Elizabeth Chatham, Michael Manning and Lonnie Williams, Jr. named "Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona" by AZ Business

03.20.2018

Stinson Leonard Street LLP congratulates partners Elizabeth Chatham, Michael Manning and Lonnie Williams, Jr. on being selected one of the "Top 100 Lawyers in Arizona" by AZ Business magazine.

Each year, the magazine’s editorial team— in collaboration with industry experts– selects the Top 100 lawyers in Arizona from a pool of more than 2,000 of the most talented and successful attorneys from throughout the state.

Selections are based on each lawyer’s professional success, impact on his or her law firm, impact on the communities she/he serves and impact on the legal profession. The Top 100 list was published in the March/ April issue of the publication.

Chatham was selected in the category of Business Immigration.

Manning was selected in the categories of Business Litigation, Antitrust, Governance, Risk and Compliance and Real Estate Litigation.

Williams, Jr. was selected in the categories of Employment and Labor Law, Business Litigation, Class Action, Employment Class Action and FLSA Litigation and Employment Litigation.

For more than a decade Chatham has advised multinational companies, fast-growth organizations, entrepreneurs, educational institutions, non-profits and individuals on a variety of immigration issues.

Chatham helps her clients complete the application procedures for all manner of Visas, including H-1B, L-1, O, P, TN, E-1, E-2, and R as well as EB-1 Outstanding Researcher, Extraordinary Ability, Multi-National Manager, National Interest waivers, and PERM Labor Certifications. She also provides guidance on consular processing, naturalization, and immigration compliance and performs trainings for corporate human resources personnel.

She has been recognized by Az Business magazine as one of the "Most Impactful Minority Business Leaders." In 2017 she was named the Phoenix Best Lawyers^®"Immigration Lawyer of the Year."

Manning has led ground breaking cases in courtrooms across the country and the globe. The National Law Journal named him to the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" list and he has recognized by Chambers USA, Arizona Attorney magazine, Best Lawyers in America, Benchmark Litigation and others.

In the mid-1980’s, the FDIC selected Manning to head its litigation against New York, mob-related money broker, Mario Renda. In 1989, Manning was lead counsel in MDL-834 – the Lincoln Savings/Charles Keating case, which was at that time the largest commercial litigation in U.S. history. In 2000, Manning obtained an $8.25 million settlement against Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one of the largest wrongful death and civil rights settlements in state history. In early 2006, Manning obtained a $9 million verdict against the MCSO and Maricopa County in another historic wrongful death case. In 2015, Manning was lead counsel for the 10K Partnership and obtained $288 million in compensatory damages, the largest verdict in the state that year.

Williams, Jr. is the managing partner of the firm's Phoenix office. He is a trial lawyer who represents clients in commercial business, employment-related matters and complex litigation matters. He has successfully defended clients in courts across the United States. Those lawsuits include sex discrimination, retaliation, age discrimination, breach of contract, defamation, religious discrimination and other statutory and common law claims.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America. In addition, Williams is a past president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, a former delegate to the American Bar Association and past president of the Maricopa County Bar Association.