Nine McGuireWoods lawyers have been selected to serve on Law360 editorial advisory boards, reflecting their knowledge and experience as top legal advisers in their practice areas. Board members counsel the legal newswire on trends and issues facing companies, investors, organizations, law firms and lawyers to help shape Law360’s future coverage of practice areas and industries.
The following are McGuireWoods’ Law360 editorial advisory board members for 2021.
Partner Rakesh Gopalan (banking board) represents leading banks and financial institutions in corporate transactions, including securities issuances, mergers and acquisitions, and technology and outsourcing deals. He co-chairs the firm’s nationally recognized fintech practice, which counsels financial institutions and fintech vendors. He also was on the Law360 banking board in 2020.
Richmond office managing partner George Keith Martin (construction board) practices construction, commercial real estate and local government law. He represents public and private entities on real estate projects, including construction, acquisition and disposition of real property, public-private partnerships, and redevelopment and adaptive re-use. This is Martin’s third consecutive year on Law360’s construction board.
Bernard McNamee (energy board) is a law firm partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior adviser. He previously served as a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). He focuses on legislation, rulemaking, strategic planning and policy development, including issues involving Congress, FERC, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Partner Tom Spahn (legal ethics board) is a commercial litigator who serves as the firm’s legal ethics counsel. He is a national authority who advises in-house counsel on ethics issues, including conflicts of interest and confidentiality. Spahn is a pioneer in researching, analyzing and reporting on legal ethics and privilege topics, and he has delivered more than 2,000 CLE programs around the world. This is Spahn’s fourth consecutive year on Law360’s legal ethics board.
Partner Todd Steggerda (aerospace and defense board) chairs McGuireWoods’ Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department. A former Navy pilot with an aerospace engineering degree, Steggerda leads defense and national security-related investigations and regulatory enforcement matters for aerospace and defense firms. This is his fourth straight year on the Law360 aerospace and defense board.
Partner R. Trent Taylor (product liability board) defends clients in class actions, multidistrict litigation coordinated proceedings, nationwide mass tort litigation, and appellate cases involving product liability and product labeling issues. He also is a frequent speaker and writer on consumer class actions, product labeling developments, and food and beverage regulatory and litigation issues.
Partner Gerald V. Thomas II (tax authority federal board) chairs McGuireWoods’ Tax & Employee Benefits Department. He focuses on complex transactional tax matters, including M&A, private equity funds, public offerings and REITs. Thomas co-leads McGuireWoods’ Black Professionals in Private Equity & Finance initiative. He previously served on Law360’s tax editorial advisory board.
Partner Amy Morrissey Turk (employment board) focuses her litigation practice on complex employment-related defense issues. Her experience includes matters involving executive-level internal investigations, wage and hour representative actions, wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, gender equity and pay issues, retaliation, and whistleblower protection. She previously oversaw the nationwide employment litigation portfolio for a Fortune 150 retailer.
Counsel Angie Zimmern (access to justice board) is McGuireWoods’ pro bono director and has played key roles in initiatives recognized nationally for innovation and impact. She develops pro bono partnerships with corporations and nonprofits to support underserved populations in communities across the nation where the firm has offices. Zimmern also served on Law360’s access to justice board in 2020.