San Francisco, California/ October 11/ PR Newswire -- Littler Mendelson is pleased to announce that nine of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2006 edition of Woodward White's The Best Lawyers in America. For over twenty years the Best Lawyers publication has been regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States by both the legal profession and the public. Corporate Counsel magazine recognizes Best Lawyers as "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice."

Selection for inclusion in the yearly publication is based solely on peer nominations, with the voting pool consisting of all of the lawyers listed in the previous Best Lawyers edition. The selection process while simple gets quickly to the heart of the matter, asking nominators to name the lawyer whom they would feel most comfortable referring to a close friend or relative if, for reasons of conflict of interest or time, they could not handle the matter themselves.

The 2006 Best Lawyers from Littler Mendelson are: David Casey, Boston; John McCarthy, Jr., Dallas; Steven McCown, Dallas; M. Scott McDonald, Dallas; James Carroll, III, Houston; Linda Headley, Houston; Courtney Wilson, Miami; H. Reed Ellis, Newark; and Garry Mathiason, San Francisco. Littler is no stranger to Best Lawyers, as many exceptional attorneys in the 2006 edition have been included since the inception of its annual publishing. This is the first appearance for David Casey, and Garry Mathiason.

About the attorneys

David C. Casey is managing shareholder of Littler Boston office. He is an accomplished litigator who represents management from small entities to Fortune 500 companies in all aspects of employment law including individual and class-wide claims. 2006 is Mr. Casey's debut in the Best Lawyers publication. Other honors include being ranked as one of Massachusetts' top three employment and labor law attorneys by the 2003/2004 Chambers Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers.

John F. McCarthy, Jr. is a founding partner of Littler's Dallas office. He has considerable litigation experience in wrongful discharge, retaliation and discrimination cases. Mr. McCarthy is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since the inception of the publication.

Steven R. McCown has extensive experience in traditional labor law and a unique background of representing employers in numerous employment law jury trials in state and federal court. He is also nationally recognized for his expertise in defense of employers in proceedings brought under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Mr. McCown has not only been repeatedly named by his peers in Best Lawyers since the initial issue in 1991, but also as a "Texas Super Lawyer," since the inception of the award by Texas Monthly. In 2004 and 2005, Chambers USA selected Mr. McCown as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business."

M. Scott McDonald has represented clients in all areas of employment and labor law for over 15 years. He has specifically focused on employment contracts, wrongful termination litigation, unfair competition, mandatory arbitration programs, and consulting on litigation prevention. Mr. McDonald was client-nominated to the 2005 BTI Client Service All-Star Team and recognized by his peers in Texas Monthly's Super Lawyers and Chambers' Best Lawyers in America , among others.

James V. Carroll, III has practiced labor and employment law since 1965. He has represented many of the Firm's clients in connection with charges and suits filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination and Employment Act, and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, and is a frequent lecturer on union organizing. Mr. Carroll has regularly appeared in Best Lawyers .

Linda Ottinger Headley is the managing shareholder of Littler's Houston office. Her practice encompasses all labor and employment related matters including labor and employment litigation in federal and state court and administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Headley was selected as one of Texas' Top 50 Female Super Lawyers for 2003 in the Law & Politics and Texas Monthly 2003 Survey. She has been included in The Best Lawyers in America publication since 2001 under Labor and Employment Lawyers, and in the Chamber USA 2003 Survey of America's Leading Business Lawyers. She was selected by the Texas Lawyer in 2001 as one of 16 "go to" labor and employment lawyers in Texas.

Courtney B. Wilson is recognized as one of Florida 's top labor and employment litigators. He is a frequent lecturer and author in the field of labor and employment litigation, and has been selected by his peers for inclusion in multiple editions of The Best Lawyers in America .

H. Reed Ellis has almost 25 years' experience representing employers in labor and employment law matters. Mr. Ellis is Co-Chairperson of the Firm's Higher Education Practice Group. He regularly negotiates collective bargaining agreements and represents employers in grievance arbitrations, labor negotiations and arbitrations, union avoidance, and election campaigns throughout the eastern United States. He has been included in The Best Lawyers in America since its inception and is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. In the January 2003 edition of Corporate Legal Times, Mr. Ellis was named one of the four "crack" labor negotiators in the United States.

Garry G. Mathiason is a senior shareholder in Littler's San Francisco office. He chairs the firm's Corporate Compliance and Litigation Practice Group, chairs the Open Compliance and Ethics Group's Employment and Labor Law Domain writing legal requirements and guidelines for business, and is the Chair and Founder of ELT, Inc. a on-line legal compliance training company with 1.3 million users. In addition to being listed in the 2006 Best Lawyers in America, Mr. Mathiason has been identified by the National Law Journal on its list of the 100 most influential attorneys in the nation.

The Best Lawyers in America 2006 is available online at www.bestlawyers.com.

With more than 400 attorneys and 28 offices in major metropolitan areas nationwide, Littler Mendelson is the largest law firm in the United States devoted exclusively to representing management in employment, employee benefits and labor law matters. The firm's client base ranges from Fortune 500 companies to small-business owners. Established in 1942, the firm has litigated, mediated and negotiated some of the most influential cases and labor contracts in the nation's history. Its affiliated global migration practice, Littler Global, provides support to major companies in moving employees around the world. For more information, visit www.littler.com.

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Contact:
Kipley Bruketa
415.433.1940
kbruketa@littler.com