ATLANTA (September 15, 2010) — Five practice areas at Smith, Gambrell & Russell have been selected for inclusion in the 2010 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings.

The following practice areas were ranked Tier 2 for the Atlanta metropolitan area: Antitrust Law, Construction Law, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law and Trusts & Estates Law.

These inaugural rankings, presented in tiers both nationally and by metropolitan area or by state, showcase 8,782 different law firms ranked in one or more of 81 practice areas. Full data is available online at www.usnews.com/bestlawfirms.

Rankings were determined by reputational survey responses in which clients and attorneys were asked to rate the law firms they consider best in their practice area. These responses were combined with the most recent Best Lawyers survey results, as well as objective data, including numbers of lawyers and their previous experience, numbers of clients within different billing ranges, numbers of transactions and litigation matters at different dollar levels, pro-bono commitment, and diversity.

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine, the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com. The U.S. News Media Group’s signature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its “America’s Best” series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.

Best Lawyers publishes peer-reviewed listings of lawyers in most of the world’s major legal markets. For over a quarter century, the company has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. The 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America is based on more than 3.1 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. www.BestLawyers.com