21 Sturgill Turner Attorneys Named 2026 Best Lawyers in America®; Dittert is Lexington “Lawyer of the Year”
Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC is pleased to announce that 21 of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, one of the most respected legal peer-review guides worldwide. Attorney Jamie Wilhite Dittert has also been named Lexington metropolitan area “Lawyer of the Year.” Only one lawyer in each specific practice area from each community can be honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
Sixteen (16) of our attorneys have been selected for inclusion in the 2026 The Best Lawyers in America® list. Plus, five Sturgill Turner attorneys were named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, for attorneys who have been in private practice fewer than 10 years. Our attorneys, and the areas of practice for which they have been recognized, are:
Stephen L. Barker: Education Law; Employment Law – Management; Labor & Employment Litigation; Mediation (*Lexington Employment Lawyer of the Year: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021 & 2024; Lexington Mediation Lawyer of the Year: 2023, 2025)
Bryan H. Beauman: Employment Law – Management (*Lexington Employment Law – Management Lawyer of the Year: 2023); Litigation - Labor & Employment
Charles D. Cole: Municipal Law
Kacey M. Coleman: Employment Law – Management; Litigation - Labor & Employment
Andrew D. DeSimone: Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Health Care Litigation; Healthcare Law; Insurance Law
Jamie W. Dittert: Lexington “Lawyer of the Year” Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Insurance Law; Insurance Litigation
James W. Gardner: Energy Law; Utilities Law; Municipal Law
Kevin G. Henry: Banking and Finance Litigation; Bankruptcy Litigation; Labor & Employment Litigation; Trusts and Estates Litigation (*Lexington Trusts & Estates Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2012, 2022; Lexington Banking & Finance Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2013, 2021, 2025; Lexington Labor & Employment Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2019; Lexington Bankruptcy Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2016)
Stan Lee: Insurance Litigation
Donald P. “Pat” Moloney, II: Mediation; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants (*Lexington Medical Malpractice Defense Lawyer of the Year: 2015 & 2021; Lexington Personal Injury Litigation Defense Lawyer of the Year: 2016); Insurance Law
M. Todd Osterloh: Energy Law; Utilities Law; Municipal Law and Litigation (*Lexington Utilities Law Lawyer of the Year: 2021)
Josh J. Owen: Insurance Law
Josh Salsburey: Employment Law - Management; Labor and Employment Litigation
Timothy C. Wills: Construction Law; Construction Litigation; Employment Law – Management; Labor Law – Management; Labor & Employment Litigation; Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants (*Lexington Construction Law Lawyer of the Year: 2014 & 2019; Lexington Construction Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2021, 2022)
Derrick T. Wright: Employment Law - Management; Labor and Employment Litigation (*Lexington Labor and Employment Litigation Lawyer of the Year: 2025)
Sarah Charles Wright: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships); Corporate Law; Health Care Law
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America
Catherine E. “Katie” Bouvier: Insurance Law
Madeleine B. Loeffler: Health Care Law; Insurance Law; Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Maureen C. Malles: Municipal Law; Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Health Care Law; Government Relations Practice
Rebecca C. Price: Corporate Law; Energy Law; Municipal Law
Andy M. Yocum: Insurance Law, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
About The Best Lawyers in America®
Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers® has been regarded by both legal professionals and the public as a premier benchmark for legal integrity and distinction in the United States. Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America is determined through a comprehensive peer-review survey, with over 27 million evaluations analyzed including a record breaking 4.2 million responses from this year alone. Because Best Lawyers® is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey of lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers® is considered a singular honor.
Best Lawyers® compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” were selected because they received particularly high ratings from their peers.
About Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC
For more than 65 years, Sturgill Turner has been serving businesses, public entities and individuals in Lexington, across the Commonwealth, and beyond. Our attorneys focus on business law, education law, employment law, health care law, insurance law, municipal and governmental law, utilities, trusts and estates, and alternative dispute resolution.
2026 “Lawyer of the Year”