Tag: Awards

24 Kemp Klein Attorneys Have Been Recognized As 2025 DBusiness Top Lawyers
Kemp Klein is pleased to announce that twenty four of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the DBusiness Magazine 2025 list of Top Lawyers.
Amanda Afton Martin was recognized for Tax Law
Robert S. Zawideh was recognized for his work in Trust and Estates
Richard C. Bruder was recognized for his work in Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Raymond L. Morrow was recognized for his work in Litigation – Construction
Ralph A. Castelli was recognized for his work in Corporate Law
Norman D. Orr was recognized for his work in Bankruptcy and Creditor / Debtor Rights Law
Neal Nusholtz was recognized for Tax Law
Michael D. Umphrey was recognized for Tax Law
Matthew W. Frank was recognized for Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Mark R. Filipp was recognized for Labor and Employment Law
Joseph P. Buttiglieri was recognized for Mediation and Trust & Estates
James P. Davey was recognized for Litigation – Construction
Faith M. Gaudaen was recognized for Litigation – Construction
Edward M. Nahhat was recognized for Appellate Law
David D. Marsh was recognized for Real Estate Law
Cynthia L. Umphrey was recognized for Trust & Estates and Corporate Law
Casey W. Callahan was recognized for Trusts and Estates
C. Leslie Banas was recognized for Real Estate Law
Brian H. Rolfe was recognized for Litigation – Commercial
Brian R. Jenney was recognized for Trusts and Estates
Austin W. Probst was recognized for Trusts and Estates
Amy W. Stawski was recognized for Family Law
William B. Acker was recognized for his work in Tax Law
Alan A. May was recognized for Trusts and Estates
The DBusiness Top Lawyers selection is based on an online peer-review survey sent out to the certified lawyers within the metro Detroit area. Inclusion in DBusiness Magazine’s Top Lawyers list is based solely upon one’s standing within their peer group.

Kemp Klein Has Been Recognized in Best Lawyers® – 2025 Edition of Best Law Firms®
Kemp Klein has been recognized in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® , a testament to its unwavering commitment to legal excellence. Ranked by Best Law Firms regionally in 18 practice areas, Kemp Klein has distinguished itself in the legal industry, earning this prestigious accolade.
Firms included in the 2025 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
“At Best Lawyers, we are proud to recognize law firms that show an unwavering commitment to excellence, innovation, and client satisfaction,” said Philip Greer, Chief Executive Officer of Best Lawyers. “In the legal arena, credibility is earned through consistent quality, which has propelled these firms to the forefront of the legal industry.” For more information about Kemp Klein’s recognitions, please visit: https://kkue.com/recognition.
Achieving a ranking in Best Law Firms signifies high-quality legal practice and a depth of legal proficiency. Recognized firms, categorized into three tiers, receive acclaim on both national and metropolitan levels, reflecting the extent of their practice and geographic reach. Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, reflecting the integrity and reputation earned by law firms.
The 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. The highest-rated firm in each national practice area attains the prestigious “Law Firm of the Year” honor. The transparent, collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews, supported by proprietary algorithmic technology, to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry.
Kemp Klein received the following rankings in the 2025 Best Law Firms®:
- Regional Tier 1
- Regional Tier 2
- Regional Tier 3
About Kemp Klein
About Kemp Klein: Kemp Klein is a full-service law firm dedicated to providing a comprehensive range of legal services, for both individuals and businesses, with the highest professional standards of excellence, integrity and efficiency. Spanning more than 50 years in business, its Midwest based practice has grown to serve clients locally, nationally, and internationally in areas such as estate planning, business/corporate law and litigation, probate and trust law and litigation, family law, bankruptcy and collections, employment, real estate, landlord/tenant, and tax law. For more information about Kemp Klein, please visit https://kkue.com/. .
About Best Law Firms®
Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers® and respected for over 14 years, is the most credible ranking of exceptional law firms globally. It is rooted in a rigorous, peer-to-peer, industry-driven evaluation. A ranking from Best Law Firms signifies a high-quality practice and a breadth of legal expertise. Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and metropolitan scale, providing legal professionals with an elevated stature from the Best Law Firms recognition. For more information, visit www.bestlawfirms.com.
About Best Lawyers®
Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected peer-review research and marketing company in the legal profession. Best Lawyers compiles extensive recognitions by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate the work of their fellow legal professionals within their local market and specialty. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore, recognition by Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. For more information, visit www.bestlawyers.com.

Kemp Klein Has Been Recognized as One of the 2024 Best Places to Work: Law Firms by Bridgetower Media® and Best Companies Group®
Kemp Klein Law Firm has been named by Best Companies Group (BCG) as one of its 2024 Best Places to Work: Law Firms!
BCG, a sister company of Michigan Lawyers Weekly, publishes its annual list to recognize top performing law firms nationally based on such factors as employee satisfaction, employee benefits, company policies and more. In addition to being named one of the nation’s top firms in 2024, Kemp Klein Law Firm was the only Michigan law firm selected for the honor this year.
The Best Places to Work: Law Firms program honors firms that prioritize their employees’ well-being and create a positive work environment. This prestigious program includes a two-part process consisting of employee surveys and an independent evaluative step in which firms are compared against hundreds of industry benchmarks. The combined scores determine the top firms and final rankings. Best Companies Group, a research firm for more than 70 Best Places to Work programs worldwide, also manages the annual Cool Places to Work review for Crain’s Detroit Business.
Kemp Klein was featured by Michigan Lawyers Weekly for winning the 2024 Best Places to Work Law Firms Award in the article Kemp Klein aims higher:
Kemp Klein continues to aim higher
BridgeTower Media, which is the parent company of Michigan Lawyers Weekly and numerous other legal publications, will run print and digital announcements honoring the “Best Law Firms to Work For” in their publications across the country.
Kemp Klein is a full-service law firm dedicated to providing a comprehensive range of legal services, for both individuals and businesses, with the highest professional standards of excellence, integrity and efficiency. Spanning more than 50 years in business, its Midwest based practice has grown to serve clients locally, nationally, and internationally in areas such as estate planning, business/corporate law and litigation, probate and trust law and litigation, family law, bankruptcy and collections, employment, real estate, landlord/tenant, and tax law. For more information, please visit https://kkue.com/.
Kemp Klein Shareholder Amanda Afton Martin Recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of the 2024 Influential Women of Law
Eighteen Kemp Klein Attorneys Recognized by U.S. News Best Lawyers in America
William B. Acker – Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Real Estate Law, Tax Law, and Trusts & Estates
C. Leslie Banas – Corporate Law and Real Estate Law
Cynthia E. Brazzil – Corporate Law
Richard C. Bruder – Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law
Joseph P. Buttiglieri – Litigation – Trusts & Estates
Ralph A. Castelli, Jr. – Corporate Law and Real Estate Law
Mark R. Filipp – Litigation – Labor and Employment
Brian R. Jenney – Elder Law and Trusts & Estates
David D. Marsh – Real Estate Law
Alan A. May – Litigation – Trusts & Estates and Trusts & Estates
Norman D. Orr – Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Corporate Law
Thomas C. Rauch – Real Estate Law
Brian H. Rolfe – Commercial Litigation
Stuart Sinai – Securities Regulation
Amy A. Stawski – Family Law
Thomas V. Trainer – Elder Law and Trusts & Estates
Michael D. Umphrey – Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships) and Trusts & Estates
Robert S. Zawideh – Arbitration and Litigation – Trusts & Estates
Detroit Legal News Recognizes Kemp Klein for 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Awards
We are grateful that Detroit Legal News has recently recognized Kemp Klein for our rankings in the 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”. Kemp Klein has been ranked in 14 practice areas, including 6 Tier 1 ratings.
Alan A. May's Novel Selected for Prestigious Book Fair
two friends’ experiences in Detroit before and after
World War II, as they face antisemitism, divided
loyalties and challenged value systems. His previous
novels include Article XII and Sons of Adam.
May is widely published in the field of probate law,
contributing articles to the Michigan Bar Journal,
NAWCC Bulletin, and the Michigan Probate and
Estate Planning Journal. He blogs frequently about
probate and baseball. In addition, he has appeared
in Martindale-Hubbell’s Register of Preeminent
lawyers 30 times, in Michigan Super Lawyers since
2007, in the Best Lawyers in America since 2010,
and has been named one of the top attorneys in
Michigan by the New York Times.

DBusiness names Brian R. Jenney and Alan A. May Top Lawyers
Attorneys Brian R. Jenney and Alan A. May have been selected for inclusion in DBusiness Magazine’s 2023 list of Top Lawyers for Trusts & Estates. Thousands of votes were cast honoring excellence in 53 practice areas.
The list will appear in the November/December 2022 issue of DBusiness and online Monday, November 15 at www.dbusiness.com.