Lloyd E. Williams, Jr. and C. Barry Montgomery Named Two of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America

Spring 2009

For the fourth year in a row, Lawdragon, one of the leading sources for lawyer profiles and legal news, has announced its list of the 500 leading lawyers in America.  Founding partners Lloyd E. Williams, Jr. and C. Barry Montgomery have been named this year to this prestigious list of private attorneys; in-house counsel; law professors; judges and neutrals; government attorneys; and public interest lawyers.

Lawdragon creates its guides to the best lawyers in the United States through a unique combination of online balloting and independent research.  The firm's reporters and editors interview thousands of lawyers to get their input on the top "Dragons" in any region or practice field.  It also collects votes through online balloting, which democratizes such lists, allowing lawyers who might be overlooked through traditional surveying techniques to be identified.  Those submissions are then researched and vetted by the Lawdragon editorial staff.

To select the lawyers who are included on the list, Lawdragon surveys the quality of the votes an individual receives (more weight, for instance, is given to the vote of a corporate counsel than to a partner in the nominee's firm) while acknowledging the quantity of votes.  Based on that combination, as well as vetting of recent cases and activity, a guide is assembled that reflects geographic and practice diversity while always underscoring excellence.

Lawdragon had this to say about its selection criteria:

      To make our Lawdragon 500, a lawyer must qualify as a finalist, our
      "first cut" of outstanding practitioners from 100 specialties and all 50
      states.  We select up to 3,000 such lawyers who live up to a very high
      standard.

      An attorney generally must have practiced for 20 years, because
      endurance and sustained achievement is required.  We consider
      leadership in selective bar associations, admittance to "member's only"
      trade associations and outstanding performance in cases and matters
      the attorney has handled.

Williams Montgomery & John is justifiably proud of the fact that Mr. Williams and Mr. Montgomery have been included on this esteemed list.