McGuireWoods was recognized as a leading law firm in 41 nationwide practice areas in the 2025 edition of the Legal 500 United States, the respected independent guide to the country’s top firms and lawyers.
The annual rankings reaffirm McGuireWoods’ litigation and transactional strength across industries and practice areas, including energy; banking and finance; M&A and private equity; healthcare; commercial litigation; corporate investigations and white collar criminal defense; product liability defense; labor and employment; data protection and privacy; and transportation.
The firm again earned Tier 1 nationwide rankings in the following two categories: M&A Middle Market and Transport Rail and Road – Litigation and Regulation.
Clients interviewed by the Legal 500 said McGuireWoods stands out for its comprehensive capabilities, industry knowledge and commitment to delivering excellent service.
“This law firm not only cares about its clients but also goes above and beyond for them,” said one client in praising the firm’s Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Practice Group. “They fought vigilantly for us, ensuring we were represented in a manner that mirrored those morals. In a time of great uncertainty for our business, they have been an immense blessing.”
A healthcare industry client said McGuireWoods “is very responsive and serves as an extension of our internal legal team. An energy client lauded the firm’s broad-based industry experience, saying “they consistently have subject matter experts to bring in regardless of what specific issue there is.”
McGuireWoods earned rankings in the following nationwide practice areas.
- Antitrust: cartel
- Antitrust – civil litigation and class actions: defense
- Capital markets – debt offerings: advice to issuers
- Commercial lending: advice to bank lenders
- Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: advice to corporates
- Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense: advice to individuals
- Education
- Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy litigation: electric power
- Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy: renewable/alternative power
- Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment: litigation
- Environment: regulatory
- Environment: transactional
- Fintech
- General commercial disputes
- Healthcare: service providers
- Insurance: advice to policyholders
- Intellectual property – trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Labor and employment – disputes (including collective action): defense
- Leading trial lawyers
- M&A/corporate commercial – private equity buyouts middle-market (sub-$500 million)
- M&A: middle-market (sub-$500 million)
- Media, technology and telecoms: Cyber law (including data protection and privacy)
- Media, technology and telecoms: outsourcing
- Product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: automotive/transport
- Product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: consumer products
- Product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: toxic tort
- Project finance: energy and power
- Real estate: land use/zoning
- Real estate: real estate finance
- Tax: not-for-profit (Fortune 1,000 private foundations, national trade associations and charities)
- Tax: U.S. taxes – non-contentious
- Transport: aviation and air travel – finance
- Transport: rail and road – litigation and regulation
- Transport: shipping – litigation and regulation
McGuireWoods lawyers were recognized throughout the guide, with 12 lawyers singled out as Leading Partners in their practice areas and another named a Leading Trial Lawyer.
- Heather Welch Arbogast, energy transactions: electric power
- Eric Bilik, transport: rail and road – litigation and regulation
- Anthony Carna, energy transactions: oil and gas
- Taylor French, employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Shelby Guilbert, insurance: advice to policyholders
- Joanne Katsantonis, energy transactions: electric power and M&A: middle market
- Brian Kelly, energy transactions: electric power
- Ava Lias-Booker, leading trial lawyers
- John Padgett, transport: shipping – litigation and regulation
- Deepak Reddy, aviation and air travel – finance
- Noel Symons, energy regulation: electric power
- Samuel Tarry, product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: automotive/transport
- Michael Woodard, M&A: middle market.
Miles Indest (intellectual property – trade secrets: litigation and noncontentious matters), Allison Tanner (employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design) and Natalie Zagari (transport: rail and road – litigation and regulation) were named Next Generation Partners. Molleigh Thomas (energy transactions: oil and gas) was named a Leading Associate.
The Legal 500 recognized individual McGuireWoods lawyers in the following categories.
Antitrust – civil litigation/class actions: defense
Holden Brooks, Amy Starinieri Gilbert, Amy Manning, Angelo Russo and Sarah Zielinski of Chicago; Wrede Smith and Nicholas Giles of Washington, D.C.
Capital markets – debt offerings
Greg Kilpatrick, Barlow Mann and Richard W. Viola of Charlotte
Commercial lending
Gerum Yilma of Atlanta; Kevin McGinnis and My Ngo of Charlotte; Donald Ensing of Chicago; Penny Zacharias of Pittsburgh
Corporate investigations and white collar criminal defense
Jason Cowley of Charlotte; Michael Elliott and Mindy Sauter of Dallas; Noreen Kelly of New York; Vanessa Chen, David Hirsch, Megan Lewis and Clint Narver of D.C.
Education
Shelby Guilbert of Atlanta; Sarah Wake of Chicago; Michele McKinnon of Richmond; Farnaz Thompson of D.C.
Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
Taylor French and Allison Tanner of Charlotte; Carolyn Trenda of Chicago; Robert Wynne of Richmond
Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
Gerald V. Thomas II of Atlanta; Taylor French and Allison Tanner of Charlotte; Robert Wynne of Richmond
Energy litigation: electric power
David Martin Connelly, Julia English, Katlyn Davis Farrell, Todd Mullins and Noel Symons of D.C.
Energy litigation: oil and gas
Jonathan Blank and Brian Jackson of Charlottesville; Anthony Carna and Greg Krock of Pittsburgh
Energy regulation: electric power
David Martin Connelly, Julia English, Katlyn Davis Farrell, Todd Mullins and Noel Symons of D.C.
Energy: renewable/alternative power
Jay Hughes and Durham McCormick of Houston; Alexander Castellano, D. Brennen Keene and Michael Woodard of Richmond; Evelyn Kim of San Francisco
Energy transactions: electric power
Heather Welch Arbogast and Brian Kelly of Baltimore; Joanne Katsantonis and Emilie McNally of Richmond
Energy transactions: oil and gas
Jay Hughes and Durham McCormick of Houston; Anthony Carna and Molleigh Thomas of Pittsburgh; D. Brennen Keene and Michael Woodard of Richmond; Evelyn Kim of San Francisco
Environment: litigation
Adam Sowatzka of Atlanta; David Franchina of Charlotte; Gregory Hinojosa Evans of Los Angeles; Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Eugene Mathews III of Richmond; Makram Jaber of D.C.
Environment: regulatory
Adam Sowatzka of Atlanta; David Franchina of Charlotte; Gregory Hinojosa Evans of Los Angeles; Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Eugene Mathews III of Richmond; Makram Jaber of D.C.
Environment: transactional
Adam Sowatzka of Atlanta; David Franchina of Charlotte; Gregory Hinojosa Evans of Los Angeles; Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Eugene Mathews III and Heather Nixon Stevenson of Richmond; Makram Jaber of D.C.
Fintech
Molly White of Los Angeles; Sarah Zielinski of Chicago; Brian Coughlan of San Francisco
General commercial disputes
Jonathan Blank of Charlottesville; Jeremiah Anderson, Thomas Farrell, Miles Indest and Yasser Madriz of Houston; Michael Herring of Richmond
Healthcare: service providers
Kristen McDermott Woodrum of Atlanta; Kayla McCann Marty and Bart Walker of Charlotte; Holly Buckley, Timothy Fry and Amber McGraw Walsh of Chicago
Insurance: advice to policyholders
Joseph Englert, Shelby Guilbert, Nicholas Hill and Anthony Tatum of Atlanta; Shaun Crosner, Michael Gehrt, Craig Hirsch, Christopher Pasich, Kirk Pasich and Mikaela Whitman of Los Angeles; Stephen Foresta and Aaron Jaroff of New York
Intellectual property: trade secrets (litigation and noncontentious matters)
Sabrina A. Beldner of Century City; Miles Indest, Meghaan Madriz and Yasser Madriz of Houston; David Finkelson and Heidi Siegmund of Richmond
Labor and employment disputes
Elena Marcuss of Baltimore; Sabrina A. Beldner of Century City; Sarah Wake of Chicago; Christopher Michalik of Richmond
Leading trial lawyers
Ava Lias-Booker of Baltimore
M&A/corporate commercial – private equity buyouts: middle-market (sub $500 million)
Geoffrey Cockrell and Gregory Hawver of Chicago; Jeff Brooker and Jon Finger of Dallas; Tom Zahn of Pittsburgh
M&A: middle-market (sub-$500 million)
Chris Scheurer of Charlotte; Jay Hughes of Houston; David Hornyak, Scott Westwood and Tom Zahn of Pittsburgh; Brian Hager, Joanne Katsantonis and Michael Woodard of Richmond
Media, technology and telecoms: cyber law (including data protection and privacy)
Ashley Matthews of Charlottesville; Janet Peyton of Richmond; Alicia Baiardo of San Francisco; Andrew Konia of Tysons; David Hirsch of D.C.
Product liability, mass tort and class actions – automotive/transport – defense
Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Justin Howard, Perry Miles IV and S. Virginia Bondurant Price of Richmond; Samuel Tarry of Tysons
Product liability, mass tort and class actions – consumer products – defense
Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Justin Howard of Richmond; Samuel Tarry of Tysons
Product liability, mass tort and class action – defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Mark Anderson of Raleigh; Justin Howard and Davis Walsh of Richmond; Samuel Tarry of Tysons
Product liability, mass tort and class actions – toxic tort – defense
Adam Sowatzka of Atlanta; Gregory Hinojosa Evans of Los Angeles; Benjamin Hatch of Norfolk; Justin Howard and Eugene Mathews III of Richmond; Samuel Tarry of Tysons
Project finance
Brian Kelly of Baltimore; Timothy Callahan of Chicago; Durham McCormick of Houston; D. Brennen Keene and Doug Lamb of Richmond; Evelyn Kim of San Francisco
Real estate finance
John Grieb of Atlanta; William Seligman and Alice Youngbar of Century City; Thomas Lansen and Dennis Mensi of New York
Tax: not-for-profit (nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations)
Gerald V. Thomas II of Atlanta; Jean Gordon Carter of Raleigh; Michele McKinnon and Alec Sauble of Richmond
Tax: U.S. taxes – noncontentious
Gerald V. Thomas II of Atlanta; Sabrina Conyers of Charlotte; Durham McCormick of Houston; Craig Bell of Richmond
Transport: aviation and air travel – finance
Patricia Hosmer and David Whelpley Jr. of Charlotte; Deepak Reddy of New York; Peter Szurley of San Francisco
Transport: rail and road – litigation and regulation
Eric Bilik, Kimberly Mydock and Christopher Thanner and of Jacksonville; Bryan Brantley and Natalie Zagari of Pittsburgh; Candace Ali Blydenburgh of Richmond
Transport: shipping – litigation and regulation John Padgett of Norfolk