BUFFALO, NY – Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP today announced it has been ranked by Chambers USA in Band 3 for Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions – Upstate New York, Band 3 for Litigation: General Commercial – Upstate New York and is listed as a Recognized Practitioner in Real Estate – Upstate New York.

Chambers USA also ranked partners John J. Koeppel and Blaine S. Schwartz in Band 2 in their respective practice areas of Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions and Real Estate. In addition, Kevin J. Cross, the firm’s managing partner, and Dennis C. Vacco, partner, are listed as Recognized Practitioners in Litigation: General Commercial and Joseph P. Heins, a senior associate, was named an “associate to watch” in Real Estate.

Since 1990, Chambers and Partners have published guides to the legal profession, identifying and ranking the world’s best lawyers and law firms based on in-depth, objective research. Chambers USA ranks in Bands, with Band 1 being the highest distinction, leading law firms and lawyers throughout the U.S. in a variety of practice areas.

According to client input included in Chambers USA 2017 for Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP’s Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions practice, an interviewed client reports, “They’re great. They have a real common-sense approach to business, which is very important to me.”

An interviewed source on the firm’s Litigation: General Commercial practice called the team “very responsive,” adding “When something needs to be done quickly they are quick to deploy a team of attorneys at a moment’s notice.”

Mr. Cross is Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman’s managing partner where he leads a team of more than 70 attorneys across four offices. He also concentrates his legal practice in state and federal business litigation, as well as environmental matters.

Mr. Koeppel is the firm’s Private Equity Practice Team Leader. Throughout his career, he has successfully negotiated and closed more than 250 transactions, which typically involve mergers and acquisitions, fund formations and investments, and various private equity transactions, including fund secondary transactions, co-investments, venture financings and cross-border deals.

Clients commented on Mr. Koeppel’s ability to provide “outstanding customer service” and his “levelheaded” approach.

Practicing in the Real Estate Practice Group, Mr. Schwartz brings a wealth of experience to the firm’s commercial real estate clients and regularly negotiates complex real estate agreements and sophisticated loan documents in addition to efficiently and creatively structuring, negotiating and documenting all types of commercial real estate transactions.

Commentators in the latest Chambers rankings regard Mr. Schwartz as “extremely experienced in real estate deals” and “patient, focused, hard-working and affable throughout deals, which plays an important role in their successful outcome.”

Former New York State Attorney General, Mr. Vacco serves as the firm’s Government Investigations and Enforcement Actions Practice team leader. He concentrates his practice on governmental investigations, working with clients to ensure compliance with the complex and ever-changing rules of the state and federal governments, as well as clients who have been targeted for investigation by the government.

Mr. Heins focuses his work in the area of commercial real estate, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, project development financing and real property title matters. He has considerable experience in the retail sector, representing developers, landlords and tenants of shopping malls and other retail establishments.

An impressed Chambers interviewee singles Mr. Heins out as being not only “smart in a legal sense but also business-minded.”

For more information, visit www.chambersandpartners.com.