Joe is a lead regulatory and trial attorney for some of the country’s largest energy companies and he has served as national trial counsel for one of the world’s largest automakers. He spends several weeks each year in front of judges, commissioners and juries in complex, high-stakes proceedings. As a first-chair trial lawyer, he has tried dozens of cases to resolution across the United States, including in some of the country’s most challenging jurisdictions.
Joe’s practice over the past 25 years at McGuireWoods has covered a spectrum of civil and administrative litigation and has involved client partnerships across industries, including energy, manufacturing, agricultural, financial services and other enterprises.
For the past 10 years, Joe has been a leader of an outstanding and growing team of energy regulatory lawyers practicing before state public utility commissions, in Virginia and elsewhere, in matters involving electric and gas utilities.
In 2015, The National Law Journal named Joe one of the 50 regulatory “trailblazers” across the country. He has played a major role in the successful re-regulation of Virginia’s electric utilities and associated ratemaking proceedings; secured approvals for the development of new electric generating facilities and other infrastructure projects; helped facilitate utility mergers in several states; defended against notable gas pipeline safety enforcement claims; and otherwise assisted public service companies in achieving their strategic priorities.
Joe sits on the firm’s Executive Committee of its Board of Partners and previously served in a number of other internal leadership roles. In the community, Joe is on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater Richmond and serves as its annual campaign co-chair. He also is a former president of Rebuilding Together of Richmond.
Board of Directors and Executive Committee Member and Annual Campaign Co-Chair, YMCA of Greater Richmond
Past President and Board of Directors Member, Rebuilding Together/Christmas in April
Member, Defense Research Institute
Member, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
Member, Administrative Law Section, Virginia State Bar
Member, Virginia Bar Association
Member, Richmond Bar Association
Named "Lawyer of the Year," Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., 2018
Selected for inclusion as a "Leading Lawyer," Energy Litigation: Conventional Power, Legal 500 US, 2018
Selected for inclusion as a "Leading Lawyer," Energy: Regulatory, Legal 500 US, 2016-2017
Named a "Regulatory and Compliance Trailblazer," The National Law Journal, 2015
Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2010-2012, 2014-2019; Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, 2016-2019; Energy Regulatory Law, 2018-2019, Woodward/White, Inc.
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
AV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell