The international law firm added eight new practice areas to the Nationwide category, bringing it to 19 practice areas recognized nationally. Similarly, recommendations of its practice areas in Texas jumped from two to six.

Of the 111 Reed Smith individual lawyers featured this year, 17 were ranked in Band 1, an increase of three Band-1 lawyers over last year.

Reed Smith practice areas were highlighted in four Nationwide “Elite” lists, namely: Government Contracts, Healthcare, International Arbitration, and Product Liability & Mass Torts. The Elite category focuses on practices with extensive experience handling prestigious multibillion-dollar deals.

Several individual Reed Smith attorneys were highlighted in specialized Elite lists. They are: Lawrence Block for government contracts; José Astigarraga and Ben Love for international arbitration; and Melissa Geist, Michael Brown and Barbara Binis for product liability and mass torts.

Here is the full list of practice areas featured in this year’s Chambers USA rankings.

Nationwide

• Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory
• Bankruptcy/Restructuring (new entry) (Band 1)
• Cannabis Law (new entry)
• Corporate Crime & Investigations: Highly Regarded (new entry)
• Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded (new entry)
• Derivatives
• E-Discovery & Information Governance
• Energy: Oil & Gas (Regulatory & Litigation)
• Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional) (new entry)
• Government Contracts: The Elite
• Healthcare: The Elite
• Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder
• International Arbitration: The Elite
• International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions (new entry)
• Labor & Employment (new entry)
• Privacy & Data Security: Highly Regarded (new entry) (Band 1)
• Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite
• Transportation: Aviation: Litigation
• Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Finance

California

• Healthcare
• Insurance: Policyholder
• Labor & Employment
• Life Sciences (new entry)
• Litigation: Appellate
• Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded
• Media & Entertainment: Transactional (new entry)

Delaware

• Bankruptcy/Restructuring

District of Columbia

• Healthcare
• Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory (new entry)

Florida

• Litigation: General Commercial: Highly Regarded (new entry)

Illinois

• Corporate/M&A & Private Equity
• Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory (Band 1)
• Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder (Band 1)
• Litigation: General Commercial

New Jersey

• Corporate/M&A

New York

• Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded
• Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder

Northern Virginia

• Real Estate

Pennsylvania

• Antitrust
• Energy & Natural Resources (new entry) (Band 1)
• Healthcare
• Insurance (Band 1)
• Labor & Employment
• Tax

Philadelphia & Surrounds

• Banking & Finance
• Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 1)
• Litigation: General Commercial

Pittsburgh & Surrounds

• Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Band 1)
• Corporate/M&A & Private Equity (Band 1)
• Litigation: General Commercial (Band 1)

Texas

• Bankruptcy/Restructuring (new entry)
• Environment (new entry)
• Healthcare (new entry)
• Insurance (Band 1)
• Labor & Employment
• Technology: Outsourcing (new entry)

Virginia

• Labor & Employment (new entry)
• Litigation: General Commercial

The following lawyers were ranked in Band 1, listed below with their state and category, as defined by Chambers.

• Kurt Gwynne – Delaware Bankruptcy/Restructuring
• Rachael Pontikes – Illinois Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory
• John Shugrue – Illinois Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder
• John Vishneski – Illinois Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder
• José Astigarraga – Nationwide International Arbitration: Counsel
• Michael Brown – Nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts
• Divonne Smoyer – Nationwide State Attorneys General
• Daniel Peck – New Jersey Banking & Finance
• Justin Werner – Pennsylvania Energy & Natural Resources
• Nicolle Snyder Bagnell – Pennsylvania Energy & Natural Resources
• Karl Thallner – Pennsylvania Healthcare
• John Ellison – Pennsylvania Insurance
• Kristin Wells – Pittsburgh & Surrounds Corporate/M&A & Private Equity
• Ryan Purpura – Pittsburgh & Surrounds Corporate/M&A & Private Equity
• James Cooper – Texas Insurance
• Stephen Moll – Texas Insurance

Following is the full list of Reed Smith attorneys who were named in the Chambers USA rankings for 2021. Several attorneys were listed as leaders in more than one category; they are: John Ellison, David Halbreich, Colette Honorable, Peter Malyshev, and Christine Parker.

Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory

• Keri Bruce – Nationwide
• John Feldman – Nationwide
• Stacy Marcus – Nationwide
• Douglas Wood – Nationwide

Antitrust

• Daniel Booker – Pennsylvania
• Debra Dermody – Pennsylvania

Banking & Finance

• James Lawlor – Philadelphia & Surrounds
• Daniel Peck – New Jersey (Band 1)
• Elizabeth Tabas Carson – Philadelphia & Surrounds (new entry)

Bankruptcy/Restructuring

• Omar Alaniz – Texas (new entry)
• Keith Aurzada – Texas (new entry)
• Derek Baker – Philadelphia & Surrounds
• Peter Clark – Philadelphia & Surrounds
• Kurt Gwynne – Delaware (Band 1)
• Paul Singer – Pittsburgh & Surrounds
• Matthew Tashman – Philadelphia & Surrounds

Cannabis Law: Western U.S.

• Marc Hauser – Nationwide (new entry)

Chancery

• Brian Rostocki – Delaware

Construction

• Michael Dingman – Virginia
• Antoine Smiley – Texas (new entry)

Corporate/M&A

• Betty Yan – New Jersey

Corporate/M&A: Highly Regarded

• Jennifer Cheng – New York (new entry)

Corporate/M&A & Private Equity

• Ryan Purpura – Pittsburgh & Surrounds (Band 1)
• Bradley Schmarak – Illinois
• Kristin Wells – Pittsburgh & Surrounds (Band 1)

Derivatives

• Ilene Froom – Nationwide
• Peter Malyshev – Nationwide
• Jonathan Marcus – Nationwide (new entry)
• Christine Parker – Nationwide (new entry)

Nationwide Derivatives: Mainly Regulatory

• Peter Malyshev – Nationwide

Nationwide Derivatives: Enforcement 

• Jonathan Marcus – Nationwide (new entry) 
• Christine Parker – Nationwide (new entry)

E-Discovery & Information Governance

• David Cohen – Nationwide
• Kristen Coyle Pologruto – Nationwide (new entry)
• Therese Craparo – Nationwide (new entry)
• Anthony Diana – Nationwide

Energy & Natural Resources

• Lucas Liben – Pennsylvania (new entry)
• Nicolle Snyder Bagnell – Pennsylvania (Band 1) (new entry)
• Justin Werner – Pennsylvania (Band 1) (new entry)

Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)

• Colette Honorable – Nationwide (new entry)

Energy: Oil & Gas (Regulatory & Litigation)

• Colette Honorable – Nationwide

Energy: Oil & Gas (Transactional)

• Gary Johnson – Nationwide (new entry)

Environment

• Daniella Landers – Texas (new entry)
• Ben Patton – Texas (new entry)

Government Contracts: The Elite

• Lawrence Block – Nationwide (new entry)

Healthcare

• Nicole Aiken-Shaban – Pennsylvania
• Sara Brinkmann – Texas (new entry)
• Sarah Cummings – Texas (new entry)
• Benjamin Koplin – Texas (new entry)
• Jeff Layne – Texas
• Carol Loepere – District of Columbia
• Kurt Peterson – California
• Paul Pitts – California
• Frederick Robinson – District of Columbia
• Brad Rostolsky – Pennsylvania
• Kenneth Smersfelt – California (new entry)
• Karl Thallner – Pennsylvania (Band 1)

Healthcare: Pharmaceutical/Medical Products Regulatory

• Kelly Kearney – Illinois (new entry)
• John Kendzior – Illinois
• Celeste Letourneau – District of Columbia (new entry)
• Kevin Madagan – District of Columbia (new entry)
• Rachael Pontikes – Illinois (Band 1)

Insurance

• James Cooper – Texas (Band 1)
• John Ellison – Pennsylvania (Band 1)
• Courtney Horrigan – Pennsylvania
• Timothy Law – Pennsylvania
• Hugh Lumpkin – Florida
• Stephen Moll – Texas (Band 1)
• Doug Widin – Pennsylvania

Insurance: Dispute Resolution: Policyholder

• Paul Breene – New York
• John Ellison – Nationwide
• David Halbreich – Nationwide
• Thomas Marrinson – Illinois
• Stanley Nardoni – Illinois
• Carolyn Rosenberg – Illinois
• John Shugrue – Nationwide and Illinois (Band 1)
• John Vishneski – Nationwide and Illinois (Band 1)

Insurance: Policyholder

• David Halbreich – California

Intellectual Property

• Peter Chassman – Texas

International Arbitration: The Elite

• José Astigarraga – Nationwide (Band 1)
• Ben Love – Nationwide (new entry)

International Trade: Export Controls & Economic Sanctions

• Leigh Hansson – Nationwide (new entry)
• Michael Lowell – Nationwide

Labor & Employment

• Michael Correll – Texas (new entry)
• Betty Graumlich – Virginia
• Michele Haydel Gehrke – California
• James Holt – Pennsylvania (new entry)
• Noah Oberlander – Virginia (new entry)
• Mark Passero – Virginia (new entry)
• Casey Ryan – Pennsylvania
• Jill Vorobiev – Illinois (new entry)

Life Sciences: Corporate/Commercial

• Deborah Gunny – California (new entry)
• Michael Sanders – California

Litigation: Appellate

• Raymond Cardozo – California
• Paul Fogel – California
• James Martin – California

Litigation: General Commercial

• Martin Bishop – Illinois
• Daniel Booker – Pittsburgh & Surrounds
• Miles Dumville – Virginia
• Julie Hardin – Houston & Surrounds (new entry)
• John McIntyre – Pittsburgh & Surrounds (new entry)
• Edward Mullins – Florida

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations

• Thomas Suddath – Pennsylvania

Media & Entertainment: Transactional

• Michael Sherman – California (new entry)

Privacy & Data Security: Highly Regarded

• Gerard Stegmaier – Nationwide

Product Liability & Mass Torts: The Elite

• Barbara Binis – Nationwide
• Michael Brown – Nationwide (Band 1)
• Melissa Geist – Nationwide

Product Liability & Mass Torts: Pharmaceutical

• Michael Brown – Nationwide

Real Estate

• James Brennan – Northern Virginia
• Robert Diamond – Northern Virginia

State Attorneys General

• Divonne Smoyer – Nationwide (Band 1)

Tax

• Leo Hitt – Pennsylvania
• Robert Phillpott – Texas (new entry)
• Lee Zoeller – Pennsylvania

Technology: Outsourcing

• Nigel Stark – Texas

Transportation: Aviation: Litigation

• Oliver Beiersdorf – Nationwide
• Patrick Bradley – Nationwide

Transportation: Shipping/Maritime: Finance

• Greg Chase – Nationwide

Venture Capital

• Michael Sanders – California

The 2021 Chambers USA guide is the 22nd published by Chambers and Partners. This edition covers all 50 states, and includes regional rankings in many of them. Overall, more than 50 practice areas and sectors are included on the ranking tables, compiled through a comprehensive assessment of a firm’s work and opinions from external market sources, with an emphasis on client feedback.