June 5, 2017
McGuireWoods was recognized as a leading law firm in 24 practice areas in the 2017 edition of The Legal 500 United States, the firm’s best showing in the prestigious independent guide to leading law firms and lawyers. The nationwide rankings underscore the firm’s prowess in a range of industry sectors and practices, including energy; mergers and acquisitions; banking and finance; healthcare; white-collar criminal defense; commercial litigation; intellectual property; technology; and transportation.
The Legal 500 US also recognized the firm’s lawyers 96 times. John Padgett, managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Norfolk, Virginia, office, was named to the elite “Leading Lawyers” list in Transport: Shipping. The guide noted that Padgett leads the firm’s “top class” transportation industry team, “which is particularly active for shipping logistics companies and port and terminal operators.” Washington, D.C., partner David Martin Connelly was named a “next generation lawyer” in Energy Litigation: Conventional Power, a recognition reserved for rising stars in each practice area.
McGuireWoods earned rankings in six energy-related practice categories, a testament to the firm’s transactional and litigation capabilities in the industry. The Legal 500 US cited the firm’s well-established M&A strength in the conventional power and oil and gas sectors and lauded its work in renewable and alternative energy, commending the firm’s “responsiveness, industry knowledge, strength in depth and value for money.” The firm also earned high marks for representing utilities in contentious regulatory matters and defending energy companies in high-stakes litigation.
In praising the firm’s M&A work, The Legal 500 US noted that McGuireWoods “is especially visible in deals in the energy, healthcare, real estate and technology sectors, and also frequently assists financial advisers in transactions.” The recognition follows McGuireWoods’ top 10 rankings in 2016 in highly M&A respected league tables compiled by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.
The Legal 500 US also ranked McGuireWoods for its commercial litigation, noting that the firm “has experts in the energy, healthcare and financial services sectors across its offices, who act for Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions.” In addition, the firm earned high marks for “a very strong 2016” in corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense, handling high-profile matters in the U.S. and abroad.
McGuireWoods earned rankings in the following nationwide practice areas:
In addition to the practice rankings, the Legal 500 US recognized individual McGuireWoods lawyers in the following categories:
Antitrust: civil litigation and class actions
Amy Manning
and
Angelo Russo
of Chicago;
James Walsh
of Richmond;
Jonathan Lewis
of Washington
Asset financing and leasing
Patricia Hosmer,
Anna Reimers
and
David B. Whelpley Jr.
of Charlotte
Commercial lending: advice to lenders
Art Gambill
and
Hilary P. Jordan
of Atlanta;
Eric Burk,
Rebecca Chaffin,
Raj Natarajan
and
Manley Roberts
of Charlotte;
David McLean
of Dallas
Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal
defense
John Adams
and
Richard Cullen
of Richmond;
Todd Mullins,
Patrick Rowan
and
George Terwilliger
of Washington,
Benjamin Hatch
of Norfolk
Cyber law (including date protection and privacy)
Nathan Kottkamp
of Richmond;
Andrew Konia
of Tysons
Energy litigation: conventional power
Mark Johnson
of Chicago;
Todd Mullins,
Noel Symons
and
David Martin Connelly
(listed as a “next generation lawyer) of Washington
Energy litigation: oil and gas
Jonathan Blank
of Charlottesville;
Ronald Franklin
and Charles Hampton of Houston;
Ryan Purpura
of Pittsburgh
Energy regulatory: conventional power
Mark Johnson
of Chicago;
Joseph K. Reid III
of Richmond;
Todd Mullins
and
Noel Symons
of Washington
Energy renewable/alternative
Timothy Callahan
and
Mark Johnson
of Chicago;
Joanne Katsantonis
and
Michael Woodard
of Richmond
Energy transactions: conventional power
Brian Kelly of Baltimore;
Timothy Callahan
of Chicago;
Matthew Kapinos
of Houston; Peter Butcher of Pittsburgh;
Joanne Katsantonis
of Richmond
Energy transactions: oil and gas
Ryan Purpura
of Pittsburgh;
Joanne Katsantonis
of Richmond
General commercial disputes
Gregory Evans
of Los Angeles-Downtown;
Bryan Fratkin
of Richmond
Healthcare: service providers
LauraLee Lawley
and
Bart Walker
of Charlotte;
Holly Buckley
and
Amber McGraw Walsh
of Chicago;
Kate Hardey
of Tysons
Intellectual property: Patents: licensing
Darren Collins
of Dallas;
Safet Metjahic
of New York
M&A: middle market (sub-$500 million)
Harrison Marshall Jr.
and
Chris Scheurer
of Charlotte;
Geoffrey Cockrell
of Chicago;
Scott Westwood
of Pittsburgh;
James Anderson III
and
Joanne Katsantonis
of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action:
automotive/transport
Brian Jackson
of Charlottesville;
Lisa Ormand Taylor
of Jacksonville;
Bryan Brantley
of Pittsburgh;
Samuel Tarry
and
J. Tracy Walker IV
of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action:
consumer products (including tobacco)
Terrence Bagley,
Samuel Tarry
and
J. Tracy Walker IV
of Richmond
Product liability, mass tort and class action:
toxic tort – defense
Mark Anderson
of Raleigh;
Stephen Busch,
Samuel Tarry,
Trent Taylor
and
J. Tracy Walker IV
of Richmond
Project finance: advice to lenders
Brian Kelly
of Baltimore;
Adam Greene
and
Marvin Rogers
of Charlotte;
Timothy Callahan
of Chicago;
Matthew Kapinos
of Houston;
Peter Butcher
of Pittsburgh;
Joanne Katsantonis
of Richmond
Sport
Kevin McGinnis
of Charlotte;
Richard Grant
of Los Angeles-Century City;
Terrence Bagley
of Richmond
Technology: outsourcing
Steve Gold
and
George Spatz
of Chicago
Technology: transactions
Rakesh Gopalan
of Charlotte;
Steve Gold,
Derek Roach
and
George Spatz
of Chicago
Transport: rail and road
Patricia Hosmer
of Charlotte;
Brian Jackson
of Charlottesville;
Scott Cairns
and
Lisa Ormand Taylor
of Jacksonville;
Stephen Busch
of Richmond
Transport: shipping
Lisa Ormand Taylor
of Jacksonville;
John Padgett
of Norfolk (listed as a “leading lawyer”)
The Legal 500 Series recommends law firms and individual lawyers in more than 100 countries based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, interviews with leading private lawyers and independent research.