WHERE IS MCGUIRE WOODS HEADQUARTERED?
Richmond, Va. The Jacksonville office occupies floors in the Bank of America tower.
HOW MANY LAWYERS IN THE JACKSONVILLE OFFICE?
Fifty, plus a support staff of 54.
WHO RUNS THE SHOW?
Currently, Hal Skinner is the managing partner. The position rotates every few years. Skinner joined McGuire Woods when the firm merged with Mahoney Adams in 1998. He is from Yonkers, N.Y., attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Duke Law School.
WHAT DOES A MANAGING PARTNER DO?
It’s mostly administrative, dealing with staff issues and guiding the strategic direction of the office.
HOW LONG HAS THE JACKSONVILLE OFFICE BEEN OPEN?
Scott Cairns opened the office in 1994 with three other local attorneys attorneys. Cairns is from Alexandria, Va. He attended the University of Virginia, where he earned a bachelor’s and law degree. He practiced law in Richmond for 13 years before relocating to Jacksonville.
WHY HAS THE FIRM GROWN SO QUICKLY?
When Martin, Ade, Birchfield and Mickler dissolved, McGuire Woods absorbed many of its attorneys. Also, the merger with Mahoney Adams and the general growth of the city have contributed.
WHERE ELSE DO THEY HAVE OFFICES?
New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Tyson’s Corner, Va. Charlottesville, Norfolk, Charlotte, Atlanta, Brussels, Moscow, and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
HOW ARE THINGS IN ALMATY?
There’s a lot of oil over there.
WHO ARE SOME OF THEIR CLIENTS?
CSX, Florida Rock, St. Joe Company, The Haskell Company, International Paper, G.E., which just acquired an engine company in Jacksonville, Lucent, AT&T, Nemours Foundation and Vestcor.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PRACTICE?
General corporate practice focusing on real estate, commercial litigation and labor and employment law. McGuire Woods also has a strong practices in environmental law, intellectual property, and product liability. The firm plans to add specialties as local demand. The head of the nationwide commercial litigation practice, David Wells, is in the Jacksonville office.
ANY HIGH PROFILE CASES THESE DAYS?
Senior partner Bill Adams is challenging the validity of the City’s tree ordinance on behalf of the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
RECRUITMENT?
They recruit nationally at about 25 law schools and all of the larger schools in the Southeast.
ANY NEW HIRES?
Three new attorneys are signing on this summer; two from the University of Florida and one from Vanderbilt University.
CONTINUED GROWTH?
Because the economy has slowed, the firm plans to maintain a strategy of slow, steady growth. Their commitment is to attract clients based on the ability to utilize national resources.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT?
McGuire Woods attorneys sit on the board of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission. Cairns chairs the local branch of the National Conference of Community Justice (formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews). They contribute to most of the major cultural and charity events in Jacksonville.
— by Sean McManus