From left: Jonathan Blank and Liz Redpath
From left: McGuireWoods’ Ali Baiardo, Dominion Energy’s Noopur Garg, and McGuireWoods’ Jonathan Blank, Jackie Stone and David Reidy
McGuireWoods was a finalist for Most Pioneering Firm for Female Lawyers and for Pro Bono Program of the Year in Chambers and Partners’ 2019 Diversity & Inclusion Awards USA. In addition, partner Jonathan Blank was on the shortlist for Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year and associate Elizabeth Redpath was a finalist for Future Leader – LGBT+ Equality.
“McGuireWoods embraces partnerships with clients and organizations that share our commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion, and we are proud to be recognized for efforts that make meaningful progress,” said firm chairman Jonathan Harmon.
The success of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Development Forum landed McGuireWoods on the shortlist for Most Pioneering Firm for Female Lawyers. Led by partner Joy Fuhr, the program helps women senior associates develop skills needed to transition to partnership and other firm leadership positions. Seventy-two associates have completed the program since its inception in 2015. Women comprise more than half of the firm’s 2019 partner class and most are graduates of the leadership program.
McGuireWoods made the Pro Bono Program of the Year shortlist for its pioneering role in Charlotte Triage, a unique partnership with clients that enables legal aid groups to outsource work to law firms and corporate counsel in areas most in need of pro bono help: housing evictions, healthcare enrollment and expunging criminal convictions.
Blank was a finalist for Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year. His significant pro bono work includes working alongside the Legal Aid Justice Center to challenge the constitutionality of a Virginia law that automatically suspends drivers’ licenses of motorists with delinquent court fines, disproportionately harming the poor. His efforts helped secure an amendment to the 2019 state budget that halts the practice for a year and enables about 630,000 Virginians to get their licenses reinstated.
Blank also played a key role winning an $8 million civil judgment for human trafficking survivor Kendra Ross in her federal lawsuit against a regimented cult and its leader, the largest known single-plaintiff trafficking award in U.S. history.
Redpath was a finalist for the Future Leader – LGBT+ Equality honor. She has dedicated her career to advocating for equal rights and combating discrimination against the LGBT community. Before joining McGuireWoods, she was a U.S. Department of Justice trial lawyer and part of a group that advised Civil Rights Division leaders on legal and policy issues regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex and HIV/AIDS status. She is vice president and president-elect of the Virginia Equality Bar Association and provides pro bono legal counsel at clinics for LGBT individuals making name and gender marker changes.
McGuireWoods was proud to sponsor Chambers’ Diversity & Inclusion Awards event, held June 6 in San Francisco.