Mitch’s practice focuses on defending clients in product liability, environmental, and mass tort litigation.
Before joining McGuireWoods, Mitch clerked for the Honorable Robert J. Humphreys of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.
During law school, Mitch served as a law clerk for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and a judicial intern for the Honorable David J. Novak of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He also served as a Burks Scholar, Kirgis Fellow, and the Symposium Editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review.
Experience
- Served as wildfire counsel for electric utility companies, including assisting with development of comprehensive wildfire mitigation plans and seeking appropriate legislative and regulatory limitations of liability.
- Representation of a natural gas transmission company in claims concerning the alleged contamination of natural gas.
- Representation of natural gas transmission companies in land use and eminent domain litigation.
- Represented of a natural gas transmission company in a breach of contract lawsuit related to the installation and commissioning of compressor stations and resulting damage.
- Representation of a gas utility company in the defense of class actions and individuals claims after an inadvertent release of natural gas occurred in Massachusetts in connection with work being done on a natural gas distribution system which allegedly resulted in more than 80 homes and businesses being destroyed, 130 structural fires, at least one death, multiple injuries, and the four day evacuation of 8,600 residents.
- Representation of an electric utility company in bodily injury litigation and insurance recovery following a lithium-ion battery thermal runaway event.
- Representation of a large oil and natural gas exploration and production company against class and mass action claims alleging that the disposal of water produced during fracking operations caused widespread earthquakes.
- Representation of one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in connection to single home explosions in various jurisdictions, including Virginia and Kentucky.
- Representation of an automobile manufacturer against thousands of claims arising from allegedly fraudulent advertising of vehicle environmental features.
- Representation of a large hospitality company in commercial franchise disputes.
- Won dismissal of a putative class action complaint on behalf of a provider of rail inspection services following a Class I railroad train derailment which allegedly caused environmental damage, a power outage, the evacuation of hundreds of individuals and the closure of numerous businesses.
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Washington and Lee University School of LawJD
Symposium Editor, Washington and Lee Law Review
2017 -
Case Western Reserve UniversityBAPolitical Science
with Honors
2014
Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2024, 2025
Named to “Pro Bono Service Honor Roll,” Virginia Access to Justice Commission, 2022, 2023
- Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- Co-author, "CSB Safety Study Calls for Remote Isolation Equipment at Chemical Facilities," IEL Oil & Gas E-Report: Issue 3, September 2024
- Author, Interesting — Texas Court Rules Unpaid Royalty Payments not Subject to Compound Interest, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 9, 2024
- Author, Contaminants Compass: September 2024 Edition, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 4, 2024
- Author, CSB Safety Study Calls for Remote Isolation Equipment at Chemical Facilities, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 30, 2024
- Author, EPA, States Differ on Approach to Carbon Capture and Storage Facility Liability, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 26, 2024
- Author, What a Louisiana Ruling Means for Pipeline Crossings, Law360, May 14, 2024
- Author, Louisiana Case Clarifies That Some “Exclusive” Pipeline Servitudes May Not Be All That Exclusive, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 17, 2024
- Author, GAO Releases Report on Mega Rule Regulatory Recommendations, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 9, 2024
- Author, 11 Key Elements of New EPA Rule Regulating Methane and VOC Emissions, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, TSA Strengthens Cybersecurity Monitoring for “Critical” Pipelines and LNG Facilities, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, Compliance Deadlines Approaching: Pipeline Safety Mega Rule, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, Ownership of Pore Space and Its Relation to Surface Estate, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, Federal Court Denies Attempt to Enjoin Appeal Before Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, Texas Appellate Court: Water Created During Fracking Is Oil and Gas Waste, Not Water, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, Federal Court Upholds Pennsylvania Act 85, Says Cross-Unit Well Didn’t Breach Lease Agreement, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 21, 2024
- Author, U.S. Transportation Department Grants States $64.4 Million to Bolster Pipeline Safety, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, August 3, 2023
- Co-author, "Proposed PHMSA Rulemaking Affects Natural Gas Pipelines," IEL Energy Law Advisor: Volume 17, Issue 2, June 2023
- Co-author, Proposed PHMSA Rulemaking Affects Natural Gas Pipelines, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 31, 2023
- Co-author, "Transportation Security Administration’s Proposed Rulemaking Targeting Cyber Risk Management for Pipelines," IEL The Energy Dispatch: Issue 19, April 2023
- Author, Winter Storm Uri Qualifies as Force Majeure, Even When Performance Was Not “Impossible”, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 20, 2023
- Author, TSA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Targets Cyber Risk Management for Pipelines and Railways, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 24, 2023
- Co-author, "Strict API RP 1173 Adherence Presents Work-Product Protection Concerns," The Energy Dispatch: Institute for Energy Law, December 2022
- Co-author, "Third Circuit Reaffirms Natural Gas Act’s Exclusive-Review Framework," IEL Oil & Gas E-Report: Issue 4, December 2022
- Author, New Federal Pipeline Safety Regulations Present Work-Product Concerns, Lights On, November 28, 2022
- Author, 5th Circuit Sua Sponte Vacates Class-Certification Order for Lack of Standing, Class Action Countermeasures, August 23, 2022
- Author, PHMSA Issues Notice of Limited Enforcement Discretion for Some Gas Gathering Pipelines, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 25, 2022
- Co-author, "Northern District of Illinois Dismisses ICFA Claim in Class Action Against Alternative Retail Natural Gas Supplier," Oil & Gas E-Report, Institute for Energy Law, September 2021
- Contributing Author, “Chapter 8: Force Majeure, Impossibility, and Frustration of Purpose", Infectious Disease Litigation: Science, Law & Procedure, February 2021
- Author, Early Drill-Down on Biden Administration Oil and Gas Policy, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, February 1, 2021
- Co-author, Explosive Liability: Takeaways from the Beirut Tragedy, Texas Lawyer, September 16, 2020
- Author, "Condemning Clothes: The Constitutionality of Taking Trademarks in the Professional Sports Franchise Context," 73 WASH. & LEE L. REV. ONLINE 1, 2016