McGuireWoods and Helms Mulliss & Wicker Announce Plans to Combine Practices Into 900-Lawyer Firm
March 5, 2008
McGuireWoods LLP and Helms Mulliss & Wicker,
PLLC plan to merge their practices into a law firm with nearly 900 lawyers
and offices in 17 cities in the United States, Europe and Central Asia, the
firms announced today.
The combined firm will be known as McGuireWoods LLP. The merger will be
effective at the close of business on March 31, 2008.
“Helms Mulliss and McGuireWoods are fortunate to have many successful clients
whose legal needs are expanding and becoming more complex as their business
grows, and we need to match our capabilities and geographic reach to meet those
needs,” said Richard
Cullen, chairman of McGuireWoods LLP. “With our common traditions of
excellence, our shared focus on serving clients, and our complementary expertise
in capital markets, business litigation and corporate law, we believe this
combination is a natural fit that will benefit clients of both firms.”
Peter J. Covington, chairman and managing member of Helms Mulliss, will
become vice chairman of McGuireWoods. Scott Vaughn, currently the practice area
leader for Helms Mulliss Wicker’s finance group, will become managing partner of
McGuireWoods’ Charlotte office.
“Helms Mulliss has had a long and proud history serving clients in North
Carolina, and we’re excited about the opportunity to provide an even higher
level of service to our clients by joining forces with McGuireWoods,” Covington
said. “Charlotte’s emergence as the nation’s second largest financial center and
the growing importance of technology and the life sciences in North Carolina are
driving demand for the sophisticated tax, banking, business and regulatory
services that our combined firm will be able to provide.”
McGuireWoods will have approximately 160 lawyers in Charlotte following
completion of the merger.
McGuireWoods entered the Charlotte market in 1998 following its merger with
Blakeney & Alexander. The firm expanded its presence the following year, merging
with Fennebresque, Clark, Swindell & Hay. The firm’s North Carolina presence
also includes a Raleigh office of its public affairs subsidiary, McGuireWoods
Consulting.
Helms Mulliss & Wicker is recognized as one of America’s Best Law Firms by
Corporate Board Member magazine, ranked as a Top Ten Bond Counsel by The Bond
Buyer, ranked Highly Recommended in Benchmark: Litigation, The Definitive Guide
to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys and is named a Go-To Law
Firm by Corporate Counsel magazine.
McGuireWoods LLP is a full-service law firm with offices in the United
States, Europe and Central Asia providing legal counsel to clients around the
world. The firm's Charlotte office is located at 100 North Tryon Street.