Nine Tressler Attorneys Selected in the 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America

We are proud to announce that Tressler attorneys Sarah Hertz Maisel, Joshua D. Mountain, Stacey L. Wilkins, Taylor A. Brewer, Kiera Fitzpatrick, Simone E. Haugen, Jerome Murphy, Ryan L. Nolte and Samantha Shafer  were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2025 Edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. This is Sarah, Josh, Simone and Ryan's first time being selected to this distinguished list.

Learn more about this group of experienced attorneys below.

Tressler Partners: Best Lawyers - Ones to Watch in America™

Sarah Hertz Maisel: Insurance Law

Sarah is a partner and Co-Chair of the Insurance Services Practice Group and focuses her practice on a wide range of insurance coverage analyses and litigation. She represents insurance companies in complex coverage litigation pending throughout the country in both state and federal courts. These actions involve various coverage lines, including commercial general liability, professional liability, management liability, excess exposures and extracontractual liability. She also has significant experience in defending underlying claims including handling matters through mediation, arbitration and trial.


 Joshua D. Mountain: Insurance Law

Joshua is a partner in Tressler's Orange County office. His practice focuses on representing insurance companies in complex litigation and coverage matters. Joshua has obtained favorable results in a wide variety of cases involving general negligence, wrongful death and premises liability.

Stacey L. Wilkins: Insurance Law; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants

Stacey is an experienced courtroom attorney. Her litigation practice is focused primarily in the areas of general defense litigation, insurance coverage and municipal law. She has successfully defended individuals, corporations, public entities (including park districts and schools), public employees, and not-for-profit organizations, including childcare centers and foster care/adoption agencies. Stacey has advised and represented individuals, personal and commercial lines insurance companies, self-insured risk pools, corporations, municipalities in a variety of litigated defense matters. Her practice includes both state and federal trial work as well as appellate work.  

Tressler Associates: Best Lawyers - Ones to Watch in America™


Taylor A. Brewer: Insurance Law

Taylor is an associate in Tressler's Litigation Practice Group. Taylor started his practice with a focus on construction injury, product liability, premises liability and automobile injury, with cases ranging from pre-litigation claims through appeal. He has since branched out to handling regulatory compliance matters, with a special focus on long-term care facility regulatory compliance and local government law litigation.


Kiera Fitzpatrick: Insurance Law, Labor and Employment Law - Management

Kiera is an associate in the Insurance and Employment Practice Groups at Tressler. She represents her clients in State and Federal Courts in New York and New Jersey. Her practice areas include employment litigation, insurance coverage litigation, professional and management liability, reinsurance and personal injury. She represents insurers in litigation and non-litigation matters and advises insurers on complex insurance coverage issues.  She is well-versed in drafting coverage letters, pleadings, dispositive motions, discovery requests/responses and settlement agreements. Kiera also represents her clients in depositions and mediations.


Simone E. Haugen: Insurance Law

Simone is an associate in Tressler's Professional Liability Practice Group. Simone focuses her practice on complex civil litigation matters, including professional and management liability litigation and other tort matters.

Jerome T. Murphy: Real Estate Law, Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants

Jerome serves his clients in a variety of complex litigated matters, including toxic tort and asbestos litigation, actions for breach of contract, indemnity and contribution, professional malpractice, personal injury, construction negligence, employment discrimination and civil rights violations. Jerome also has experience representing buyers and sellers in real estate transactions and closings.


Ryan L. Nolte: Insurance Law

Ryan is an associate attorney and a member of the Litigation Practice Group. He handles a wide range of complex civil litigation matters spanning across several practice areas including insurance, commercial and business. Ryan approaches litigation with an eye toward results; understanding that advancing his clients’ legal strategies should fit within their overall business interests. Ryan has experience in all phases of litigation, including drafting pleadings, discovery, taking depositions, arguing dispositive motions and trial.


Samantha Shafer: Insurance Law

Samantha is an associate in Tressler’s Insurance Practice Group. She has experience in a variety of insurance coverage matters including construction defect coverage litigation, bad faith and extra contractual liability litigation and coverage claims involving a variety of tort issues. Samantha’s work includes evaluation and analysis of insurance coverage issues, risk assessment for insurance carriers, preparation of coverage opinions and position letters and handling insurance coverage litigation and ADR. Samantha has obtained favorable results for her clients in handling settlement of various insurance coverage disputes.

Click here to view the press release from Best Lawyers®.

About Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ awards are recognitions given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States. The methodology for determining these awards remains the same as it did when Best Lawyers was founded almost 40 years ago: peer-review. Lawyers are the best resource to provide feedback on the caliber of work performed by their peers. Learn more at www.bestlawyers.com/article/2025-best-lawyers-awards-31st-edition-best-lawyers-in-americ/6066 

About Tressler LLP

Headquartered in Chicago, with eight offices located in five states, Tressler LLP is a national law firm comprised primarily of attorneys who devote their practice to the representation of the insurance industry in coverage analysis and resolution, litigation, underwriting consultation, product development, claims management and reinsurance.

In addition, Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois, and has attorneys who represent clients in commercial litigation, defense litigation, corporate transactions, employment law and litigation, intellectual property and condominium and common interest community association law.

For more information, please visit www.tresslerllp.com.