McGuireWoods Elevates 18 Lawyers to Partnership

McGuireWoods on Monday announced its largest class of new partners, elevating 18 associates to partnership in the firm effective Jan. 1, 2017. The new partners span 11 U.S. offices and a dozen litigation and corporate practice areas, illustrating the firm’s depth and strength.

“In this class of new partners, we have some of the most accomplished young lawyers in the nation. Besides being excellent attorneys, they exemplify our firm’s commitment to unsurpassed client service. They understand our clients’ business and put clients first in all we do,” said Tom Cabaniss, McGuireWoods’ managing partner. “We are extremely proud of our new partners.”

Three of the new partners are in the firm’s nationally recognized Debt Finance Practice. Two each are in Corporate, Healthcare, Government Investigations & White Collar, and Financial Services Litigation. Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation, Private Wealth Services, Restructuring and Insolvency, Product and Consumer Litigation, Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property, and Complex Commercial Litigation each gained one new partner.

Three new partners are based in the firm’s growing Pittsburgh office, which added four partners and seven associates earlier this year to serve financial institution clients and will expand into new, more spacious offices in 2017. The Richmond and Charlotte offices also added three new partners each. Two new partners work in Chicago. And offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles-Century City, Raleigh, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., gain one new partner each.

The new partners are:

Alicia A. Baiardo (Financial Services Litigation – San Francisco) represents clients in civil litigation matters, including financial services litigation, complex commercial cases, and trust and estate disputes. She also has significant pro bono experience litigating asylum and prisoner rights cases.

Joel A. Bannister (Debt Finance – Dallas) represents financial institutions, credit funds, sponsors and borrowers in mezzanine, second-lien, acquisition and syndicated financings, as well as asset-based and cash flow-based financing transactions. He also advises clients regarding restructurings, workouts, distressed debt transactions, foreclosures, and other creditors’ remedies.

Richard C. Beaulieu (Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation – Richmond) focuses his practice on environmental, toxic tort, and products liability trials and appeals. He represents clients in industry sectors such as agribusiness, waste disposal, mining, railroads, and automobile manufacturing. And he handles federal statutory environmental litigation including CERCLA, RCRA, and Clean Water Act claims.

Sabrina A. Beldner (Labor and Employment – Los Angeles, Century City) represents employers in employment-related litigation and traditional labor law. She also conducts management training on preventing unlawful employment practices such as harassment, discrimination and retaliation and works with employers on drafting employee handbooks, employment policies and employment agreements.

Anthony Carna (Corporate – Pittsburgh) focuses his practice on oil and gas law and construction law. He advises publicly traded and privately held energy companies on acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, project development, mineral conveyancing, regulatory matters, joint development and exploration agreements, gas gathering agreements, participation agreements, operating agreements, pipeline right-of-way agreements, and oil and gas leases.

Holly Carnell (Healthcare – Chicago) handles corporate healthcare transactional work and regulatory matters.She counsels healthcare clients — including hospitals and health systems, multi- and single-specialty medical practices, physician-owned hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers — on matters including structuring transactions, affiliation agreements, and compliance matters.

Adam M. Damerow  (Private Wealth Services – Chicago) concentrates on estate planning and administration for high-net-worth individuals, including families, executives, professionals, and owners of closely held businesses. He advises U.S. residents with assets abroad and nonresidents with interests in the U.S. on multijurisdictional planning and tax issues. He also represents nonprofit entities on compliance, administration, and related issues.

Joshua K. Green (Debt Finance – Charlotte) assists with the structuring, negotiating, and documenting of senior debt financing arrangements for clients that include national banking institutions. He has worked on numerous financings for professional sports franchises, as well as financings for manufacturing companies, restaurant franchises, and automotive companies.

Matthew A. Kapinos (Corporate – Houston) serves as deputy head of McGuireWoods’ Energy Industry Team and focuses on assisting clients in drafting and negotiating agreements for the purchase, sale, development, and financing of energy infrastructure and construction projects.

LauraLee R. Lawley (Healthcare – Charlotte) represents healthcare providers in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate governance, and regulatory matters. Her clients include hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, dialysis centers, and physician groups. She also represents lenders in transactions involving borrowers in the healthcare industry.

Nicholas B. Lewis (Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation – Washington, D.C.) defends clients in white-collar criminal and regulatory matters. He represents financial institutions, corporations, political figures, and individuals under investigation by government entities, including the Department of Justice, the Federal Election Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Treasury.

Matthew D. Monsour (Complex Commercial Litigation - Pittsburgh) has a diverse litigation practice that focuses on complex constitutional and statutory issues and spans industries including banking, entertainment, and transportation. He serves as national coordinating counsel for a Fortune 50 transportation company and oversees litigation across the country.

Brandon M. Santos (Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation – Richmond) advises and defends corporations and individuals facing regulatory, administrative, and criminal investigations. He counsels clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, food manufacturing, construction, and technology.

Elizabeth Sieg(Restructuring & Insolvency – Richmond) focuses on restructuring and insolvency and commercial litigation, including corporate bankruptcy proceedings and other creditors’ rights issues. She has served as national bankruptcy counsel for a leading financial institution regarding mortgage, servicing, and loss mitigation matters.

Melissa M. Taylor (Financial Services Litigation – Pittsburgh) represents financial industry clients in single-plaintiff litigation and class action matters. She defends and resolves consumer claims arising out of mortgage lending and servicing as well as other consumer credit transactions and collections activities.

Rachelle H. Thompson (Intellectual Property – Raleigh) is a registered patent attorney experienced in complex commercial litigation and litigation involving biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, telecommunications, smartphones, digital cameras, and wireless technology. She provides IP-related counseling to clients in a variety of technologies and industries.

Kent Warren(Product & Consumer Litigation – Charlotte) represents companies in product liability and commercial matters, class actions, and high-exposure multidistrict litigation across the country, including serving as national products liability counsel for a Fortune 500 company. He defends clients against claims for wrongful death, significant personal injuries, and commercial losses.

Gerum Yilma (Debt Finance – Atlanta) concentrates his practice on corporate lending transactions, including syndicated, club and single-lender credit facilities, acquisition financings, leveraged recapitalization, cash-flow and asset-based financings, and asset securitizations.