Nasser, Nixon Receive Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” Recognitions

Dowd Bennett partners Michelle Nasser and Governor Jay Nixon each received “Lawyer of the Year” honors from Best Lawyers®, an award in which “only a single lawyer in each practice area and community” is honored.

The “Lawyer of the Year” recognitions are firsts for Nasser and Nixon, both of whom were public servants before coming to Dowd Bennett.

Nasser, managing partner of Dowd Bennett’s Chicago office, is recognized as the 2025 Criminal Defense: White-Collar “Lawyer of the Year” award winner in St. Louis.  She was a long-time Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Case, Financial Crimes, General Crimes and Violent Crimes sections of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago.  Nasser is also recognized as an individually ranked Band 1 attorney by Chambers USA in the practice area of Litigation:  White Collar Crime & Government Investigations.

Nixon is recognized as the 2025 Government Relations “Lawyer of the Year” award winner in St. Louis.  Before joining Dowd Bennett in 2017, Nixon was Missouri’s four term Attorney General (1993-2009) and two term

Governor (2009-2017).  He also served as a state senator from Jefferson County.   In addition to his government relations practice, Nixon is a recognized appellate attorney.

Nasser and Nixon have received multiple annual recognitions from Best Lawyers in America®, achievements bestowed by their peers based on consensus opinion of colleagues within the same geographical and practice areas.