Fiduciary & Wealth Services Litigation
McGuireWoods’ fiduciary and wealth services litigation team combines the knowledge of our Chambers-ranked private wealth services team with the skills of our commercial litigators. We represent trustees, executors, personal representatives, guardians, agents and attorneys-in-fact, investment managers, beneficiaries (including charitable organizations), broker-dealers and financial advisers in pursuing and defending fiduciary litigation. Our deep subject matter knowledge enables us to manage these matters efficiently and effectively.
The firm’s fiduciary litigators serve as lead counsel for national, regional and local banks and other financial services clients across the country. The team’s experience runs the gamut from routine breach of fiduciary duty matters to complicated investment management and diversification claims. We also provide advice and consultation to fiduciaries to mitigate risk and offer guidance on tax, custody distribution, and other administrative and strategic issues.
McGuireWoods’ fiduciary litigators represent clients in will contests, probate and estate litigation, trust disputes, federal and state tax disputes, guardianship litigation, personal trusts, significant and complex investment claims and class actions.
McGuireWoods developed two unique services to reduce legal, monetary and reputational risk while controlling costs and providing budget certainty for financial institution clients: the pre-litigation dispute resolution team and the third-party services team.
The pre-litigation dispute resolution team helps financial institutions serving as fiduciaries resolve disputes before they escalate into costly litigation. This may involve assessing and managing risk, developing resolution or settlement strategies, and negotiating early settlements informally or formally through mediation. The third-party services team manages high-risk, third-party matters — primarily subpoenas, garnishments and interpleader actions that are intricate or involve significant legal, monetary or reputational risk — to keep financial institutions from becoming targets of litigation.
Our proactive approach to litigation management was recognized in Financial Times’ prestigious North America Innovative Lawyers report, which highlighted the firm’s fixed-fee service platform that helps banks and fiduciaries resolve disputes before they escalate.
Since litigation cannot always be avoided, many of our lawyers who handle pre-litigation and third-party matters also are seasoned fiduciary litigators. The combination of our skilled fiduciary litigators with our accomplished trust and estate lawyers provides unparalleled client service — a team approach unique in today’s legal industry that produces real results for clients.
McGuireWoods’ fiduciary and wealth services litigation team combines the know-how of our nationally-ranked private wealth services team with the prowess of our skilled commercial litigators to the benefit of clients.
Consistently ranked nationally and in Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., in private wealth law.
– CHAMBERS HIGH NET WORTH GUIDE