PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2009

Toledo, OH – Best Lawyers, one of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession, has named attorneys from Cooper & Walinski, LPA among the Best Lawyers in America for 2009.  Six attorneys in the firm’s Toledo office were recognized.  Cooper & Walinski is ranked as the #1 Toledo law firm in “Bet-the-Company” Litigation, First Amendment Law, Insurance Law, White Collar and Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense, and Product Liability Litigation. 

The Cooper & Walinski attorneys who are counted among the Best Lawyers in America are:

Cary Cooper (a Best Lawyer for more than 20 years)
            “Bet-the-Company” Litigation
            Commercial Litigation

John Czarnecki (a Best Lawyer for more than 10 years)
            First Amendment Law
            Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense 
            White-Collar-Criminal Defense

Gerald R. Kowalski
            Commercial Litigation
            Personal Injury Litigation
            Product Liability Litigation

Margaret J. Lockhart
            Labor and Employment Law

Joseph Thacker
            Commercial Litigation
            Insurance Law

Richard S. Walinski (a Best Lawyer for more than 10 years)
            “Bet-the-Company” Litigation
            Commercial Litigation

Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive surveys among thousands of leading lawyers nationally who confidentially evaluate their professional peers.  In the U.S., Best Lawyers publishes an annual referral guide, The Best Lawyers in America, which includes 36,126 attorneys in 78 specialties covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Announcement of these Best Lawyers selections follows the recent news that eight Cooper & Walinski attorneys (including all named as Best Lawyers) were named “Ohio Super Lawyers” for 2009, ranking them among the top 5% of Ohio attorneys.  The same publication identified three Cooper & Walinski attorneys as “Rising Stars” in Ohio’s legal community.

“We are pleased that so many of our attorneys have been recognized as the very best in this region,” said Margaret Bretzloff, Director of Operations for Cooper & Walinski.  “Our firm strives to provide the finest legal counsel to all our clients, and it is gratifying to have our efforts recognized by a national publication.” 

About Cooper & Walinski, LPA

Cooper & Walinski was founded in 1969 by Cary Cooper and Richard Walinski, both still active partners.  The firm is now the largest majority women-owned law firm in the nation.  It is the litigation firm of choice for national, regional, and local clients – from Fortune 500 companies to individuals - in diverse legal matters throughout the country.  Cooper & Walinski specializes in business litigation, insurance recovery for policyholders, labor and employment, litigation management, products liability, and white-collar criminal defense.

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