McGuireWoods was recognized as a leading law firm in 24 practice areas in the 2017 edition of The Legal 500 United States, the firm’s best showing in the prestigious independent guide to leading law firms and lawyers. The nationwide rankings underscore the firm’s prowess in a range of industry sectors and practices, including energy; mergers and acquisitions; banking and finance; healthcare; white-collar criminal defense; commercial litigation; intellectual property; technology; and transportation.
The Legal 500 US also recognized the firm’s lawyers 96 times. John Padgett, managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Norfolk, Virginia, office, was named to the elite “Leading Lawyers” list in Transport: Shipping. The guide noted that Padgett leads the firm’s “top class” transportation industry team, “which is particularly active for shipping logistics companies and port and terminal operators.” Washington, D.C., partner David Martin Connelly was named a “next generation lawyer” in Energy Litigation: Conventional Power, a recognition reserved for rising stars in each practice area.
McGuireWoods earned rankings in six energy-related practice categories, a testament to the firm’s transactional and litigation capabilities in the industry. The Legal 500 US cited the firm’s well-established M&A strength in the conventional power and oil and gas sectors and lauded its work in renewable and alternative energy, commending the firm’s “responsiveness, industry knowledge, strength in depth and value for money.” The firm also earned high marks for representing utilities in contentious regulatory matters and defending energy companies in high-stakes litigation.
In praising the firm’s M&A work, The Legal 500 US noted that McGuireWoods “is especially visible in deals in the energy, healthcare, real estate and technology sectors, and also frequently assists financial advisers in transactions.” The recognition follows McGuireWoods’ top 10 rankings in 2016 in highly M&A respected league tables compiled by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.
The Legal 500 US also ranked McGuireWoods for its commercial litigation, noting that the firm “has experts in the energy, healthcare and financial services sectors across its offices, who act for Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions.” In addition, the firm earned high marks for “a very strong 2016” in corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense, handling high-profile matters in the U.S. and abroad.
McGuireWoods earned rankings in the following nationwide practice areas:
- Antitrust: civil litigation and class actions
- Asset financing and leasing
- Commercial lending: advice to lenders
- Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Cyber law (including data protection and privacy)
- Energy litigation: conventional power
- Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy regulatory: conventional power
- Energy renewable/alternative
- Energy transactions: conventional power
- Energy transactions: oil and gas
- General commercial disputes
- Healthcare: service providers
- Intellectual property: Patents: licensing
- M&A: middle-market (sub-$500 million)
- Product liability, mass tort and class action: automotive/transport
- Product liability, mass tort and class action: consumer products
- Product liability, mass tort and class action: toxic tort – defense
- Project finance: advice to lender
- Sport
- Technology: outsourcing
- Technology: transactions
- Transport: rail and road
- Transport: shipping
In addition to the practice rankings, the Legal 500 US recognized individual McGuireWoods lawyers in the following categories:
Antitrust: civil litigation and class actions
Amy Manning and Angelo Russo of Chicago; James Walsh of Richmond; Jonathan Lewis of Washington
Asset financing and leasing
Patricia Hosmer, Anna Reimers and David B. Whelpley Jr. of Charlotte
Commercial lending: advice to lenders
Art Gambill and Hilary P. Jordan of Atlanta; Eric Burk, Rebecca Chaffin, Raj Natarajan and Manley Roberts of Charlotte; David McLean of Dallas
Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
John Adams and Richard Cullen of Richmond; Todd Mullins, Patrick Rowan and George Terwilliger of Washington, Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk
Cyber law (including date protection and privacy)
Nathan Kottkamp of Richmond; Andrew Konia of Tysons
Energy litigation: conventional power
Mark Johnson of Chicago; Todd Mullins, Noel Symons and David Martin Connelly (listed as a “next generation lawyer) of Washington
Energy litigation: oil and gas
Jonathan Blank of Charlottesville; Ronald Franklin and Charles Hampton of Houston; Ryan Purpura of Pittsburgh
Energy regulatory: conventional power
Mark Johnson of Chicago; Joseph K. Reid III of Richmond; Todd Mullins and Noel Symons of Washington
Energy renewable/alternative
Timothy Callahan and Mark Johnson of Chicago; Joanne Katsantonis and Michael Woodard of Richmond
Energy transactions: conventional power
Brian Kelly of Baltimore; Timothy Callahan of Chicago; Matthew Kapinos of Houston; Peter Butcher of Pittsburgh; Joanne Katsantonis of Richmond
Energy transactions: oil and gas
Ryan Purpura of Pittsburgh; Joanne Katsantonis of Richmond
General commercial disputes
Gregory Evans of Los Angeles-Downtown; Bryan Fratkin of Richmond
Healthcare: service providers
LauraLee Lawley and Bart Walker of Charlotte; Holly Buckley and Amber McGraw Walsh of Chicago; Kate Hardey of Tysons
Intellectual property: Patents: licensing
Darren Collins of Dallas; Safet Metjahic of New York
M&A: middle market (sub-$500 million)
Harrison Marshall Jr. and Chris Scheurer of Charlotte; Geoffrey Cockrell of Chicago; Scott Westwood of Pittsburgh; James Anderson III and Joanne Katsantonis of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action: automotive/transport
Brian Jackson of Charlottesville; Lisa Ormand Taylor of Jacksonville; Bryan Brantley of Pittsburgh; Samuel Tarry and J. Tracy Walker IV of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action: consumer products (including tobacco)
Terrence Bagley, Samuel Tarry and J. Tracy Walker IV of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action: toxic tort – defense
Mark Anderson of Raleigh; Stephen Busch, Samuel Tarry, Trent Taylor and J. Tracy Walker IV of Richmond
Project finance: advice to lenders
Brian Kelly of Baltimore; Adam Greene and Marvin Rogers of Charlotte; Timothy Callahan of Chicago; Matthew Kapinos of Houston; Peter Butcher of Pittsburgh; Joanne Katsantonis of Richmond
Sport
Kevin McGinnis of Charlotte; Richard Grant of Los Angeles-Century City; Terrence Bagley of Richmond
Technology: outsourcing
Steve Gold and George Spatz of Chicago
Technology: transactions
Rakesh Gopalan of Charlotte; Steve Gold, Derek Roach and George Spatz of Chicago
Transport: rail and road
Patricia Hosmer of Charlotte; Brian Jackson of Charlottesville; Scott Cairns and Lisa Ormand Taylor of Jacksonville; Stephen Busch of Richmond
Transport: shipping
Lisa Ormand Taylor of Jacksonville; John Padgett of Norfolk (listed as a “leading lawyer”)
The Legal 500 Series recommends law firms and individual lawyers in more than 100 countries based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, interviews with leading private lawyers and independent research.