Hal Kitchin, a partner in McGuireWoods’ Wilmington, North Carolina office, is the inaugural recipient of Duke Energy’s Leadership in Economic Advancement and Development (LEAD) Award. The award recognizes a deserving North Carolina business leader who has spent extraordinary time, effort and talent preparing the community for job growth and investment in a competitive market.
Kitchin received the award Feb. 3 during the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s 148thAnnual Meeting.
Kitchin sits on the chamber’s board of directors and served as its chairman in 2013. In that role, he led an effort to revise the county’s industrial and manufacturing zoning ordinance to better align it with the business climate in the Southeast. He also was selected by local officials to serve on the New Hanover County Economic Development Initiative Steering Committee, which assisted with recommendations made by recognized economic development strategist Jay Garner. Kitchin currently chairs Cape Fear Future, the chamber’s flagship initiative to further develop the region’s knowledge-sector economy.
In addition to his work with the chamber, Kitchin serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
John Geib, Duke Energy’s director of economic development, presented the award to Kitchin and lauded him for his selfless leadership. Duke Energy is a McGuireWoods client.
“Rare is the citizen economic developer, who after giving so effectively, chooses to eschew the spotlight and allow others to take the credit,” Geib said. “He derives his reward instead from the simple knowledge that members of his community will now have a job where before there wasn’t one.”
“I am honored to receive this recognition from Duke Energy, which plays such an important role in North Carolina’s economy,” Kitchin said. “It is a privilege to work with the dedicated members of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce to help ensure that our region’s economy remains vibrant and competitive.”
At McGuireWoods, Kitchin concentrates his practice on business and real estate litigation and creditor’s rights matters. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in antitrust, business tort, and breach of contract cases; represents creditors in creditor’s rights and bankruptcy cases; and defends lenders in predatory lending and lender liability suits. He has experience in complex commercial, product liability, construction and real estate litigation.
Kitchin has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation each year since 2009. He has been named to Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite list for antitrust law each year since 2008.