McGuireWoods’ Joanne Katsantonis, the firm’s deputy managing partner for development and former leader of its nationally recognized energy industry team, has been named a 2020 Energy MVP by Law360. The legal newswire’s annual MVP awards honor top attorneys for successes in complex global matters, record-setting deals and high-stakes litigation.
“I am honored to be included in a group of distinguished lawyers recognized as leaders in their practice areas and industries,” Katsantonis said.
Katsantonis is a strategic adviser to energy companies of all kinds, from public utilities and independent power producers to financial investors. She acts as general corporate adviser to her energy clients on matters including corporate structuring, governance issues, partnership and joint venture issues, mergers and acquisitions, and compliance and risk management.
Katsantonis has played roles in some of the industry’s largest deals, including one of 2020’s most notable transactions. She led the McGuireWoods team advising Dominion Energy in its pending sale of substantially all of its natural gas transmission and storage business to an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway in a deal valued at $9.7 billon. She previously advised Dominion Energy in several multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, including its $13.4 billion merger with South Carolina-based SCANA Corp. in 2019.
Katsantonis also served as the strategic lead for the McGuireWoods team in the successful resolution of complicated, multimillion-dollar civil litigation after a series of natural gas explosions in 2018 in Massachusetts.
Law360 named Katsantonis one of its Influential Women in Energy in 2018. Her landmark transactions also earned her recognition as a top rainmaker by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and as an “M&A/Antitrust Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal. During her years leading McGuireWoods’ energy industry team, the firm earned numerous honors for energy transactions, regulatory and litigation work. As McGuireWoods’ deputy managing partner for development, she oversees the firm’s industry teams and plays key roles in marketing and business development and implementing the firm’s strategic plan.