Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A. would like to congratulate 29 of its attorneys for being named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 list.
Attorneys included in The Best Lawyers in America® list are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional knowledge and experience. For the 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, 3.2 million evaluations were provided, with approximately 28,000 attorneys in the United States participating in the voting process. Of the 116,000 attorney nominees evaluated in the United States this year, only 5.7% of lawyers were awarded.
This year, three Manning Fulton attorneys have received the prestigious “Lawyer of the Year” designation in Raleigh, which is presented to a single lawyer in each practice area and geographic region. Barry Mann (Real Estate Law), Reich Welborn (Mergers and Acquisitions Law), and Michael Medford (Insurance Litigation) were selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity. In addition, five of the Firm’s attorneys were recognized for the first time, and eight were included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which recognizes attorneys who are earlier in their careers and who have demonstrated “outstanding professional excellence in private practice.”
Manning Fulton was top-listed in North Carolina and the Metro jurisdiction for the practice areas of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law. This ranking shows practice areas where the Firm has the most recognized lawyers in The Best Lawyers in America®. The Firm was also recognized as top-listed in Durham for Corporate Law.
The following Manning Fulton attorneys appear in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 in the following practice areas:
Durham, NC:
Eugene F. Dauchert, Jr. – Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Health Care Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
**Randolph M. Fletcher – Business Organizations, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Real Estate Law and Tax Law
Charles L. Steel IV – Corporate Law, Tax Litigation and Controversy, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
***Reich L. Welborn – Business Organizations, Commercial Litigation, Corporate Law, Health Care Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Real Estate Law
Raleigh, NC:
Joseph B. Bass – Real Estate Law
Stephen T. Byrd – Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
Alison R. Cayton – Real Estate Law
William S. Cherry III – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Insurance Law, Insurance Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, and Labor and Employment Litigation
**Sandra Martin Clark – Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Corporate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
James H. Clarke – Corporate Law, Healthcare Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
John C. Dorsey – Corporate Law, Employee Benefits Law (ERISA), Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
Jessica L. Elliott – Real Estate Law
William B. Gwyn, Jr. – Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Commercial Finance Law, Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
**John A. Hardin – Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law and Government Relations Practice
Michael S. Harrell – Commercial Litigation and Family Law
**Deborah L. Hildebran-Bachofen – Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates
Thomas I. Lyon – Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law and Corporate Law
***Barry D. Mann – Real Estate Law
***Michael T. Medford – Antitrust Law, Appellate Practice, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Antitrust Litigation, Insurance Litigation, Labor and Employment Litigation, and Tax Litigation and Controversy
*William K. Morgan – Government Relations Practice
Kevin A. Prakke– Business Organizations, Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law, Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Securities Regulation
Natalie M. Rice – Commercial Litigation
Robert S. Shields, Jr. – Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Medical Malpractice Law, and Professional Malpractice Law
Douglas J. Short – Real Estate Law
*Carlie A. Smith – Corporate Law
William C. Smith, Jr. – Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Construction Litigation
Ritchie W. Taylor – Business Organizations, Corporate Law, Franchise Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Jennifer L. Weaver – Business Organizations, Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Judson A. Welborn – Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law, Franchise Law, Construction Litigation, Land Use and Zoning Litigation, and Real Estate Litigation
The firm had eight more Manning Fulton attorneys named to the edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2025. They are:
J. Patrick Bailey, Jr. – Real Estate Law
Angela C. Baldwin – Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Chris N. Bobby – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Tax Law
*Elliot J. Boerman – Corporate Law
*Danielle M. Fuhrman – Trusts and Estates
*Lawrence D. Graham – Commercial Litigation
B. Zack Taylor, Jr. – Real Estate Law
Jessica B. Vickers – Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, and Labor and Employment Litigation
*First time recognition in Best Lawyers®
**Best Lawyers® new area of expertise (new area bolded)
***Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year”
About Manning Fulton
Manning Fulton was founded in 1955 by Howard Manning and Charles Fulton and is one of the longest-lasting law partnerships in North Carolina. In its nearly seven decades faithfully serving the Triangle and Eastern North Carolina, Manning Fulton has grown with its clients and this remarkable state. Today, more than 40 attorneys, averaging more than 20 years’ experience in their respective fields, provide the full suite of legal services to businesses and individuals throughout North Carolina. The firm’s attorneys are uniquely committed to first-rate, accessible, no-nonsense expertise and the development of a lasting relationship with every client. Put simply, we focus on what matters.
For more information, please visit https://www.manningfulton.com/.
About Best Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America® is a global publication released in over 75 countries. This peer review-based publication has evaluated over 10 million lawyers in over 145 practice areas. Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected attorney ranking service in the world. For more than 40 years, Best Lawyers® has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the attorneys best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers® lists are published in leading local, regional, and national publications across the globe.
For more information, please visit https://www.bestlawyers.com/.
Media Contact: April E. Bruns
