The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Edition
SPRINGFIELD, MO — Carnahan Evan PC is pleased to announce that 14 lawyers have been included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.
2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America®
Only the top 5% of all practicing lawyers in the United States were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 31st edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Carnahan Evans PC would like to congratulate the following lawyers named to 2025 The Best Lawyers in America® list in their respective practice areas:
- John M. Carnahan III – Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Joseph D. Sheppard III – Cannabis Law and Litigation – Securities
- Julie T. Brown – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Corporate Law
- Thomas D. Peebles, Jr. – Trusts and Estates
- Douglas D. Lee – Trusts and Estates
- Christiaan D. Horton – Litigation – Real Estate
- Jay Preston – Commercial Litigation and Litigation – Trusts and Estates
- James E. Meadows – Appellate Practice and Litigation – Real Estate
- Frank C. Carnahan – Tax Law
- Andrew K. Bennett – Litigation – Real Estate
- Douglas R. Nickell – Trusts and Estates
- Courtney L. Fletcher – Trusts and Estates
Mr. John Carnahan concentrates his practice in the areas of tax planning, corporate transactions, estate planning and business succession planning for family-owned businesses.
Since 2010, Mr. Sheppard has been recognized in every edition of Best Lawyers in America. He focuses his litigation and transactional practice in the areas of business, corporate, securities, regulatory, marijuana, hemp, municipal, employment, and real estate.
Ms. Brown concentrates her practice in the areas of banking, corporation and business planning.
Since 2010, Mr. Peebles has been recognized in every edition of Best Lawyers in America. He focuses his practice in the areas of estate and wealth transfer planning and estate and trust administration.
Mr. Lee practices in the areas of estate and special needs planning, guardianships, trust and probate administration, and probate and trust Litigation.
Mr. Horton concentrates his practice in the areas of business, commercial and civil litigation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and business law, board governance, real estate and construction law, condemnation, environmental and utility law.
Mr. Preston focuses his practice in the areas of commercial litigation as well as probate and trust litigation.
Mr. Meadows has been recognized since 2016 and focuses his practice on contract disputes, real estate claims, construction payment and defect claims, insurance coverage actions, and employment cases.
Mr. Frank Carnahan’s practice includes tax (planning, audit, tax controversy, and collection matters), transactional, corporate and other business entities, real estate, general business, and franchise law.
Mr. Bennett concentrates his practice in the areas of civil litigation, real estate, banking, commercial transactions and insurance law, representing both plaintiffs and defendants, also serving as a mediator and an arbitrator.
Recognized since 2018, Mr. Nickell focuses his practice on estate and wealth transfer planning and estate and trust administration.
Ms. Fletcher concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning and administration, probate, trusts and elder law, including Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Digital Asset Planning and Veterans Benefits.
The 2025 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America® recognizes the professional excellence of 79,116 lawyers in the United States across 150 practice areas and 204 metro areas, involving more than 3.2 million evaluations of lawyers by their peers with whom they’ve opposed in court to identify this year’s exclusive group of Best Lawyers honorees.
2025 Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America®
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.
Carnahan Evans PC would like to congratulate the following lawyers recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.
- Andrew T. Peebles – Trusts and Estates
- David K. Olive – Corporate Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Tax Law
Mr. Peebles concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, trusts and wills, probate and trust administration, business formations, and business succession planning.
Mr. Olive concentrates his practice in the areas of tax and estate planning, employee benefits, ERISA, business transactions, real estate, entity formation and acquisition.
The fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America highlights the legal talent of lawyers who have been in practice for less than 10 years. The 2025 “Ones to Watch” recognized 26,916 lawyers in 79 practice areas and 198 metro areas. Over 5,600 firms have recognized lawyers in “Ones to Watch.”
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ABOUT CARNAHAN EVANS PC
Carnahan Evans PC is a full-service business, dispute resolution and estate planning law firm with a depth of 18 attorneys in the areas of corporate, estate planning, litigation, tax, real estate, and marijuana.
Founded in 1979, Carnahan Evans is a locally owned and operated law firm, noted for its commitment to providing superior client service to a diverse client base, including national and regional businesses, financial institutions, not for profit organizations and individual clients. The Firm is “A-V rated” by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating given by the publication.
The Firm’s attorneys practice in a wide variety of areas including business dispute resolution, corporate and general business, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, probate, trusts, securities, banking and financial institutions, employment, real estate, tax and wealth strategies. Practice in these areas results in a powerful synergy, providing proactive problem solving and superior service to our clients.
For more information, please visit CarnahanEvans.com or connect on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
ABOUT BEST LAWYERS
Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication company in the legal profession. For over 40 years, Best Lawyers has assisted those in need of legal services to identify the lawyers best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers awards are published in leading local, regional, and national publications across the globe.
Lawyers who are nominated for consideration are voted on by currently recognized Best Lawyers working in the same practice area and located in the same geographic region. Awards and recognitions are based purely on the feedback received from these top lawyers. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo a thorough verification process to make sure they are currently still in private practice. Only then can these top lawyers be recognized by Best Lawyers.
The full methodology for The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® is available here. The 2025 Publication Statistics across the United States.
