McGuireWoods’ Gregory Hinojosa Evans and Lucy Jewett Wheatley have been named 2022 MVPs of the Year by Law360. The legal newswire’s annual awards honor top attorneys for successes in complex global matters, record-setting deals and high-stakes litigation.
Evans, a partner in the firm’s downtown Los Angeles office, was named an environmental law MVP for the second time. Wheatley, a Richmond, Virginia, partner, was selected an intellectual property MVP.
“Greg and Lucy are MVPs in the eyes of their clients and their colleagues, and we are proud Law360 recognizes their excellence,” said Dion Hayes, the firm’s deputy managing partner for litigation.
Evans has made a mark in some of the most difficult, novel, and important environmental law cases, including his significant 2021 victory for Asarco LLC in its long-running battle to hold Atlantic Richfield Co. liable for a portion of the funds Asarco spent to remediate arsenic groundwater pollution at a Montana Superfund site.
Through Asarco v. Atlantic Richfield Co., and several similar CERCLA cases tried to judgment in the past several years, Evans has corrected the perception that CERCLA’s contribution provisions were ineffective. CERCLA was a misunderstood and poorly interpreted environmental law intended to encourage responsible parties to pay immediately for cleanups, allowing the settling party to pursue other responsible parties for their equitable share. By implementing an innovative and winning trial and appellate strategy, Evans shaped environmental law across the United States and proved that CERCLA’s contribution provisions are indeed effective.
“It is gratifying to represent clients in cases that bring needed clarity to our environmental laws. And these successes were made possible through teamwork and trust,” Evans said.
Wheatley is an intellectual property litigator and trial attorney who has won complex cases in jurisdictions across the country. In 2022, she won two federal jury trials in trademark infringement cases for firm clients Sprint Communications and Lexington Home Brands. A jury in Miami returned a verdict for Sprint and awarded $9.7 million in damages, while a jury in New York returned a verdict for Lexington and awarded over $2.5 million in damages.
This year, Wheatley also co-led teams representing Vans Inc. in two high-profile suits alleging trademark infringement of the company’s iconic sneaker designs. A federal judge in New York issued a preliminary injunction to temporarily block a Brooklyn art collective from selling a shoe modeled on Van’s “Old Skool” sneaker, despite the defendant’s assertion that the shoes are parody protected by the First Amendment.
In a separate case, a California federal judge granted a preliminary injunction requiring Walmart to halt sales of private label shoes that mimicked Vans’ designs and remove millions of infringing shoes from store shelves. The ruling was one of the most significant preliminary injunction victories of the year for a brand owner.
“I am proud to be recognized for defending our clients’ hard-earned trademarks and intellectual property and grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with outstanding lawyers throughout the firm,” Wheatley said.