McGuireWoods LLP

Chairman: Jonathan P. Harmon

Managing Partner: J. Tracy Walker IV

Number of attorneys: 1,100

Firm Overview:

McGuireWoods, one of the world’s leading law firms, has earned the loyalty of its many longstanding clients with deep and broad legal experience; a passion for understanding their businesses and markets; innovative delivery of practical, business-minded solutions; and unmatched service. McGuireWoods’ continuing success comes down to one simple fact: The firm listens to its clients.

Clients consistently place McGuireWoods among a small group of elite firms in surveys such as BTI Consulting’s Client Service A-Team, an annual ranking derived from unprompted feedback by general counsel and top decision-makers at Fortune 1,000 companies. 2024 marked the 18th time McGuireWoods has been singled out for excellence on BTI’s Client Service A-Team list. McGuireWoods is one of only four firms nationwide to earn a coveted top 30 ranking in each of the past 10 years.

One aspect of McGuireWoods’ value proposition is its ability to address client issues from multiple angles by partnering with affiliate McGuireWoods Consulting, ranked by The National Law Journal as one of the top 20 Washington, D.C., government relations firms. By working closely with its consultants, McGuireWoods can augment its legal work with powerful experience and connections in strategic communications and government relations.

Also setting the firm apart is its longstanding commitment to innovation in the delivery of legal services. Financial Times has consistently honored McGuireWoods as one of North America’s most innovative law firms in its prestigious North America Innovative Lawyers report. The firm invests in technology to enhance its productivity and efficiency, including building an outstanding in-house e-discovery infrastructure. McGuireWoods was quick to embrace legal project management and has developed proprietary tools for budgeting and matter management, even helping clients establish their own in-house systems. And the firm is a pioneer in the creative use of alternatives to the billable hour to help clients control legal costs without sacrificing quality. BTI recognized McGuireWoods as one of only a handful of firms named by legal decision-makers at top companies as the absolute best at developing and implementing AFAs for corporate clients.

The firm partners with clients to give back to communities and advance their mutual desire to increase diversity and inclusion in the profession. The firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts have been recognized by Chambers and Partners, The American Lawyer, Law360, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, among others. As part of the firm’s commitment to community service, its lawyers provide thousands of hours of pro bono work each year, helping children, victims of domestic violence, the elderly, veterans and nonprofit groups.

Main Areas of Practice

Many of the firm’s practices consistently are ranked among the nation’s industry elite. McGuireWoods earned nationwide recognition in the 2024 Chambers USA guide in areas related to energy; banking and finance; healthcare; corporate crime and investigations; bankruptcy and restructuring; cannabis law; climate change; environment; financial services regulation; food and beverage; labor and employment; occupational health and safety; M&A; product liability; public finance; sports; and transportation. For the eighth year in a row, McGuireWoods received a nationwide ranking for private wealth law in the Chambers High Net Worth guide. And the firm earned two nationwide rankings in the 2024 Chambers FinTech guide.

McGuireWoods earned first-tier national rankings in 23 practice areas in the 2024 edition of U.S. News-Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms.” In addition, the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America recognized more than 200 attorneys from the firm’s U.S. offices, 16 of whom were named “Lawyers of the Year,” an honor given to only one lawyer in each practice area per city.

The firm ranked No. 4 in deal count worldwide in 2023 for advising lenders in syndicated loans, according to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). For 13 consecutive years, McGuireWoods has ranked among the top 10 U.S. law firms for deal count and dollar volume in lending league tables published by LSEG and its predecessors, Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters.

The firm’s M&A practice solidified its position as a leading law firm for U.S. and global M&A transactions in 2023, placing 10th in deal volume for M&A transactions targeting U.S. companies in LSEG’s year-end league tables. McGuireWoods once again was a leading law firm for advising corporate issuers and underwriters in capital markets transactions in 2023, achieving top 10 rankings in year-end league tables published by Bloomberg and LSEG.