PHILADELPHIA, August 20, 2026—Six Duane Morris LLP attorneys have been named by Best Lawyers as “Lawyers of the Year” for 2027. Lawyers are selected based on peer-review assessments conducted annually by Best Lawyers.
Randy D. Gordon: Litigation – Antitrust, Dallas/Fort Worth
Karen Chuang Kline: Trademark Law, Fort Lauderdale
Michael A. Curley: Labor Law – Management, New York City
Lawrence J. Kotler: Bet-the-Company Litigation and Litigation – Bankruptcy, Philadelphia
John A. Nixon: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Philadelphia
Jonathan A. Segal: Employment Law – Management, Philadelphia
Randy D. Gordon is a partner in the firm's Dallas and Fort Worth offices. 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.
Karen Kline practices in the area of intellectual property and technology transactions and licensing, providing strategic guidance in protecting and monetizing companies' intellectual assets. With over 15 years of legal practice, she has established herself as a trusted advisor to clients in matters of trademark, copyright and technology law, data protection and privacy, artificial intelligence and commercial transactions involving IP or proprietary information. Kline works with clients that range in size from startups to established national and multinational corporations and across a wide range of industries including software, medical technology, immersive technologies, computer vision, engineering, hospitality, media, cosmetics and personal care products.
Michael A. Curley has more than 30 years of experience in advising clients throughout the country and around the world with regard to labor and employment law matters. In those years he has litigated numerous high-profile cases before the National Labor Relations Board, at FINRA, in various arbitration forums and in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has broad experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including employment discrimination law, collective bargaining and administration agreements, grievance and arbitration, proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, wage-and-hour, restructurings and layoffs, wrongful discharge, breach of contract matters, the Family and Medical Leave Act, manager and employee training, litigation avoidance, executive compensation, and counseling with regard to all of these areas.
Lawrence J. Kotler is a partner in Philadelphia and co-chair of the Bankruptcy and Fiduciary Representations Division of the Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. Kotler practices in the area of reorganization and finance, representing Chapter 11 debtors-in-possession, Chapter 11 trustees, Chapter 7 trustees, liquidating trustees, creditors' committees, secured creditors and large institutional unsecured creditors in all facets of bankruptcy. 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, professionalism and dedication to the bankruptcy community and the less fortunate in Philadelphia.
John A. Nixon serves as a member of the firm’s governing Partners Board. Nixon practices in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation. He represents executives, public and private companies and nonprofits in a range of matters including executive employment, compensation and separation negotiations, management team transitions in M&A transactions, federal tax compliance for retirement, deferred compensation and equity plans, and fiduciary compliance under ERISA and state laws. Nixon is listed in Chambers USA and is also recognized in Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Lawyers.
Jonathan A. Segal is a partner in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. He is also the founder of the Duane Morris Institute, which provides training for human resource professionals, in-house counsel, benefits administrators and managers at Duane Morris, at client sites and by way of webinar on myriad employment, labor, benefits and immigration matters. Previously a litigator, Segal’s practice now focuses almost entirely on assisting employers meet their business objectives by maximizing legal compliance and managing legal risk with an eye on workplace culture.
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.
