of crisis and need. Eric focuses his practice on contract disputes, white-collar criminal defense, antitrust, and civil rights cases. He has briefed multiple matters before the United States Supreme Court and has tried over a dozen jury trials. In the last f...
Todd Presnell is a trial lawyer licensed in Georgia and Tennessee who represents major corporations, small businesses, governmental entities, tax-exempt organizations, and individuals in their litigation-related needs. Mr. Presnell has served as lead counsel in federal and state courts across the country, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas. He has handled numerous bench and jury trials, argued before the Sixth, Seventh, and...
John Quinn's practice is in the defense of all aspects of civil litigation, including commercial, professional negligence, personal injury, products liability, employment and insurance litigation. He has extensive trial experience and has conducted more than 50 trials in both state and federal courts, as well as arbitrations in Tennessee and Europe. John earned his J.D. at Vanderbilt University Law School. He holds a B.A. in political science and a B.A. in history from Southern Methodist Univ...
Isaac Sanders is a Member of Neal & Harwell, PLC. He is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer who represents defendants and plaintiffs in matters ranging from “mass action” lawsuits involving products liability and toxic tort claims, to civil and white-collar criminal cases involving alleged healthcare fraud. In the last several years, Isaac has routinely been assigned a leading role in a variety of high-stakes cases involving both corporate and individual clients. He has ...
M. Clark Spoden is recognized in Tennessee as a Specialist in Civil Trial and Pre-Trial Advocacy as Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Clark is a Charter Fellow in the American College of Board Certified Attorneys, (2015) and has received recognition in The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation (2010-2022), Litigation-Construction (2011-2022), Litigation-Environmental (2011-2022), Litigation-Labor and Employment (2011-2022), and in the Top 100 in Tennessee Super ...
Thor Urness practices complex business litigation, including bet-the-company cases, intellectual property litigation and related counseling. Thor has served as lead trial counsel in commercial litigation that yielded two of Tennessee’s largest jury verdicts, for $26.5 million and $18.8 million, both in favor of his clients. Thor’s practice is generally divided equally between matters in Tennessee and elsewhere.
Mike Vetter is an AV-rated trial lawyer and a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 General Civil Mediator in Spicer Rudstrom’s Nashville office . He is the Chair of the firm’s Products Liability Group, and his practice is also concentrated in property and casualty litigation, construction litigation, insurance coverage, bad faith, auto and uninsured motorist litigation, and premises liability. Mike is licensed to practice in Tennessee, Kentucky, California, and Missouri. A cum laude gr...
Phil Welty is currently serving as GSRM’s managing partner and is a member of GSRM’s Litigation and Real Estate Sections. His practice focuses on the representation of lenders, title companies, commercial landlords and property managers, developers, contractors, and other businesses and individuals in litigation and resolution of a broad range of lending, consumer financial, real property transactions, title, construction, and other commercial matters. Phil handles matters for cli...
John Wingo is a Member with the Business Litigation Service Group at Stites & Harbison. He provides advice and representation to regional and national clients regarding their business transactions and handles commercial litigation defense work throughout Tennessee in both State and Federal Courts. John has more than 16 years of litigation and trial experience, including complex litigation involving financial institutions, insurance companies and manufacturers. He has deep experience in bu...
Heather Wright helps advises clients regarding risk management through insurance, including litigation of coverage issues when necessary. She helps policyholders maximize insurance recovery under a variety of commercial insurance policies, including property, general liability, professional liability, directors and officers, and cyber liability policies. In addition, she represents commercial property owners and asset managers, as well as real estate developers and general contractors, in the...
John T. Baxter is an Attorney in the Firm’s Nashville office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice group. He focuses his practice primarily on entertainment litigation, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy. Mr. Baxter has significant experience in courts across the state of Tennessee and beyond, including appellate experience before the Tennessee Court of Appeals, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Baxter a...
Micah counsels clients on a range of business disputes and commercial litigation matters. She graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School, where she received the Founder’s Medal for first honors. At Vanderbilt, she worked as the Senior En Banc Editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and as an articles editor for the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review . Micah graduated summa cum laude from Rollins College with an Artium Baccalaureus Honoris in English. Before joining Sherrard Roe...
Hunter Branstetter helps clients favorably resolve thorny disputes, minimize the chance of future issues, and maximize success if problems do arise. His practice consists primarily of litigation; representing utilities, municipalities, and related entities; and certain aspects of business law. His trial and dispute resolution experiences range widely from contract claims to civil rights, corporate disputes to commercial litigation, condemnation/eminent domain to construction, antitrust to adm...
Alex represents businesses, individuals, and state and local governments in high-stakes litigation. The cases he handles span many subject areas, including business disputes, real estate disputes, antitrust law, constitutional law, and statutory interpretation. Alex focuses on appeals and critical motions presenting novel questions of state and federal law. He has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and all of Tennessee’s appellate...
Hilary Dennen is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Labor and Employment, and Estate Planning and Probate Sections. As a litigation attorney in Nashville, her practice focuses in the areas of complex civil litigation, employment litigation, trust and estate litigation, and immigration. Hilary received her law degree in 2017 from Belmont University College of Law where she received the Best Performance Award in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She received her undergraduate and master&rsq...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.