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W. Ford Graham has joined McGuireWoods Consulting as a senior vice president in the firm’s national infrastructure and economic development team and as a partner with McGuireWoods. A leading recruiter of international companies to the Southeastern U.S., Graham has facilitated new industry and industrial expansion in over 123 projects, resulting in commitments of more than 11,000 new jobs and $3.9 billion in new investments. He also assists companies with the full spectrum of legal needs that arise when companies enter new markets. He will be based in the firm’s Columbia, South Carolina, office.
Most recently, Graham was a partner at K&L Gates, and he previously served as director of international strategy and trade for the South Carolina Department of Commerce. In that role, he directed all aspects of the agency’s international efforts, including South Carolina’s four international offices in Delhi, Munich, Shanghai, and Tokyo, identifying foreign direct investment opportunities and assisting South Carolina companies with exporting their products worldwide.
“Ford is a great addition to our growing incentives and site selection practice,” noted Chris Lloyd, a McGuireWoods Consulting senior vice president and director of the infrastructure and economic development team. “His extensive national and international contacts and experience will help our firm better serve clients looking to expand or relocate across the U.S.”
Graham previously served as general counsel for a real estate development/investment firm and served as a judicial clerk in the 5th and 14th Judicial Circuits of South Carolina. Graham served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala.
“We are excited to have Ford join our team,” said former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, president of McGuireWoods Consulting. “His extensive knowledge of site selection and economic development issues will enhance our already strong practice.”
McGuireWoods Consulting Chairman Mark Bowles added, “Ford is well known in the economic development and legal professions for the vast amount of international business he has helped bring to the Southeast. His experience will be invaluable to our clients.”
Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D.), University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business (International MBA), and Tulane University (B.A.). He is admitted in South Carolina.