Sixteen members of Davenport, Evans, Hurwitz & Smith were selected by their peers to appear in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The 16 lawyers were recognized in 17 different types of law, some in multiple practice areas. The lawyers included in the 2009 edition of the publication, considered one of the more prestigious and objective guides to lawyers, are:
Banking Law: Charles D. Gullickson, Douglas J. Hajek and David L. Knudson
Bankruptcy and Credit-Debtor Rights Law: Robert E. Hayes
Commercial Litigation: Mark W. Haigh
Corporate Law: Scott B. Anderson, Jon P. Brown, Douglas J. Hajek and David L. Knudson
Employee Benefits Law: Sarah Richardson Larson
First Amendment Law: Timothy M. Gebhart
Health Care Law: Monte R. Walz
Insurance Law: Mark W. Haigh
Labor and Employment Law: Susan Brunick Simons
Medical Malpractice Law: Edwin E. Evans and Mark W. Haigh
Mergers and Acquisitions Law: Jon P. Bown, Douglas J. Hajek and David L. Knudson
Personal Injury Litigation: Edwin E. Evans
Professional Malpractice Law: Edwin E. Evans
Real Estate Law: Jon P. Bown and P. Daniel Donohue
Tax Law: Cathy A. Tanck
Trusts and Estates: P. Daniel Donohue and Sarah Richardson Larson
Workers' Compensation Law: Rick W. Orr and Susan Brunick Simons
According to Best Lawyers, the current edition of the publication, its 14th, "is based on more than two million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers." Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be included in the publication, which compiles its list by confidential peer-review nominations and surveys.