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Tracy Walker Follows Tom Cabaniss as Managing Partner
McGuireWoods’ Board of Partners has electedJonathan P. Harmonto succeedRichard Cullenas McGuireWoods’ chairman. In addition, the board appointedJ. Tracy Walker IVto followThomas E. Cabanissas the firm’s managing partner.
Harmon and Walker assumed their new duties today, the culmination of along-planned leadership transition. Cullen and Cabaniss — who recommendedHarmon and Walker in May — cap an 11-year period of accomplishment, growthand client service excellence as leaders of McGuireWoods. They remainpartners and continue their practices at the international law firm.
“This is the right time for a new generation of leaders,” Cullen said. “Jonand Tracy are popular choices to take over. They are well respected by ourpartners and clients. I am excited for them and know that the firm is invery capable hands.”
A nationally respected litigator, Harmon said he will continue the firm’sfocus on empowering clients to meet their strategic business goals,fostering collaborative innovations that shape the firm’s future, andbuilding upon its dedication to diversity, pro bono and community service.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as chairman and uphold thestandard of excellence set by Richard Cullen and his predecessors,” saidHarmon, who joined McGuireWoods in 1995. “We have built a stronginternational law and public affairs platform under Richard’s leadershipand will continue his unwavering commitment to delivering the highest levelof service to our clients.”
Harmon led McGuireWoods’ Business & Securities Litigation Departmentsince 2015. He is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who representsFortune 500 companies in complex, high-exposure litigation and has wonverdicts in some of the most difficult venues in the country. Harmon hastwice been named to BTI Consulting Group’s Client Service All-Stars list,an elite group of lawyers singled out by corporate counsel for clientservice excellence. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at WestPoint. Before earning his J.D. at the University of Texas School of Law,Harmon served in Operation Desert Storm as a first lieutenant in the Army’s1st Cavalry Division.
Walker served since 2015 as the firm’s deputy managing partner and head ofits litigation practice, which was recognized as a “Litigation Powerhouse”by Law360. He is national trial, class action and appellatecounsel for a range of corporate clients, and his many successesrepresenting automakers in high-stakes cases were instrumental in thefirm’s selection as an “Automotive Practice Group of the Year” by Law360.
“I am proud to follow Tom Cabaniss, who has done so much as managingpartner to establish McGuireWoods as a market leader,” said Walker, whoarrived at the firm in 1998. “It is an exciting time to practice law at ourfirm. We have outstanding lawyers from top to bottom, in many instances thebest in their fields, and we are privileged to represent the best lineup ofclients that anyone could ask for. I am grateful that my partners haveasked me to take on this new role, and I am excited about what we canachieve with Jon Harmon as our chair.”
Cullen’s tenure as chairman since 2006 is just one chapter in adistinguished career in private practice and public service. Acclaimed asan elite white-collar litigator, his clients include major corporations andexecutives, elected officials and other prominent figures in governmentinvestigations and highly sensitive matters of national and internationalsignificance. He represents Vice President Mike Pence in relation toSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing Russia investigation, and SeppBlatter, former head of the Fédération Internationale de FootballAssociation (FIFA), in U.S. and Swiss investigations of alleged bribery.Cullen joined McGuireWoods in 1977 and has spent his career at the firm,except for a stint as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginiafrom 1991 to 1994, and as Virginia’s attorney general from 1997 to 1998.
Cabaniss joined McGuireWoods in 1985 and in 1998 helped establish thefirm’s office in Charlotte, North Carolina, a city known as a leadingglobal financial services center. He became managing partner in 2007. Nowbased in Richmond, Virginia, Cabaniss is a member of the firm’sRestructuring & Insolvency Department and focuses his practice oncomplex bankruptcy matters, commercial and real estate workouts andrestructurings.
Under the leadership of Cullen and Cabaniss, McGuireWoods expanded its U.S.and international footprint from 750 lawyers in 15 offices to 1,100 lawyersin 23 offices. During that time, the firm added offices in California andTexas, formed McGuireWoods London LLP and established a presence in Asiawith a unique affiliation with Shanghai-based FuJae Partners. Driven by itswidely-recognized industry-focused market strategy, the firm has earnedglobal recognition as a leader in innovative approaches that enhance clientservice.
“Jon and Tracy have proved themselves to be exceptional leaders who exhibitour core values in everything they do,” Cabaniss said. “Their devotion tothe firm, our clients and our communities will inspire us to do all we canto help shape McGuireWoods’ future.”
McGuireWoods has earned coveted honors for client service and innovationand its corporate and litigation practices consistently rank among theindustry’s elite. BTI has named McGuireWoods to its Most Recommended LawFirms list for more than 15 consecutive years based on unprompted feedbackfrom corporate counsel. The firm ranks among the top 10 in Financial Times’ prestigious North America Innovative Lawyersreport, winning honors for social responsibility; changing and influencingregulation; data, analytics and intelligence; and integrated solutions. Inaddition, the firm’s M&A, capital markets and debt finance practicesearned top 10 rankings for deal work in 2016 in authoritative, year-endleague tables compiled by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.