McGuireWoods partner Ava Lias-Booker shared insights on her career, her leadership roles and the challenges facing the legal profession in “A Trailblazer’s Journey,” an interview published in the summer 2025 issue of the Maryland Bar Journal. The Maryland State Bar Association publishes the magazine.
A nationally recognized litigator, Lias-Booker has served in numerous leadership roles at McGuireWoods and in Maryland’s legal and business communities. She leads the Baltimore litigation practice and has over three decades of experience representing businesses in complex commercial and civil litigation. She is a member and former chair of the Magistrate Judges’ Merit Selection Panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. She also served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Maryland Appellate Judicial Nominating Committee.
In the interview, she recounted her major career achievements and personal milestones. She also discussed her experience serving as managing partner of the firm’s Baltimore office, leading the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and developing a national program to mentor and develop high-performing associates.
“My career is a testament to our collective ability to rise to the challenge of building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable profession,” she said. “I would not have had the amazing 39-year career I have had were it not for the many men and women — Black, white and other — who became my teachers, guides, mentors, sponsors, and champions. I am the product of the tireless efforts not just of my parents and family, but also of those special people who presumed my competence, challenged me to be excellent, and ensured that I was positioned for success.”
Lias-Booker said she is equally committed to positioning the next generation of lawyers for success.
“I would like to believe that being a ‘trailblazer,’ as I have been called, has been important and served many purposes,” she said. “My career allowed me the privilege to influence and inspire many others to pursue similar paths and do so successfully. Indeed, watching the accomplishments of my ‘mentees’ is joyful and inspiring to me!”