John M. Hessel, Member

Best Lawyers in America® has named Lewis Rice members David W. Brown, John M. Hessel, and Jaime R. Mendez among its "Lawyers of the Year" for 2022. Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Only one attorney in each practice area and designated metropolitan area may receive the honor of "Lawyer of the Year."

Click here to view the 61 Lewis Rice attorneys named in Best Lawyers.

David W. Brown - St. Louis Public Finance Law Lawyer of the Year

Dave advises clients engaged in public and private financings, securities transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. He represents underwriters, placement agents, issuers, and other parties in equity and debt transactions including registered public offerings, private placements, and municipal bond financings. Over the past several years, Dave has participated in transactions resulting in the issuance of more than $10 billion of securities, and he is a frequent speaker to trade and other groups on various aspects of securities law. Best Lawyers has included Dave in its annual list since 2019.

John M. Hessel - St. Louis Municipal Lawyer of the Year

John represents business clients in commercial transactions and commercial litigation, with a focus and extensive experience in addressing the unique needs of municipalities, local and national media entities, and publishing companies. He has a wealth of experience with labor law, contractual issues, environmental issues, pension issues, zoning, and traditional litigation cases as they relate to municipalities, fire districts, state and local bonding authorities, and other governmental bodies. John has received the "Lawyer of the Year" award for Municipal Law and First Amendment litigation nine out of the last 12 years. Best Lawyers has included John in its annual list since 2009.

Jaime R. Mendez - St. Louis Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year

Jaime advises individuals who require sophisticated estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. He handles sales to irrevocable grantor trusts, family limited partnerships, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and similar wealth transfer techniques. Jaime also advises individual and corporate fiduciaries in connection with estate and trust administration. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to representing individuals with estate and gift tax audits. Best Lawyers has included Jaime in its annual list since 2008.