Levin Papantonio Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers 2027

---

Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Brian Barr is the president of Levin Papantonio and a nationally recognized trial lawyer who litigates pharmaceutical, environmental, mass tort, and personal injury cases nationwide. He has been appointed to leadership positions in some of the nation’s largest and most complex mass-tort litigation.

Barr has served in leadership roles in the 3M Combat Arms Earplugs, Xarelto, BP/Deepwater Horizon, and Trasylol multidistrict litigations. As co-lead counsel in the Xarelto litigation, he served as lead trial counsel in three bellwether trials and helped negotiate a $750 million settlement resolving more than 20,000 claims. He also played a leading role in the BP/Deepwater Horizon litigation, which resulted in two multibillion-dollar class action settlements.

Barr has secured significant results at trial, including serving on the team that obtained a $390 million verdict on behalf of residents affected by a DuPont smelter in West Virginia. He and the trial team were named finalists for the Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year award.

Barr earned his B.A. from Baylor University and graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University College of Law. He has been recognized by Florida Super Lawyers and the National Trial Lawyers Association as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers.

---

Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
“Lawyer of the Year” – Medical Malpractice Law in Tallahassee

Virginia Buchanan is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio, where she has practiced since 1989. A nationally recognized trial lawyer, she has served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 50 jury trials, achieving results exceeding $500 million. Her practice extends nationally while maintaining strong ties to Pensacola and the surrounding community.

Buchanan has been recognized by Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Legal Elite, and Lawdragon 500 as a Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyer and has been named a Top Rated Lawyer in Personal Injury by Martindale-Hubbell. She is a Distinguished Fellow and Eagle Member of the Florida Justice Association and has served on its Board of Directors since her election in 2021.

Throughout her career, Buchanan has held numerous leadership and professional service roles with state, national, and local legal organizations. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Bar Foundation, as Treasurer of ABOTA, and on several American Bar Association and local bar committees. She currently serves on The Florida Bar Ethics Committee and, in 2026, was appointed by the Florida Bar President to the Unlicensed Practice of Law Standing Committee.

Buchanan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida and earned her J.D. with honors from the University of Florida College of Law. While in law school, she earned numerous academic honors, competed on the Moot Court Team, and was selected for the Order of the Coif.

---

Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Rachael R. Gilmer is a civil trial lawyer, shareholder, and Secretary/Treasurer at Levin Papantonio. She manages the firm’s motor vehicle department and focuses her practice on car accidents, wrongful death, trucking accidents, brain injuries, and serious premises liability cases. Licensed in Florida and Alabama, she has tried numerous cases to verdict, including wrongful death and serious injury claims.

Gilmer has earned an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, America’s Top 50 Personal Injury Lawyers, and Motor Vehicle Top 25 Trial Lawyers, among others. She is a frequent speaker for the Florida Justice Association and has taught trial preparation courses and presented at the People’s Law School for many years.

She earned her J.D. from the University of Alabama and her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida. Gilmer is a member of several state and national legal associations and is actively involved in the Pensacola community through local schools, churches, youth programs, and charitable organizations.

---

Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs

Peter Mougey is a shareholder and Chair of Levin Papantonio’s Securities and Business Litigation department, where he focuses on complex litigation, financial services and securities litigation, and whistleblower matters. Recognized as one of Florida’s top trial lawyers and an AV Preeminent-rated attorney, he has represented more than 1,500 governmental, institutional, and tribal entities and over 3,000 individual fraud victims.

Mougey serves on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL and was Co-Lead of the Distributor case. He was also a key negotiator in the landmark $26 billion opioid settlement with Johnson & Johnson and the nation’s three largest drug distributors.

A longtime advocate for investor rights, Mougey is a past president of PIABA and has held leadership roles with NASAA and FINRA. He received PIABA’s Lifetime Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to investor advocacy. He is a frequent speaker on legal and financial issues and has been quoted by national publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Washington Post.

---

Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs

Timothy O’Brien is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio and a board-certified civil trial attorney who concentrates his practice on mass tort litigation, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and transactional liability. Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, he has tried more than 60 jury trials and has held leadership roles in some of the nation’s most significant multidistrict litigation matters.

O’Brien has served as Co-Lead Counsel in major hernia mesh litigation involving Bard and Covidien and has held leadership positions in the Elmiron, Fosamax, Yaz, Invokana, Accutane, Medtronic, and other national product liability cases. In 2024, he served as Lead Settlement Counsel in the global resolution of approximately 33,000 Bard hernia mesh personal injury cases.

Most recently, O’Brien helped secure a historic $88 million bellwether verdict against Covidien, a Medtronic company. The verdict is the highest compensatory damages award in the 15-year history of U.S. mesh products litigation. The achievement earned O’Brien and the trial team recognition among Law360’s “Legal Lions of the Week.”

His accomplishments have also earned recognition from Super Lawyers, Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite, and The Best Lawyers in America. O’Brien has been interviewed or quoted by national media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, and Bloomberg News.

O’Brien graduated with honors from the University of Florida College of Law. After serving as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr. and practicing federal civil litigation in Georgia, he returned to his hometown of Pensacola and joined Levin Papantonio in 2000.

---

Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs

Mike Papantonio is a senior partner at Levin Papantonio and a nationally recognized trial lawyer who has secured numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate misconduct. His work handling thousands of mass tort, pharmaceutical, and environmental cases has helped establish Levin Papantonio as one of the nation’s leading plaintiffs’ law firms.

Papantonio is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and is one of the few living attorneys inducted into America’s Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame. He has held leadership roles in major national litigation, including the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL, and has been credited as a key negotiator in multibillion-dollar opioid settlements. His environmental litigation includes helping secure major settlements involving PFAS contamination and serving as lead trial counsel in a West Virginia case that resulted in a verdict exceeding $380 million.

His honors include the American Association for Justice Defender of Justice Award, the Florida Justice Association’s Perry Nichols Award, and recognition by Best Lawyers in America. He is also the founder of Mass Torts Made Perfect, a national conference dedicated to educating and training plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Beyond the courtroom, Papantonio is an author, media host, and commentator. He founded and formerly hosted the nationally syndicated Ring of Fire radio program and hosted America’s Lawyer for 10 years. His legal and environmental advocacy has also been featured in documentaries including Jesus Camp, Oxy Kingpins, The Devil We Know, and Beyond Pollution.

---

Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs

Emmie J. Paulos is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio who practices in complex civil litigation and mass torts, with a particular focus on representing survivors of human trafficking and sexual abuse. She pursues civil claims against businesses and organizations that enabled or profited from exploitation and is committed to helping survivors seek accountability and justice.

Paulos also has extensive experience in product liability, environmental, and multidistrict litigation. She currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Product Liability Litigation, MDL 3047, representing young people harmed by social media platforms. Her mass tort experience also includes significant work on the BP Deepwater Horizon and Xarelto litigations, where she represented clients and contributed to bellwether trial preparation and other common-benefit work.

Paulos has been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as a “Top 40 Under 40” attorney. Prior to joining Levin Papantonio, she practiced civil litigation, business law, employment law, and transactional matters in California. She is licensed to practice in Florida, California, and Washington, D.C.

---

Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

Mark Proctor is the chairman of Levin Papantonio and a longtime leader of the firm. Since joining in 1981, he has helped shape Levin Papantonio through decades of growth, serving as president for 24 years before becoming chairman. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation as a trusted attorney, mentor, and advocate for clients nationwide.

Proctor has played a key role in significant litigation, including representing employees of the Environmental Protection Agency and helping lead the BP Deepwater Horizon litigation. He is also the co-founder of Mass Torts Made Perfect, a biannual legal conference that has helped launch and advance many of the nation’s most significant mass tort cases.

Before joining Levin Papantonio, Proctor served as Assistant General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville and General Counsel for the Florida Department of Natural Resources. He has also taught Environmental Law at the University of Florida and the University of West Florida.

Proctor earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Fredric G. Levin College of Law. He is a member of several state and national legal organizations and serves on the boards of multiple charitable organizations.

---

Litigation – Securities

Bradley B. Rounsaville is Of Counsel at Levin Papantonio and a trial lawyer focused on representing investors in disputes with broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and financial services companies. With more than 25 years of litigation experience, he has tried more than 80 cases before FINRA arbitration panels, served as lead counsel in hundreds of additional matters, and argued numerous appeals in federal and state courts.

Before joining Levin Papantonio in 2025, Rounsaville spent 17 years representing major Wall Street brokerage firms and financial advisors across the country. His extensive securities experience includes matters involving stocks, bonds, mutual funds, structured finance, ETFs, REITs, commodities, annuities, and other investment products, as well as cases involving selling away, Ponzi schemes, and unapproved outside business activities.

Rounsaville has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Securities Litigation since 2012, including recognition in the 2026 edition. He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor for the Michigan Law Review, and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Mississippi State University. He is admitted to practice in Florida and Alabama.

---

The recognition of these nine attorneys reflects the depth and range of experience across Levin Papantonio. From individual personal injury and medical malpractice cases to nationwide mass torts, product liability litigation, class actions, and complex securities disputes, LP attorneys continue to advocate for individuals and communities facing powerful corporate interests.

For more than 70 years, Levin Papantonio has represented clients in complex and high-stakes litigation across the country. These Best Lawyers honors recognize the attorneys who carry that tradition forward and the work they continue to do on behalf of their clients.