Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A. would like to congratulate 31 of its attorneys for being named in 32nd edition of The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 and the 6th edition of Best Lawyers: One’s To Watch® in America 2026.
Attorneys included in The Best Lawyers in America® list are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional knowledge and experience. For the 2026 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, 3.4 million evaluations were provided, with approximately 30,000 attorneys in the United States participating in the voting process. Of the 130,000 attorney nominees evaluated in the United States this year, only 5% of lawyers were awarded. There were 203 regional jurisdictions, 81,420 recognized lawyers and 151 practice areas named in this year’s Best Lawyers in America edition.
This year, three of the Firm’s attorneys were recognized in additional practice areas , and five attorneys 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.” Two of our Durham attorneys, Dieter Mauch and Matthew Muntean, were recognized for the first time.
Manning Fulton was top-listed in the state of 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. The Firm was also recognized as top-listed in these areas in Raleigh and top-listed in Durham for Corporate Law.
The following Manning Fulton attorneys appear in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 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
*Dieter Mauch – Employment Law Management and Labor and Employment Litigation
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, Employment Law Management, 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
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
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
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
Douglas J. Short – Real Estate 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, Real Estate Litigation and Tax Litigation and Controversy
The firm had seven more Manning Fulton attorneys named to the edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America 2026. They are:
Durham, NC:
*Matthew Muntean – Business Organizations, Corporate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Raleigh, NC:
J. Patrick Bailey, Jr. – Real Estate Law
**Angela C. Baldwin – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Trusts and Estates
Chris N. Bobby – Corporate Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, and Tax Law
**Lawrence D. Graham – Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, and Real Estate Litigation
B. Zack Taylor, Jr. – Real Estate Law
*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 our attorneys span across multiple specialized practice areas and 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 the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession and was founded in 1981. The publication is global and is currently released in 76 countries. This peer review-based publication has evaluated over 13 million lawyers in over 150 practice areas. 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
