McGuireWoods LLP

Chairman: Jonathan P Harmon

Managing Partner: J Tracy Walker IV

Number of attorneys: 1,100

Offices: Atlanta, GA; Austin, TX; Baltimore, MD; Charlotte, NC; Charlottesville, VA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; London, UK; Los Angeles – Century City, CA; Los Angeles – Downtown, CA; New York, NY; Norfolk, VA; Pittsburgh, PA; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; San Francisco, CA; Shanghai, CN; Tysons, VA; Washington, DC

Firm Overview:

Repeatedly recognised as a top firm for wealth management in Chambers High Net Worth guide, McGuireWoods 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 as one of the world’s leading law firms comes down to a 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.

Main Areas of Practice:

McGuireWoods’ internationally recognised private wealth services team has a longstanding reputation for excellence representing individuals, families, businesses, banks and trust companies, corporate and individual executors and trustees, and private and public charities. The team’s work spans many areas, including estate and tax planning, tax controversy, charitable giving, will contests, fiduciary litigation, closely held and family business planning, business succession planning, nonprofit administration, and risk management and compliance.

The private wealth services team focuses on the intricate needs of high-net-worth clients and the institutions that work with them. McGuireWoods’ depth and breadth of experience, presence in strategic domestic and international markets, and dedication to shaping the wealth services landscape allow the firm to serve clients efficiently and effectively.

At the national level, the firm’s lawyers help shape tax policy by participating in the development of legislation, regulations and groundbreaking rulings. McGuireWoods’ private wealth services team also represents individuals and families whose personal assets and business interests cross borders. The team provides clients with access to a broad spectrum of global legal services — all tailored to the unique needs of families, family offices and the financial institutions that serve these clients.

McGuireWoods consistently ranks among the top law firms for wealth management in leading legal publications around the globe, and has earned recognition from respected industry organisations such as the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, the American Bankers Association, and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Estate & Trust Administration:

McGuireWoods advises executors and trustees navigating their administrative responsibilities, including guidance on income taxation of estates and trusts as well as on gift and estate taxation. The firm helps clients interpret wills and resolve will disputes and related litigation.

Estate Planning:

McGuireWoods serves individual clients who seek to transfer assets efficiently and at minimum tax cost to their chosen beneficiaries. As part of the firm’s private client and estate planning services, lawyers also consider the impact of federal income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes on the transmission of wealth.

Family Business & Family Office Services:

McGuireWoods provides straightforward guidance to family businesses and family offices that helps them comply with complex state, federal and international laws governing the taxation, management and transfer of private assets for the benefit of family members and others.

Fiduciary Litigation:

McGuireWoods’ litigators represent clients in will contests, probate and estate litigation, trust disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, federal and state tax disputes (income, estate and gift tax), guardianship litigation, ERISA-based claims, personal and employee benefit trusts, corporate fiduciary duty claims and shareholder disputes.

Nonprofit & Charitable Planning:

The team’s estate planning knowledge and familiarity with the transfer tax laws enable lawyers to coordinate donors’ charitable giving and estate planning to achieve their goals and objectives. The firm advises public charities, major colleges and universities, large private foundations and charitable trusts in tax and governance matters.

Tax Planning:

McGuireWoods works with clients to identify and implement effective wealth preservation strategies — including the orderly and tax-efficient succession of privately held and family-owned businesses — that comply with the requirements of federal and state taxing bodies. The firm also provides tax controversy services.