Press Release

NEW ORLEANS and BATON ROUGE, La.—Jones Walker is pleased to announce that Best Lawyers, publisher of The Best Lawyers in America®, will honor partners Robert B. Acomb, Jr.; Edward B. Benjamin, Jr.; and Robert R. Casey as three of the preeminent attorneys in the United States at the publication's 25th anniversary event in Atlanta from April 23–25, 2009.

The event will celebrate the distinguished careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in the publication since it began rating lawyers in 1983. The event kicks off with a gala at the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday, April 23, with remarks by Carolyn Lamm, President-Elect of the American Bar Association. On Friday, April 24, attendees will engage in panel-led discussions at the St. Regis hotel about changes in the legal profession and legal education over the last 25 years. Additionally, David Boies, one of the country's most prominent attorneys, will speak at a luncheon. All proceeds generated by the event will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

"We are so pleased to honor these three lawyers who have been with us from the start," said Steven Naifeh, President and founder of Best Lawyers. Mr. Naifeh is a Harvard Law School graduate as well as a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author.

"The Atlanta event provides an extraordinary opportunity to recognize the careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in Best Lawyers from its beginning. They have not only contributed in an exceptional way to the legal profession, but most of them have also played important civic roles in their communities. Because their insights into the changes in the legal profession are invaluable, we have focused the panel discussions on the changes in the legal profession during their professional lives. That's also why we have asked each of them to bring a younger partner and a client to this event, so that they can share their collective wisdom with the next generation of preeminent lawyers," he added.

Mr. Acomb began his legal career at Jones Walker in New Orleans following graduation from Tulane University Law School in 1953. His practice includes maritime and litigation matters, as well as attorney malpractice litigation. Mr. Acomb's recent awards including being elected as the New Orleans Bar Association’s 1996 Distinguished Maritime Lawyer, receiving the 2002 New Orleans Bar Association Presidents' Award, and receiving the 2002 Louisiana Bar Foundation Award. His involvements in the community and his contributions to the legal profession have earned him numerous other honors and distinctions over the span of his 56-year career.

Mr. Benjamin began practicing law in 1952, following his graduation from Tulane University Law School. He joined Jones Walker in 1967, where he has practiced since. Mr. Benjamin’s practice focuses on transactional law, including estate planning, trusts, tax planning for business entities and individuals, and administration of estates. He has tried, appealed, and won a number of tax, trust and estate planning cases, and has been retained as an expert in three major tax court cases and two major trust cases. Mr. Benjamin is highly involved in a number of professional associations, many of which focus on tax law and estate planning.  Mr. Benjamin has been the president of the American College of Probate Counsel (now the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel), the president of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, the secretary of the American Bar Association's Section on Taxation, a member of the council of that section, and (partially overlapping that service) a member of the Council of the American Bar Association's Section on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law; he was the first of only two persons ever to serve on both councils at the same time and is one of only four persons who have ever served on both councils at any time. He is a life member of the American Law Institute and the Louisiana State Law Institute and an original member of the American College of Tax Counsel, and he has served as vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Southwestern Legal Foundation. He has served as chair of several committees of the American Bar Association Section on Taxation and also as chair of several committees of the American Bar Association Section on Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. He was the Liaison Representative of the American Bar Association to the National Commissioners' Conference on Uniform State Laws in drafting two Uniform Laws: the Uniform Transfers to Minors Law and the Uniform Succession Without Administration Law. 

A native of New Orleans, Mr. Casey received his juris doctor degree from Tulane University Law School in 1971, and earned his Masters in Law from the New York University School of Law in 1973. He has been practicing law since 1971. Mr. Casey's practice is predominately transactional, dealing with acquisitions of businesses, sales of businesses, tax advices to businesses and individuals, and estate planning. He has served as Chair of the Tax Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and has served as Chair of the Committee on Partnerships, Secretary, Council Director, and Vice-Chair in the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. He is also a member of the American College of Tax Counsel and the Louisiana Law Institute. Mr. Casey was named one of Worth magazine's 100 Top Attorneys serving affluent families for 2005 and 2006. His community involvement includes the Mary Bird Perkins Center, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, and the LSU Foundation Planned Giving Committee.

Best Lawyers, which published its first directory in 1983, is the oldest lawyer-rating publication in the U.S. The company compiles its listings of outstanding attorneys through exhaustive peer-review surveys. Every year, thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers and Best Lawyers tabulates more than 2.5 million votes. Its annual publication, The Best Lawyers in America®, which continues to be the only advertisement-free referral guide to the legal profession, now includes 36,126 attorneys in 78 specialties, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Best Lawyers now also evaluates lawyers worldwide and publishes its global lists online at www.bestlawyers.com. For information about Best Lawyers, contact Cheryl Riley (703.683.1798/e-mail cherylrileypr@comcast.net). For information about the 25th Anniversary Event, or to attend, contact Steven Naifeh (803.644.1707/e-mail snaifeh@bestlawyers.com).

Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre L.L.P. provides a comprehensive range of legal services to a national and international corporate client base through offices in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

# # #