Business North Carolina magazine has named 14 Womble Carlyle attorneys to the 2016 North Carolina Legal Elite—the magazine’s annual listing of the state's top lawyers.

In addition, Andy Copenhaver was this year’s top vote-getter in North Carolina in the Antitrust category and as such, was profiled in Business North Carolina magazine.

The 2016 Legal Elite honorees are:

"Charlotte"

Rob Bryan, Real Estate

Russ Ferguson, Litigation

Bill Matthews, Real Estate

Ric Morton, Environmental

Claire Rauscher, Criminal

"Greensboro"

Jack Hicks, Intellectual Property

Bob Rhodes, Intellectual Property

"Raleigh"

Liz Arias, Tax/Estate Planning

Kevin Lyn, Intellectual Property

Liz Riley, Construction

"Winston-Salem"

Edward Griggs, Tax/Estate Planning

Trent Jernigan, Real Estate

George Ragland, Tax/Estate Planning

The following Womble Carlyle attorneys are members of the North Carolina Legal Elite Hall of Fame, meaning they received the most votes in the state in their particular practice area. Hall of Fame members are no longer eligible for the annual rankings. They are:

Alfred Adams, Real Estate (Winston-Salem)

Jim Cooney, Criminal Law (Charlotte)

Mark Horoschak, Antitrust (Charlotte)

Press Millen, Antitrust (Raleigh)

Betty Quick, Tax/Trusts & Estates (Winston-Salem)

Copenhaver will move into the North Carolina Legal Elite Hall of Fame category next year.

Statewide, 644 lawyers — less than 3% of the total — were picked by their peers in 14 mostly business-related categories. Notices were sent to more than 23,000 active members of the North Carolina State Bar. Voters could not pick themselves, and they could select partners and associates only if they also selected lawyers outside the firm in the same categories.