McGuireWoods partner and McGuireWoods Consulting senior advisor Frank Atkinson is retiring after more than four decades with the law firm and 28 years in the consulting group.

Frank joined McGuireWoods in 1981 as a summer associate while a student at the University of Virginia School of Law. During that summer, he had a unique opportunity to work on a team defending Virginia’s redistricting plan in federal court. Through that work, Frank forged relationships with some of McGuireWoods’ most well respected lawyers, including then-chairman Bob Patterson and Anne Whittemore, as well as the late John Battle, Jr., Jim Sanderlin and Duncan Getchell.

Though Frank knew from an early age he wanted to pursue a legal career, that summer changed his perspective on what that career might entail.

“I had always thought that I would go back to my small town in Bowling Green, hang out my shingle as a small-town lawyer, and run for office,” Frank said. “The idea of working for a large law firm didn’t appeal to me, but I had such a remarkable experience that summer and was so impressed with the people I met that when they made an offer for full-time employment, I accepted it.”

Frank joined McGuireWoods as a litigation associate in 1984 after the first of two stints of public service in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) during the Reagan administration. He served as an assistant to future Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III during 1982-1984 and then returned to DOJ as senior counsel and deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1987-1988.

In 1994-1996, Frank served in Virginia Gov. George Allen’s cabinet as counselor and director of policy. Frank returned to McGuireWoods for good as a partner in September 1996.

A principal founder of McGuireWoods Consulting, Frank presented the proposed business plan for the new bipartisan public affairs group to the McGuireWoods leadership, ultimately gaining support for the subsidiary’s launch in 1998. Frank and other McGuireWoods lawyers, including future chairman Richard Cullen, Jackie Stone, Jim Dyke and Bill Broaddus, had observed that client needs often ranged beyond traditional legal work into government relations, strategic communications and related fields.

“The law firm took a real leap of faith,” Frank said. “I don’t think any other firm would have been willing to chance it. There was not really a model for it in other law firms or public affairs firms. But clients saw the value in it from year one, and we were able to exceed revenue targets, so it was off and running and has grown steadily from there.”

McGuireWoods Consulting emerged from the notion that combining those services under the McGuireWoods umbrella would give clients a more complete strategy and the efficiency of one-stop service.

“Frank’s vision in founding McGuireWoods Consulting, his dedication to client service and his commitment to integrity have left an indelible mark on our firm,” said McGuireWoods chairman Jon Harmon. “We are grateful for his countless contributions over more than four decades and wish him all the best as he embarks on a new chapter.”

Over the years, McGuireWoods Consulting has continued to reflect the strategic elements emphasized at its conception: a bipartisan firm that integrates state government relations, federal public affairs, strategic communications, grassroots coalition-building, and infrastructure and economic development across the country. The key factor in McGuireWoods Consulting’s success has always been the people on the team and the culture of the firm, Frank said.

“You want to create a place to work where you enjoy your colleagues, you do excellent work with integrity, and it’s a mutually supportive environment with teamwork and collaboration,” Frank said. “The culture is a living, breathing thing, and it doesn’t happen unintentionally. It happens because people live those values, talk about those values, and celebrate those values.”

McGuireWoods Consulting director of planning and organization Betsy Beamer describes Frank as the “heartbeat” of the firm, fostering this positive environment from the beginning.

“With the rare combination of brilliance, empathy, and uncompromising integrity, he sets the standard,” Betsy said. “It has been a true privilege and career highlight to share a hallway with him for so many years.”

After 20 years leading McGuireWoods Consulting, Frank stepped down as the group’s chairman in 2018 and became a senior advisor while continuing as a partner in the law firm. Mark Bowles, who had been a leader on the team since its launch, became McGuireWoods Consulting’s new chairman. That same year, longtime McGuireWoods Consulting president L.F. Payne retired and was succeeded by the consulting group’s current president, former Gov. Jim Hodges of South Carolina.

“Frank established the foundation, culture, and platform that has made McGuireWoods Consulting one of the most successful government affairs firms in the country,” Mark said. “His imprint is on each of our offices, and it is a legacy that we have been honored to help carry on as we grow the firm, recruit the best talent, and provide excellent client service.”

Frank’s client focus on higher education and workforce and economic development helped produce major policy and investment measures that have enhanced Virginia’s national standing as a talent and opportunity leader. He spearheaded business-education partnership initiatives in higher education such as Grow By Degrees and Growth4VA. Together with Chris Lloyd, the leader of the firm’s infrastructure and economic development team, Frank worked on legislation to foster public-private partnerships and promote regional economic development through GO Virginia.

“Frank Atkinson is one of the most respected voices in government, politics and law in the state of Virginia,” said Jim. “He has built a career solving big problems and has pioneered the practice of building stakeholder partnerships to advance critical state issues like higher education and workforce development. While he is retiring from McGuireWoods Consulting, I have no doubt he will continue to contribute his many talents to making life better in Virginia.”

Frank has served the community on various governmental and nonprofit governing boards. A current favorite is NextUp RVA, which coordinates after-school programs for Richmond city middle school students. He previously served on the University of Virginia board of visitors, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation board of trustees, and the governing board for James Madison’s Montpelier. He chaired the national commission that helped plan the commemoration of Jamestown’s 400^th anniversary in 2007.

In addition to his client and public service endeavors, Frank is also an accomplished writer. He has published three books: two nonfiction works about modern Virginia politics titled The Dynamic Dominion (1992) and Virginia in the Vanguard (2006), as well as the recently released second edition of his novel, The Lion’s Den, which addresses democratic renewal.

The Lion’s Den details the journey of Daniel Madison McGuire as he navigates an action-filled political arena that puts his values, morals and ethics to the test. The subtitle of the book is Renewing Our Democracy By Renewing Ourselves, and Frank hopes it will encourage readers to reflect on their own choices, whether in politics or day-to-day life.

“We all want government we can be proud of. We want people in public life to behave in ways they and we can be proud of,” Frank said. “But the only choices we can truly control are our own, and that’s why the renewal of our democracy has to begin with each of us – with our own decision about what kind of person we choose to be.”

Frank views his retirement as a transition to full-time writing, and he believes his literary pursuits are the best way he can continue to contribute to the governance of the state and nation that have given him so many opportunities.

At both McGuireWoods Consulting and McGuireWoods, Frank leaves a legacy of client service, collaboration and community.

“I will always be deeply grateful for the lifetime I have spent here, for the wonderful friendships and fantastic experiences and the opportunities to do good work for clients as well as for the larger community,” Frank said.