Dallas, June 14, 2011 — Winstead's reputation for providing quality legal service to clients once again is confirmed by the 2011 Chambers USA publication. This year's annual publication ranked Winstead's real estate and construction practices in band 1 (top level ranking) for Texas law firms, and Winstead's banking and finance, environment, insurance, intellectual property (IP) and tax practices were highly ranked as well. The 2011 Chambers USA edition features 22 Winstead attorneys from 11 different practice areas, ranked among the top attorneys of their field.

Chambers USA is published by Chambers and Partners, a premier guide to the legal profession. Each year, Chambers conducts in-depth research and interviews with clients and attorneys throughout the United States to identify the top lawyers in various practice areas. Law firms and individual lawyers are ranked in bands from 1-6, with 1 being the best. Inclusion in Chambers USA is based completely on the research and peer interviews conducted and cannot be initiated by a firm or attorney.

Individual attorneys who ranked in Band 1 this year included Winstead Shareholder and Co-chair of the Real Estate Development and Investments Practice Group, Greg Erwin, for real estate, and Austin Shareholder Mary Keller for insurance: regulation. Shareholder Robert Bass received a 'Star' ranking for construction. A 'Star' ranking is given to lawyers with exceptional recommendations in their field.

Other Winstead shareholders who once again ranked high in Chambers USA this year included: Business and Transactions Department Head Edward Peterson, and Shareholders Michael Alessio and T. Andrew Dow in real estate; Chair of Winstead's Finance and Banking Practice Group Michael Hilliard, and Shareholder Jim Littlejohn in banking and finance; Executive Committee Member and Shareholder Michelle Rieger, Chair of Winstead's Construction Practice Group Stewart Whitehead, and Shareholder Mark Guthrie in construction; Shareholders Albert Axe, Keith Courtney, and Daniel Vineyard in environment; Shareholder Joe Epstein in bankruptcy/restructuring; Austin Managing Shareholder Alex Gonzales and Shareholder Peter Nolan ranked in insurance categories along with Keller; Shareholder Thomas Helfand in tax; and Shareholder Cathryn Berryman in IP.

Winstead attorneys newly ranked this year for their excellent work included: Chairman and CEO Kevin Sullivan, and Shareholder John Nolan in real estate.

Chambers USA Guide conducts over 14,000 interviews across the country in which clients and participating attorneys are asked to rank law firms and individual attorneys in specific specialty areas. The qualities on which rankings are assessed include technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness/astuteness, diligence, commitment and other qualities most valued by clients. Chambers selects their sources based on submissions put forward by legal practices, interviews during the course of research, as well as from their own database resources.

Winstead is among the largest business law firms in Texas. Winstead attorneys and consultants serve as trusted advisors to mid-market and large businesses, providing a core range of legal services that are critical to their operation and success. From its well-known reputation in real estate and financial services to its corporate and high-stakes litigation practice, Winstead delivers practical knowledge and responsive service. And it's all backed by a get-it-done attitude. Winstead has offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and The Woodlands, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. For detailed information about Winstead, visit www.winstead.com.