Essex Richards earned a national ranking for its ERISA Litigation practice area in the 2017 edition of U.S. News-Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms.” ERISA (which stands for the Employee Retirement Security Income Act of 1974) is a federal law that governs private employers’ retirement, health, disability and other benefit plans. This is the firm’s first national ranking.
Essex Richards is one of only five law firms in North Carolina to be nationally ranked in this area. It is the only such firm that represents primarily employees and plaintiffs in ERISA litigation. Essex Richards is also the only plaintiff’s ERISA law firm (out of 11 total) to receive this award in the five states that make up the Fourth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, which includes Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
In addition to Essex Richards’ national ranking for ERISA Litigation, the law firm also received Charlotte metropolitan Tier 1 rankings in six other areas:
- Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Employment Law – Individuals
- Employment Law – Management
- Litigation – First Amendment
- Litigation – Labor & Employment
The 2017 rankings are based on the highest number of participating firms and highest number of client ballots on record. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Over 10,000 attorneys provided more than 800,000 law firm assessments, and over 10,000 clients provided more than 90,000 evaluations.
“U.S. News is the global authority in rankings,” said Tim Smart, executive editor of U.S. News & World Report. “Evaluating law firms is a natural extension of what we do best.”
For more information on the rankings and criteria, visit bestlawfirms.usnews.com.