McKenzie, Wilkins Named Among Lawyers of the Year
Kastner, Westman & Wilkins’ John McKenzie and Jim Wilkins headline a list of seven attorneys from the firm who were named among the “Best Lawyers in America® 2025 Edition” released today.
McKenzie, Managing Shareholder, was named “Lawyer of the Year” for the Akron metro area in the Labor Law – Management practice area. Wilkins, Shareholder Emeritus, earned “Lawyer of the Year” in Akron in the Employment Law – Management practice area.
Each year the international Best Lawyers organization conducts confidential peer-review surveys in order to recognize the leading lawyers in an array of legal practice areas.
Additionally, Shareholders Tom Green, McKenzie and Wilkins were each named to the Best Lawyers 2025 list, while Olivia Hochschwender, Michael Karst, Amanda Smith and Julie Trout were all named Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch 2025.
McKenzie’s Best Lawyers honor is his fourth in a row. He was recognized in the Employment Law-Management, Labor Law-Management and Litigation-Labor and Employment categories. This year marked his first Lawyer of the Year award.
Wilkins has achieved Best Lawyers recognition six straight years in the Employment Law-Management, Labor Law-Management and Litigation-Labor and Employment categories, and this year earned his second Lawyer of the Year award.
Green earned Best Lawyer honors for the second time and was recognized in each of the three categories of Employment Law-Management, Labor Law-Management and Litigation-Labor and Employment.
Ones to Watch recognizes attorneys in their early careers. This year marked Trout’s fifth award, Karst’s third, and Smith’s and Hochschwender’s second.