Discovery Counsel Services / E-Discovery

Lawyers in McGuireWoods’ Discovery Counsel Services / E-Discovery Practice Group have been at the forefront of managing complicated discovery challenges — particularly electronic discovery — before electronically stored information (ESI) became a buzzword. Our experienced attorneys serve as discovery counsel to major organizations, including Fortune 20 and Fortune 50 companies, Fortune Global 500 financial institutions, large healthcare facilities, and leaders across manufacturing, technology and other industries.

We provide practical, actionable solutions to the discovery challenges inherent in large-scale litigation and government investigations. For every matter, we conduct a thorough assessment and develop a tailored, reasonable and defensible ESI plan.

The team integrates legal experience with advanced technology to deliver end-to-end discovery solutions. We help clients streamline the discovery process, including defining the scope of collection, implementing advanced culling techniques, executing search-term validation, and using advanced technology to accelerate or automate document review and production.

We handle responses to government subpoenas and investigations involving agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and U.S. Department of Justice.

The group leads discovery in financial services and securities litigation, class actions, employment, patent and commercial litigation. From ad hoc e-discovery consulting to full-scale support as national discovery counsel, we advise on companywide discovery strategies. We also serve as record discovery counsel in pending litigation and investigations, managing preservation, collection, review and production. Whether collaborating with co-counsel or trial counsel, the team ensures discovery remains efficient, compliant and strategically aligned.

To further support clients, we maintain two dedicated e-discovery facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, with capacity for up to 130 reviewers. By leveraging proprietary workflows, advanced analytics and strategic negotiation to narrow data sets before review, we significantly reduce review volume and costs — even in the largest cases.

How We Help

As national discovery counsel, McGuireWoods helps clients:

  • streamline preservation and collection practices and develop discovery forms and guidelines;
  • engage the right vendors under the best pricing arrangements to cull and host data;
  • train in-house client lawyers on-site to handle e-discovery cost-effectively;
  • work with separate merits firms to ensure implementation of a defensible, reasonable ESI plan; and
  • manage document reviews and minimize costs through effective use of vendor selection and technology.

Representative Experience

  • National discovery counsel for Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 financial institutions;
  • Discovery counsel for a Fortune 50 automobile manufacturer;
  • Counsel handling the collection and production of documents for a Global 300 food company in multiple environmental cases;
  • Counsel for financial institutions, a healthcare provider and large university on policy and practices related to ESI; and
  • Lead discovery counsel in multiple government investigations and civil litigation, managing collection and review of tens of millions of documents.

McGuireWoods’ Discovery Counsel Services / E-Discovery Practice Group stands apart with a deep bench of attorneys who focus on discovery matters, pairing legal judgment with technological precision to deliver cost-effective, defensible strategies in complex litigation and investigations.

Recognized in its “Legal Technology Trailblazers” publication.

– THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL

Ranked among the 22 top law firms in “Benchmarking Corporate Counsel Management Strategies” for being the best at handling e-discovery.

– BTI CONSULTING

TEAM LEADERS