17 Dean Mead Attorneys Recognized Among The Best Lawyers in America 2017

Orlando, Fla. – Dean Mead recently announced that 17 of its lawyers were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America © 2017. The attorneys who are recognized and their fields of practice are as follows:

Area of Practice	Attorney Name
Agriculture Law	Michael D. Minton

Bet-the-Company Litigation	Darryl M. Bloodworth

Commercial Litigation	Darryl M. Bloodworth Melanie S. Griffin

Corporate Law	Robert W. Mead, Jr.

Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law	Robert W. Mead, Jr. Joseph “Jay” Van Heyde II

Land Use and Zoning Law	Cari L. Roth

Litigation – ERISA	Joseph “Jay” Van Heyde II

Litigation – Real Estate	Stephen J. Bozarth

Litigation – Trusts and Estates	Marc D. Chapman Lauren Y. Detzel

Non-profit / Charities Law	Jane D. Callahan

Real Estate Law	Vicki L. Berman R. Mason Blake Stephen J. Bozarth Gregory K. Lawrence

Tax Law	Jane D. Callahan Lauren Y. Detzel Charles H. Egerton Stephen R. Looney Michael D. Minton William D. Townsend

Trusts and Estates	David J. Akins Lauren Y. Detzel

David J. Akins was named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” in Orlando. Akins is a shareholder in Dean Mead’s Orlando office. He provides representation in the area of personal wealth planning, with an emphasis on gift planning, charitable planning, estate planning, probate, and the administration of estates and trusts. A significant portion of his practice is related to planning for family-owned and closely held businesses. He represents taxpayers in gift, estate and GST tax controversies with the IRS. Akins also represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in disputes involving estates and trusts.

Marc D. Chapman was named the Best Lawyers® 2017 Litigation – Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” in Orlando. Chapman is the President of Dean Mead and a shareholder in the firm’s Litigation Department. He focuses his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, including banking, construction, real estate, commercial landlord/tenant and probate litigation, as well as creditors’ rights, creditor bankruptcy litigation and non-compete/trade secret enforcement.

About Best Lawyers:

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Over 83,000 leading attorneys globally are eligible to vote, and we have received more than 13 million votes to date on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. For the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, 7.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in almost 55,000 leading lawyers being included in the new edition. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

About Dean Mead:

Dean Mead is a business law firm that provides full-service legal representation to businesses and individuals throughout Florida. The firm has 47 attorneys in multiple practice areas including: tax, estate and succession planning, business law, general commercial litigation, labor and employment, trust and estate litigation, copyrights and trademarks, government relations and lobbying, regulatory compliance, employee benefits, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate, leasing, finance and lending, environmental, land use, water law and eminent domain. For more information, please visit www.www.deanmead.com.

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