ATLANTA, August 25, 2025 – Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP (KCO) is pleased to announce that Michael Kabat and Nathan Chapman have been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, Chadwick Williams and Robbie Wright have been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in Georgia, and Melissa Meister is recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in California. Kabat was recognized for Employment Law – Management, Chapman for Commercial Litigation and Labor and Employment Litigation, Meister for Criminal Defense: White-Collar, Williams was selected for Labor and Employment Litigation and Wright was recognized for Labor and Employment Litigation and Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers. As one of the oldest and most distinguished publishers of legal directories, Best Lawyers® conducts peer-review surveys to compile its annual list of top attorneys across several practice areas. The 2026 edition is available at bestlawyers.com.

Michael D. Kabat

Kabat is a founding partner of KCO, serves as the firm’s managing partner and leads the firm’s labor and employment practice. He has over 35 years of experience in management-side labor and employment law with a heavy emphasis on class, collective and representative action litigation. Kabat also regularly advises clients on labor relations issues and day-to-day employment disputes. In addition to the recognition from The Best Lawyers in America®, he has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer® in Employment & Labor for over a decade and is ranked AV Preeminent® in the Martindale-Hubbell® peer review ratings. Kabat earned his undergraduate degree from Binghamton University, State University of New York and his law degree at Duke University School of Law.

Nathan D. Chapman

Chapman is a founding partner of KCO and focuses his practice on employment law, trade secret and restrictive covenant disputes and complex commercial litigation. Chapman has substantial experience handling discrimination and retaliation claims, wage and hour matters, class, collective and representative action lawsuits; and other complex employment and commercial matters. He has represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts, as well as in front of the federal Department of Labor and other federal and state administrative agencies.  Chapman earned his undergraduate degree from McGill University, summa cum laude, and his law degree from Florida State University College of Law, summa cum laude, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served on the law review and moot court. 

Melissa A. Meister

Meister is of counsel in the firm’s Los Angeles office and she focuses her practice on labor and employment counseling and litigation, as well as assisting with complex commercial litigation and white-collar matters. Meister has significant trial and appellate experience and is well versed in class actions, wage and hour disputes, discrimination and retaliation claims, trade secret matters, complex commercial litigation, and white-collar defense. Prior to joining KCO, Meister served as a Department of Justice trial attorney and assistant United States attorney. She has been named in The Best Lawyers in America® annually since 2021. Meister earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Arizona, where she was an executive notes editor for the Arizona Law Review and placed first in moot court. She graduated law school summa cum laude and Order of the Coif before clerking for Judge William C. Canby on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Chadwick L. Williams

Williams is an associate in the firm’s class and collective action, appellate, labor and employment, and commercial litigation practice groups. He previously clerked for Judge Frank M. Hull at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Williams also worked for the Eleventh Circuit’s Staff Attorney’s Office, where he prepared memoranda and draft opinions for the entire court. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, as well as the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Williams earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Georgia, cum laude.  He received his law degree from Georgia State University College of Law, summa cum laude, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served on the law review and moot court, and served as a graduate research assistant.   

Robert G. Wright

As an associate at KCO, Wright works in the firm’s class and collective action, labor and employment law, and commercial litigation practice areas, with a particular emphasis on class, collective, and representative action litigation. He has successfully defended clients against discrimination and wage and hour claims. He has also successfully enforced and defended against restrictive covenant litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country. Wright earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University and graduated from Mercer University School of Law in the top 3.5% of his class. He served on the Mercer Law Review and was the recipient of the Georgia Scholar Award and the Faculty Legal Writing Award, as well as earning membership to the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court, the Brainerd Currie Honor Society, Scribes – The American Society of Legal Writers, and the National Trial Competition Mock Trial Team.

About Best Lawyers® (Provided by Best Lawyers®)

Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected attorney ranking service in the world. For more than 30 years, Best Lawyers® has assisted those in need of legal services in identifying the attorneys best qualified to represent them in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. Best Lawyers® lists are published in leading local, regional and national publications across the globe.

ABOUT KABAT CHAPMAN & OZMER LLP

Kabat Chapman & Ozmer LLP (KCO) is a boutique labor and employment, business and white-collar litigation law firm with offices in Atlanta; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Portland, Oregon. KCO represents Fortune 500 companies in class, collective and representative actions, labor and employment disputes, complex commercial and consumer-facing disputes, and white-collar investigations and litigation in jurisdictions across the country. KCO also provides consulting services, training and day-to-day advice and conducts internal investigations in all areas in which it litigates. KCO occupies a unique position in the legal market: While most smaller boutique firms tend to be regional and small market in scope, KCO has a truly national client base and scope of practice that it manages out of its four offices across the country. This unique mix allows KCO to offer clients the personal attention and efficiency they expect from a smaller law firm with the expertise and resources of a much larger firm.