Law360 profiled McGuireWoods partner Sabrina Conyers in a Sept. 13, 2021, story on her selection as a 2021 Tax MVP.
Conyers joined McGuireWoods’ Tax & Employee Benefits Department in Charlotte on Sept. 7. She was selected as a Law360 Tax MVP for her work as lead corporate and tax counsel in structuring the largest city-based guaranteed income fund pilot in U.S. history, and for leading tax representation for an economic development agency in creating an innovative $100 million community investment fund for Black and Latinx business owners.
Conyers told Law360 that her biggest accomplishment in 2021 was merging her law practice with her passion for racial equity and economic justice.
“It’s really actually felt like a privilege,” Conyers said. “I’ve spent 17 years honing this craft that is very technical, really sophisticated, very important, but I haven’t always had the opportunity to really apply it in areas where I know it’s needed [and in ways] that are important to me.”
Conyers said the best advice she can give junior attorneys, particularly women and lawyers of color, is to know that their voice matters.
“I think that so often, especially in law and especially in Big Law, just the institution can silence our voices, growth and development in very unexplainable ways,” Conyers said. “I think that it’s knowing that not only are you smart and capable, but you have something of value to contribute, and you have an obligation to speak up and contribute that thing, whatever it is.”
The American Lawyer also profiled Conyers in a Sept. 8, 2021, story about her recent move to McGuireWoods. In an interview, Conyers said her experience in transactional tax matters can help bridge the knowledge gap for clients, particularly in acquisitions of small or midsize companies by larger shops. The American Lawyer recently named Conyers a 2021 Dealmaker of the Year.
“What I’ve seen is us, as tax professionals, being very instrumental in helping to bridge the gap in helping our clients be ready for larger acquisitions by larger buyers and really helping our clients, from the CFO down to the tax director, really at every level, to be ready and well-positioned for that acquisition,” she said.
Gerald V. Thomas II, chairman of McGuireWoods’ Tax & Employee Benefits Department, said Conyers is an important addition for the firm.
“We are always looking for top-notch talent that we believe can allow us to better serve our clients and better position ourselves in the market as we continue to be a national powerhouse of a law firm,” he told The American Lawyer. “Sabrina fits all of these categories.”
Conyers’ arrival at McGuireWoods also was covered in Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call column, Reuters’ Daily Docket feature and Corporate Counsel Business Journal.