McGuireWoods associate Connor W. Symons participated in the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) 2026 Next Generation (NextGen) Program. He was among 40 up-and-coming bankruptcy practitioners participating in the program during the NCBJ’s Annual Meeting Oct. 7-10, 2026, in San Diego.
The NextGen program provides participants with intensive educational and networking experiences with fellow class members, NextGen alumni and bankruptcy judges. The program recognizes practitioners who demonstrate legal excellence in the practice of bankruptcy law, exhibit the highest standards of civility, ethics and professionalism and are committed to the continued educational development of bankruptcy professionals and to professional activities that will benefit the public, members of the bar and the court system.
Symons, a member of the firm’s Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group, focuses his practice on business insolvencies, restructuring, bankruptcy and related litigation. Before joining McGuireWoods, Symons served as a law clerk to the Honorable Kevin R. Huennekens of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Based in Richmond, Virginia, he serves on the executive committee of the Richmond Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section and is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute. Symons has spoken on ethics and bankruptcy topics at programs including the Mid-Atlantic Institute on Bankruptcy and Reorganization Practice and the Virginia Bar Association Bankruptcy Law Conference. He also has written for the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal and Bankruptcy Practice in Virginia.
“The NextGen program offered a meaningful opportunity to learn directly from bankruptcy judges and to connect with fellow insolvency practitioners,” Symons said. “I’m grateful to NCBJ and to the judges and alumni who invested their time in the program. I look forward to applying what I learned for the benefit of our firm’s clients.”
Dion Hayes, co-leader of McGuireWoods’ award-winning, 37-attorney Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group, said, “Connor’s participation in NextGen reflects his commitment to the values that define our firm’s national insolvency practice. Programs like this strengthen the bankruptcy bar as a whole, and we are proud to support Connor’s continued engagement with the national insolvency community.”
McGuireWoods’ Restructuring & Insolvency Practice Group — recognized as one of the premier insolvency practices in the United States — provides strategic counsel across all types of financial and operational restructurings, distressed and pre-distress situations, workouts, and related state and federal court litigation. The firm has repeatedly earned nationwide rankings for its bankruptcy and restructuring work from Chambers USA and Best Law Firms and has multiple Fellows in the American College of Bankruptcy.