McGuireWoods Earns High Rankings in Chambers USA Survey: 11 Practices, 32 Lawyers Receive Top Honors in Esteemed Legal Guide

11 Practices, 32 Lawyers Receive Top Honors in Esteemed Legal Guide

May 22, 2015

Chambers and Partners has recognized McGuireWoods lawyers 87 times and firm practice areas 24 times in its 2015 guide, “Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business,” marking the firm’s strongest showing to date in the widely read and universally esteemed guide to leading law firms.

Eleven McGuireWoods practices attained Band 1 rankings, the highest that Chambers awards. The firm earned a nationwide Band 1 ranking for Wealth Management for the seventh time, a testament to the long-standing stature of its Private Wealth Services group. McGuireWoods also received nationwide practice rankings for Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) and Products Liability & Mass Torts.

In addition, 32 of the firm’s lawyers earned Band 1 or “Senior Statesman” rankings, a reflection of their market-leading reputations in their fields. Seven McGuireWoods lawyers moved up in the rankings since 2014, including two — John Adams and Samuel L. Tarry Jr. — who climbed into the Band 1 category.

The firm’s prominence in the Chambers USA guide follows its recent high rankings for international trade law in the 2015 edition of Chambers Europe and in Chambers Global 2015. Chambers Global ranked seven McGuireWoods lawyers individually and Chambers Europe ranked three of the firm’s lawyers.

Chambers USA and its sister publications are published by Chambers & Partners, which rank top lawyers and practices in 185 countries based on in-depth interviews with lawyers and clients and independent research.

McGuireWoods’ individual and practice group recognitions in Chambers USA include:

Practice Rankings:
McGuireWoods earned nationwide practice rankings for Wealth Management, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), and Products Liability & Mass Torts.

Clients validated the firm’s strength in these areas during interviews with Chambers researchers.

“I can find expertise in many different areas within the firm,” one client said of the firm’s wealth management capabilities. “They can always find a specialist for me on whatever matter I am researching.”

Another client said of the firm’s energy regulatory and litigation team: “They have exceptionally good and broad depth of experience in the energy area; a particularly strong FERC and state regulatory practice.”

Chambers USA also notes that the firm’s products liability practice “assists an impressive set of clients as national counsel in significant product liability, toxic tort and consumer class action litigation.”

In addition to the national rankings, McGuireWoods earned state rankings in the following practices:

Antitrust (Illinois, Band 3)
Banking & Finance (North Carolina, Band 2; Georgia, Band 3; California, Band 4; Illinois, Band 4)
Bankruptcy/Restructuring (North Carolina, Band 1; Virginia, Band 1)
Corporate M&A (Southern Virginia, Band 1; North Carolina, Band 3)
Environment (Virginia, Band 1; North Carolina, Band 3)
Healthcare (Illinois, Band 2)
Intellectual Property (Southern Virginia, Band 1)
Labor & Employment (Virginia, Band 1)
Litigation: General Commercial (North Carolina, Band 1; Virginia, Band 1; Illinois, Band 4)
Litigation: Products Liability (Virginia, Band 1)
Real Estate (Southern Virginia, Band 1; Northern Virginia, Band 2; North Carolina, Band 3)

McGuireWoods also was listed as a “recognized” firm in the following practices:

Energy: Electricity (Transactional) (Nationwide)
Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide)
Transportation: Road (Carriage/Commercial) (Nationwide)
Bankruptcy/ Restructuring (Georgia)
Corporate/M&A (Maryland)
Technology & Outsourcing (Illinois)

Individual Rankings:

Antitrust
Amy Manning (Antitrust and Trade Regulation – Chicago)

Banking and Finance
Rebecca Chaffin (Debt Finance – Charlotte)
Art Gambill (Debt Finance – Atlanta)
Hilary P. Jordan (Debt Finance – Atlanta)
Philip J. Perzek (Debt Finance – Chicago)
Neil W. Rust (Debt Finance – Los Angeles)
Gary D. Samson (Debt Finance – Los Angeles)

Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Sarah Boehm (Restructuring and Insolvency – Richmond)
Mark Freedlander (Restructuring and Insolvency – Pittsburgh)
Dion W. Hayes (Restructuring and Insolvency – Richmond)
John Maddock (Restructuring and Insolvency – Richmond)
Robert H. Pryor (Restructuring and Insolvency – Charlotte)
David Swan (Restructuring and Insolvency – Tysons Corner)
Brian Swett (Restructuring and Insolvency – Chicago)
James Van Horn (Restructuring and Insolvency – Baltimore)
Scott P. Vaughn (Restructuring and Insolvency – Charlotte)

Corporate/M&A
Clifford A. Cutchins IV (M&A and Cross Border Transactions – Richmond)
E. Lynwood Mallard (Specialty Corporate Practices – Charlotte)
Cecil Martin III (Specialty Corporate Practices – Baltimore)
David N. Oakey (Securities – Richmond)
David B. Whelpley Jr. (Specialty Corporate Practices – Charlotte)

Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) (Nationwide)
Todd Mullins (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Washington)
Noel Symons (Regulatory and Compliance – Washington)

Environment
Gordon Alphonso (Regulatory and Compliance – Atlanta) (retired)
Benne C. Hutson (Regulatory and Compliance – Charlotte)
John M. Lain (Regulatory and Compliance – Richmond)
Daniel K. Slone (Real Estate and Land Use – Richmond)
James A. Thornhill (Regulatory and Compliance – Richmond)

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (Nationwide)
George J. Terwilliger III (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Washington)

Food & Beverages: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide)
James Neale (Product and Consumer Litigation – Charlottesville)

Healthcare
Scott Becker (Healthcare – Chicago) also recognized in Healthcare: Regulatory & Litigation (Nationwide) and Healthcare: Transactional (Nationwide)
James B. Riley Jr. (Healthcare – Chicago)

Insurance
J. Mark Lawless (Financial Services Litigation – Austin)

Intellectual Property
David E. Finkelson (IP Litigation/Patents – Richmond)
Janet Peyton (Specialty Corporate Practices – Richmond)
Brian C. Riopelle (IP Litigation/Patents – Richmond)

Labor and Employment
Gary S. Marshall (Labor and Employment – Richmond)
Stephen W. Robinson (Labor and Employment – Tysons Corner)
Bruce M. Steen (Labor and Employment – Charlotte)
Joel H. Spitz (Labor and Employment – Chicago)  
W. Carter Younger (Labor and Employment – Richmond)

Labor & Employment: Employee Benefits & Compensation
James P. McElligott Jr. (Tax and Employee Benefits – Richmond)

Litigation: First Amendment
Jonathan E. Buchan (Business and Securities Litigation – Charlotte)

Litigation: General Commercial
J. William Boland (Business and Securities Litigation – Richmond)
Richard Cullen (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Richmond)
Douglas W. Ey Jr. (Financial Services Litigation – Charlotte)
David L. Hartsell (Financial Services Litigation – Chicago)
Bradley R. Kutrow (Business and Securities Litigation – Charlotte)
Marta A. Stein (Financial Services Litigation – Chicago)

Litigation: Healthcare & Medical Malpractice
Mark Anderson (Product and Consumer Litigation – Raleigh)

Litigation: Products Liability
Terrence Bagley (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond)
Stephen Busch (Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation – Richmond)
Samuel L. Tarry Jr. (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond)
J. Tracy Walker IV (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond)
Steven R. Williams (Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation – Richmond)

Litigation: Securities
Jacks C. Nickens (Business and Securities Litigation – Houston)

Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
John Adams (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Richmond)
Kenneth D. Bell (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Charlotte)
Richard Cullen (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Richmond)
Howard C. “Toby” Vick Jr. (Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations – Richmond)

Real Estate
Thomas L. Becket (Real Estate and Land Use – Los Angeles)
Dorothea W. Dickerman (Real Estate and Land Use – Tysons Corner)
John Grieb (Real Estate and Land Use – Atlanta)
Nancy R. Little (Real Estate and Land Use – Richmond)
Robert W. Simmons (Real Estate and Land Use – Charlotte) (left firm for post with nonprofit Council for Children’s Rights)

Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use
Gloria L. Freye (Real Estate and Land Use – Richmond)
Jonathan Rak (Real Estate and Land Use – Tysons Corner)
Gregory A. Riegle (Real Estate and Land Use – Tysons Corner)

Technology & Outsourcing
Steve Gold (Specialty Corporate Practices – Chicago)

Wealth Management: Eastern Region (Nationwide)
Ronald D. Aucutt (Tax and Employee Benefits – Tysons Corner)
Dennis I. Belcher (Tax and Employee Benefits – Richmond)
Charles D. Fox IV (Tax and Employee Benefits – Charlottesville)
John O’Grady (Tax and Employee Benefits – Richmond)
Michele McKinnon (Tax and Employee Benefits – Richmond)

The following McGuireWoods lawyers received “Senior Statesman” rankings:
William Broaddus (Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation – Richmond) (retired) Litigation: General Commercial
Robert L. Burrus Jr . (Securities – Richmond) – Corporate/M&A
Boyd C. Campbell Jr. (Securities – Charlotte) – Banking and Finance and Corporate/M&A
Larry J. Dagenhart (M&A and Cross Border Transactions – Charlotte) – Corporate/M&A
David E. Evans (Regulatory and Compliance – Richmond) – Environment
William H. King Jr. (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond) (retired) – Litigation: Products Liability
Rosewell Page III (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond) – Litigation: General Commercial

The following McGuireWoods lawyers received “Up and Coming” rankings:
J. Trevor Johnston (Restructuring and Insolvency – Charlotte) – Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Hamid Namazie (Debt Finance – Los Angeles) – Banking and Finance
Gerald Thomas (Tax & Employee Benefits – Atlanta) – Tax

The following McGuireWoods lawyers were named as “Recognized Practitioners”:
Donald Ensing (Debt Finance – Chicago) – Banking and Finance
Joanne Katsantonis (Specialty Corporate Practices – Richmond) – Energy: Electricity (Transactional) (Nationwide)
John Padgett (M&A and Cross Border Transactions – Norfolk) – Transportation: Shipping: Regulatory (Nationwide)
David Ronn (Specialty Corporate Practices – Houston) – Corporate/M&A
Samuel L. Tarry Jr. (Product and Consumer Litigation – Richmond) – Product Liability & Mass Torts (Nationwide)
Kenneth W. Wire (Real Estate and Land Use – Tysons Corner) – Real Estate

In addition, associate Stephanie Lynn Strelau (Specialty Corporate Practices – Chicago) was named as “Associate to Watch” in Technology & Outsourcing.