PHILADELPHIA, August 21, 2025—Nine Duane Morris LLP attorneys have been named by Best Lawyers as “Lawyers of the Year” for 2026. Lawyers are selected based on peer-review assessments conducted annually by Best Lawyers.
Gilbert A. Greene: Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Patent Law, Austin
Jacqueline A. Brooks: Corporate Governance Law, Baltimore
N. Gordon Knox: Banking and Finance Law, Baltimore
Robert B. Hopkins: Admiralty and Maritime Law, Baltimore
Kevin P. Allen: Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants, Pittsburgh
Lawrence J. Kotler: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Philadelphia
Philip H. Lebowitz: Litigation – Health Care, Philadelphia
Morris S. Bauer: Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Newark
Randy D. Gordon: Antitrust Law, Dallas/Fort Worth
Gilbert A. Greene has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Austin for Litigation – Intellectual Property and Patent Law. He is managing partner of the firm's Austin office. Greene's practice is focused on the enforcement and procurement of intellectual property rights, with a primary emphasis on patent litigation. His patent litigation clients have included large and small technology companies, energy and chemical companies, and retailers in cases involving a diverse array of technologies. Greene also has experience with handling patent validity trials (IPRs/CBMs) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He also has experience with patent prosecution, opinion work and portfolio management, primarily in the chemical engineering, chemistry and mechanical fields.
Jacqueline A. Brooks has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Baltimore for Corporate Governance Law. She concentrates her practice in business and commercial law. Brooks counsels clients in mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance, private offerings of debt and equity securities, and corporate and REIT governance (including special committee issues and shareholder derivative and dispute matters). She has experience representing public companies, privately owned and managed companies, nonprofit organizations and startup companies, providing counsel to these organizations regarding governance and corporate matters.
N. Gordon Knox has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Baltimore for Banking and Finance Law. He focuses his practice on complex commercial real estate and corporate transactions. He handles all aspects of tax-exempt financings, commercial financings and affordable housing development financings. In the public finance area, Knox has extensive experience serving as bond counsel and counsel to issuers, bond purchasers and trustees. Knox regularly advises a corporate trustee representing the holders of tax-exempt bonds issued by municipal authorities to finance multifamily housing in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, he negotiates trust indentures, funding loan agreements and tax regulatory agreements to enable the trustee to receive debt service payments from conduit borrowers on behalf of the bondholders.
Robert B. Hopkins has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Baltimore for Admiralty and Maritime Law. He is a partner in the firm's Baltimore office and Trial Practice Group. He also serves as a team lead of the firm's Transportation, Automotive and Logistics Industry Group. Rob is a lifelong resident of Baltimore with deep civic ties to the city. He practices in the area of complex litigation with a concentration on products safety, maritime, transportation and commercial litigation. Rob has been involved in multiple serious maritime casualties, including those involving intensive NTSB and Coast Guard investigations. Rob has also counseled clients in large-scale product recalls and reporting obligations under the laws enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He is listed as one of Maryland's Super Lawyers and is listed in U.S. News/Best Lawyers in America. Rob is also listed as AV Preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell as rated by both peers and the judiciary.
Kevin P. Allen has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Pittsburgh for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants. He concentrates his trial practice on commercial litigation with an emphasis on contract disputes, business torts and the defense of class actions and consumer protection actions. A member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Allen’s first-chair experience includes state and federal jury and nonjury trials, injunction proceedings and binding arbitrations. He also has argued appellate cases before the First, Third and Federal Circuits and Pennsylvania’s Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts. Allen has served as a court-appointed special discovery master to address privilege and work-product issues.
Lawrence J. Kotler has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Philadelphia for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Kotler also received this distinction in 2025. He is co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Representations Division of Duane Morris’ Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. He practices in the area of reorganization and finance, representing Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession and trustees, Chapter 7 trustees, liquidating trustees, creditors' committees, secured creditors and large institutional unsecured creditors. Kotler has been listed in Chambers USA since 2006 as one of the top Bankruptcy lawyers in Pennsylvania. In 2024, he received the David T. Sykes Award from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference and the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project, selected for excellence, integrity, professionalism, courtesy, respect and dedication to the bankruptcy community and the less fortunate in Philadelphia.
Philip H. Lebowitz has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Philadelphia for Litigation – Health Care. He provides regulatory and general counseling to healthcare providers, including hospitals, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, healthcare consultants and physicians. His healthcare experience includes litigation and legal counseling regarding antitrust, fraud and abuse, HIPAA and privacy, reimbursements, managed care contracting, specialty hospital development, pharmaceutical and medical device marketing and pricing, False Claims Act, credentialing and privileges disputes, and clinical trial research contracting, compliance and ethical issues. Lebowitz also represents medical device manufacturers in state administrative proceedings regarding regulations, including workers’ compensation, affecting the use and reimbursement of device products, and startup healthcare businesses regarding issues posed by physician ownership.
Morris S. Bauer has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Newark for Bankruptcy Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He has represented debtors, creditor committees, banks and other secured creditors, trade creditors and landlords in Chapter 11 proceedings and is a New Jersey bankruptcy mediator. Businesses he has represented in Chapter 11 proceedings include a multistate nonprofit behavioral and mental healthcare facility, a regional supermarket chain, a national distributor of electronics, residential developers and income-producing property owners, construction contractors and small businesses. Bauer has also been appointed by the court as a Chapter 11 trustee, a liquidating trustee, an assignee for the benefit of creditors and a bankruptcy mediator.
Randy D. Gordon has been selected as “Lawyer of the Year” in Dallas/Fort Worth for Antitrust Law. He has more than 30 years of complex litigation experience working with public and private companies in more than two dozen industries. Gordon focuses his practice on helping a range of entities with antitrust, RICO, class action, university-related, securities and intellectual property matters. He is currently representing a major research university in international products liability litigation, a leading Texas homebuilder in RICO litigation, and a prominent Texas law firm in RICO litigation. He advises businesses on distribution plans and provides legal and economic analysis of proposed transactions, including mergers and acquisitions.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP provides innovative solutions to today’s multifaceted legal and business challenges through the collegial and collaborative culture of its more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally. The firm represents a broad array of clients, spanning all major practices and industries. Duane Morris has been recognized by BTI Consulting as both a client service leader and a highly recommended law firm.
