Essex Richards, P.A. is pleased to announced that Business North Carolina magazine has named 5 firm attorneys to its 2017 list of “Legal Elite.” In addition to these lawyers being honored, Partner Heather Culp was named to the Legal Elite Hall of Fame, where she joins Essex Richards lawyers Lou Lesesne (Employment, 2007), Renee Hughes (Employment, 2012), and Rob Blair (Family Law, 2016). An attorney is included in the Legal Elite Hall of Fame when he or she receives the greatest number of votes from attorneys statewide in a practice area. Those included in the Hall of Fame are no longer eligible to receive the award each year. The complete list of the 2017 Essex Richards Legal Elite include the following:
Bankruptcy
Heather W. Culp
Business
Stephen H. Morris
Employment
Marc E. Gustafson
Family
Lauren V. Lewis
Litigation
Edward G. “Woody” Connette
About Legal Elite
“Legal Elite” attorneys are selected through ballots sent to more than 20,000 attorneys who are active members of the North Carolina State Bar. Members of the Bar are asked to select the best lawyer in each field. Lawyers may not select themselves and can only vote for members of their own firms if they also chose someone outside their firms in the same category. With more weight given to outside votes, fewer than 3 percent of the state’s lawyers were named to the list this year.