Law360, Bloomberg Law, Global Legal Chronicle, International Employment Lawyer and Richmond BizSense were among the media outlets that reported on the return of accomplished labor and employment lawyer Igor Babichenko to McGuireWoods as a partner in Richmond, Virginia.
Babichenko represents employers in disputes involving wage-and-hour laws, antidiscrimination statutes, trade secrets and restrictive covenants, and advises employers on labor and employment policies, legal compliance and employee relations strategies. He returned to McGuireWoods after nearly three years as assistant general counsel at Smithfield Foods, where he was responsible for labor, employment and immigration compliance and labor relations strategy. He was a member of McGuireWoods’ national labor and employment team for eight years before joining Smithfield Foods in 2022.
In the Aug. 28, 2025, Law360 article, Babichenko explained why he was excited to come home to McGuireWoods.
“I really enjoyed the client work I was doing and decided to try my hand in-house with a great company,” Babichenko said. But, he added, “I realized that I missed the law firm environment and the work I was doing with other lawyers.”