The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers was established in 1990 to advance the standards and practices of appellate advocacy and to acknowledge outstanding appellate lawyers. Membership is based on nominations by existing fellows as well as recommendations from judges and practitioners. The academy limits membership to no more than 500 people in the United States, and requires that nominees have spent at least 15 years in practice devoted substantially to appeals.

“I’m humbled by this honor and believe strongly in the academy’s mission,” says Ms. Hankinson.

In addition to appellate law, Ms. Hankinson’s practice includes substantial work in the area of alternative dispute resolution, including regular work as a mediator and arbitrator in cases involving a variety of complex legal issues.

Ms. Hankinson is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

In addition to this latest honor, Ms. Hankinson has earned multiple selections to the Texas Super Lawyers list published by Thomson Reuters legal division and Texas Monthly. In 2011, she was named one of the state’s Top 10 attorneys in the Texas Super Lawyers listing.  Additionally, her work has been repeatedly recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA. This fall, she also was named to the “Winning Women” list published by Texas Lawyer.

“We’re very proud that Deborah has earned this recognition,” says Hankinson LLP Managing Partner Rick Thompson. “The academy has formally stated what we’ve known all along: Deborah is a rare and talented appellate lawyer.”

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

The firm earned a Metropolitan Tier 1 ranking among Dallas appellate firms in the 2011 guide to the nation’s leading law firms.

To compile the “Best Law Firms” listing, researchers with U.S. News and Best Lawyers surveyed thousands of attorneys and law firm clients across the U.S. The results of the survey appear in the November 2011 Best Law Firms publication. The full listing also is available online at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/.

Last month, the firm went through a name change when attorney Jeff Levinger departed to form his own firm.

“This honor rightly belongs to everyone at the firm, all the attorneys and staff, who worked so hard on behalf of our clients over the last 12 months, including Jeff,” says Hankinson LLP founder Deborah Hankinson, who also has been selected by The Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s top attorneys. In addition, Best Lawyers also recently named Ms. Hankinson Dallas Lawyer of the Year in Appellate Law.

To develop the Best Lawyers list, researchers review nearly 3 million confidential evaluations by other attorneys. The full listing is available at www.bestlawyers.com.

The “Best Law Firms” and Best Lawyers honors are just the latest for Deborah Hankinson and the firm. Earlier this year, she was listed among the state’s top lawyers in the annual Texas Super Lawyers publication, earning a spot among the state’s Top 10 lawyers overall. Her other 2011 honors include selection by Texas Lawyer newspaper for its “Winning Women” section, and by D Magazine to its list of Best Lawyers in Dallas. She also has been featured in Chambers USA’s listing of the country’s top lawyers and previously was profiled in the Dallas Business Journal as one of North Texas’ top business defenders.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well.

Learn more about the firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

“Carl is an accomplished appellate lawyer with great experience at all levels of the appellate process,” says firm founder Deborah Hankinson.

Formerly an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in its Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, Carl has worked on a number of high-profile cases before the United States Supreme Court and in multiple federal appellate courts across the country, as well as all levels of Texas appellate courts.  Among these cases is District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark Supreme Court case that established the scope of the protections provided by the Second Amendment.  Mr. Cecere served on a team of distinguished lawyers representing the District in that case.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Cecere has engaged in one-on-one debates with some of the nation’s leading policy experts on a wide range of legal issues, including debates with Dr. John Lott, author of “More Guns Less Crime,” Adam Winkler of the UCLA School of Law, Clark Neily of the Institute for Justice, and the Liberty Institute’s Hiram Sasser.

Mr. Cecere also frequently speaks and writes on issues of constitutional law and appellate advocacy.  He is a frequent contributor to SCOTUSblog, where he has written on a variety of issues before the Supreme Court such as restitution for victims of crime, “good time” sentence reductions for federal prisoners, and the validity, under the federal discrimination laws, of the use of performance exams in firefighter hiring.

Mr. Cecere earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree, cum laude, from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, where he was on the Executive Board of the SMU Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  Carl then clerked with the Hon. Mary Lou Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas before joining Akin Gump.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with legal insight and a judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well.

“Ryan has earned the respect of his colleagues and peers through the quality and consistency his work for clients,” says firm co-founder Jeffrey Levinger. “We believe he has one of the top legal minds anywhere, regardless of age or experience.”

The 2011 Texas Rising Stars list is based on nominations from fellow attorneys, with selection limited to lawyers 40 years old or younger, and those who have been practicing law for a decade or less. In all, only 2.5 percent of eligible Texas attorneys earn the Rising Stars honor each year. This year’s Rising Stars list is featured in the April issue of Texas Monthly magazine. It also is available in the current issue of Texas Rising Stars, published by Thomson Reuters, Legal division.

A former Assistant Solicitor General for the Texas Attorney General’s office, Mr. Clinton has successfully handled a wide range of appellate matters in state and federal courts. He has presented oral arguments before the Supreme Court of Texas and appellate courts in Texas and Louisiana, in addition to handling briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He is a frequent speaker on appellate matters at continuing legal education seminars, and has served in the Austin chapter of the American Inns of Court. Mr. Clinton earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2000, graduating with Order of the Coif honors. He graduated, cum laude, in both political science and public policy studies from Duke University in 1997.

Hankinson Levinger, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during and after trial. Hankinson Levinger represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the firm at http://www.hanklev.com.