Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP’s Edward Burch, Jr., Adam Buss, Gregory Smith, and Alan Wachs Named Best Lawyers® 2026 “Lawyer of the Year”
ATLANTA (August 29, 2025) – Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP is pleased to announce that four of the Firm’s attorneys have been recognized by Best Lawyers® as 2026 “Lawyer of the Year.” The Best Lawyers in America® is the leading peer review-based directory of legal practitioners.
Only one lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area receives the “Lawyer of the Year” honor. These lawyers are selected by earning the highest overall peer-feedback for a specific practice area and geographic region. For the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, 26 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in more than 170,000 leading lawyers included in the 32nd edition.
The following Smith Gambrell attorneys have been named Best Lawyers® 2026 “Lawyer of the Year” in their respective practice areas and cities:
Edward Burch, Jr. was named Best Lawyers® 2026 Litigation - Real Estate “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta. Mr. Burch is a partner and head of the Firm’s Litigation Practice. He handles complex commercial, real estate and title insurance litigation, and has helped establish several precedents in commercial real estate litigation. He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation – Real Estate (2022-2026); Appellate Practice; Insurance Law; Litigation – Insurance (2023-2026); and Commercial Litigation (2023).
Adam Buss was named Best Lawyers® 2026 Mergers and Acquisitions Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Jacksonville. Mr. Buss is a partner in the Firm’s Corporate Practice, where he concentrates on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance issues, emerging businesses, information technology and corporate finance. He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® for Corporate Governance Law and Corporate Law (2010-2011, 2019-2025); Mergers & Acquisitions Law (2021-2025) and was named “Lawyer of the Year” in Corporate Law (2020) and Corporate Governance Law (2023).
Gregory Smith was named Best Lawyers® 2026 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Atlanta. Mr. Smith is a partner in the Firm’s Construction, Energy, and Government Contracts Practices. His practice consists of counseling in transactional issues, dispute resolution and litigation, counseling in government procurement, and the drafting, structuring, and reviewing of energy, construction, and other contracts. He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® for Litigation – Construction (2021-2026); Construction Law (2022-2026); International Arbitration – Commercial (2022-2024); and Commercial Litigation (2022-2026).
Alan Wachs was named the Best Lawyers® 2026 Litigation – Insurance “Lawyer of the Year” in Jacksonville. Mr. Wachs is a partner and head of the Firm’s Litigation Practice. He focuses on commercial litigation with an emphasis on complex contract disputes, trade secret disputes, intellectual property litigation, covenant not to compete litigation, partnership and shareholder disputes, and commercial products liability litigation. He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation; Insurance Law; Litigation – Insurance; and Litigation – Intellectual Property (2017-2025) and was previously named “Lawyer of the Year” in Litigation – Insurance (2022).
To view Smith Gambrell’s list of the attorneys named to 2026 The Best Lawyers in America® list, click here.
About Best Lawyers®
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review® evaluation. More than 184,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received more than 25.8 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Visit www.bestlawyers.com for more information.
About Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP is a full-service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The Firm’s nearly 350 attorneys provide legal counsel in more than 50 specialized practice areas, including corporate transactions, litigation, intellectual property, aviation, banking, real estate, insurance/reinsurance, construction, employment law, international, and employee benefits and executive compensation. Founded in 1893, Smith Gambrell has 14 domestic and international offices, including Atlanta; Austin; Charlotte; Chicago; Jacksonville; London; Los Angeles; Miami; Milan; Munich; New York; Southampton; Tampa; and Washington, D.C.
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