COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Best Lawyers, a legal peer-review publication, has named 15 Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP partners as the 2013 Best Lawyers of the Year in their respective practices and cities:

• George B. Cauthen, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• Michael T. Cole, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Charleston-SC Product Liability Litigation - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year"
• David E. Dukes, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year"
• Melissa Foster Bird, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Charleston, W.Va., Railroad Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• James C. Gray, Jr., Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Administrative / Regulatory Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• Neil E. Grayson, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Greenville Securities/Capital Markets Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• John B. Hagerty, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Charleston-SC Corporate Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• Cynthia B. Hutto, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Charleston-SC Health Care Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• Kenneth Allan Janik, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• Stanley S. Jones, Jr., Best Lawyers’ 2013 Atlanta Government Relations Practice "Lawyer of the Year"
• Craig Killen, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Litigation - Intellectual Property "Lawyer of the Year"
• John F. Kuppens, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Product Liability Litigation - Defendants "Lawyer of the Year"
• A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr., Best Lawyers’ 2013 Greenville Insurance Law "Lawyer of the Year"
• B. Rush Smith III, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Columbia-SC Litigation - Banking & Finance "Lawyer of the Year"
• George M. Teague, Best Lawyers’ 2013 Raleigh Government Relations Practice "Lawyer of the Year"

According to the organization, only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Lawyers are selected based on voting averages received during the peer-review assessments conducted with lawyers. 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."

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 430 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Nashville, Tallahassee, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and throughout the Carolinas. For more information on the Firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com, or call 803.255.9794.

Any result a lawyer or a law firm may achieve on behalf of one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients. Please contact a lawyer to discuss possible representation of you and your particular matter.