Cornelius B. (Neil) Hayes is a third generation Fort Wayne lawyer.  Since 1990 Mr. Hayes has been an "AV" rated lawyer, Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating for ethical standards and legal ability..  Mr. Hayes received Fellowship in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 1992 and has been Certified as a Family Law Specialist by the Indiana Family Law Certification Board since its inception.  Mr. Hayes has  served continuously as a Board Member of the Indiana Certifying Organization of the State Bar of Indiana and is presently an Officer of the Family and Juvenile Section of the Indiana State Bar Association.  He has also continuously served on the Executive Committee of the Allen County Bar Association - Family Law Section since 1990.  He has served as the Section's Chairman and currently is an Officer of the Section.

In 1995 Mr. Hayes was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and he has been selected in all successive editions since.  In 2004 and all following years Mr. Hayes has also been voted by his peers - Indiana Super Lawyer - which designation identifies him in the top 5% of Indiana Lawyers.  In 2010 and 2011 Mr. Hayes was designated as one of  Indiana's "Top 50" Super Lawyers, which rating identified him as has having received the highest point totals among all lawyer nominations, research and a blue ribbon review process conducted by Law & Politics and the publishers of the Indiana Super Lawyers magazine.  Mr. Hayes was also voted a Fort Wayne Top Lawyer as published in Fort Wayne Monthly.

Mr. Hayes' grandfather C. Byron Hayes was elected Allen County Prosecuting Attorney in 1932 and 1936.  His father, J. Byron Hayes, a former federal prosecutor, was elected Allen County Prosecutor in 1958. His son, Byron, is senior litigation counsel for a Fortune 500 Company.
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