< Previous80 ONE McGUIREWOODS | Summer 2021 Remembering Thomas F. Farrell II ONE McGUIREWOODS | Summer 2021 81 Thomas F. Farrell II, a former McGuireWoods partner who recently retired as executive chairman of client Dominion Energy, died April 2, 2021, after a battle with cancer. He was 66. A favorite at the firm and revered in the Richmond community, Farrell drew tears and laughter from friends who describe him as larger than life: a community and business leader, a tremendous lawyer, a family man and a great friend. “As a firm family, we are deeply saddened by Tom’s passing and we extend heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and to everyone at Dominion. Tom was a legendary leader and lawyer at our firm, at Dominion, in Richmond and in Virginia, and a friend to everyone he met. We should all aspire to be like him,” says McGuireWoods chairman “He was one of those people you meet in life that you can tell at an early age is destined for greatness,” says Richmond partner were both new lawyers. “But unlike some others, there was not a hint of arrogance or aloofness. He was kind to everyone. When the history of McGuireWoods is written, he will be a dominant character, both as a lawyer and client. The firm and the community have lost a giant.” “We are just incredibly heartbroken,” partner and former firm told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in an April 2, professional relationship, Farrell and Cullen were family — they married sisters (Anne Garland and Aggie). “It’s just a tremendous loss, not only to the family, but really to the state of Virginia and beyond. He lived to make things better,” Cullen said. Raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Farrell graduated with an economics degree from the University of Virginia in 1976 and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1979. After a two- year stint at Hunton & Williams, he joined McGuireWoods predecessor firm Boothe, Dudley & Pritchard as an associate in 1981. He made partner in 1986, and in 1987, Boothe, Dudley merged with McGuire, Woods & Battle. Farrell already was a highly regarded trial lawyer. Among Farrell’s most notable cases was his successful defense of Sperry Marine in the early 1990s against claims that a failure of its navigation system caused the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and the resultant catastrophic oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. Tysons partner describes the “great honor and great pleasure” of working on a one-week construction trial in 1990 with Farrell and then-partner R. Terrence Ney (who went on to become a Fairfax County circuit court judge and passed away in 2014). “Despite some facts in our client’s favor, we expected to get our heads handed to us at trial. But, after Terry’s opening statement and Tom’s examination of our first witness, it was all over. The jury was so mesmerized by Tom and Terry’s eloquence, and convinced by them of the injustice done to our client, the client was ultimately absolved of all liability. Tom and Terry put on a master class on how to try a case. Meanwhile, I was just a very junior associate, basking in their reflected greatness. I learned more and had more fun at that trial than I have before or since that time. And, the best part is that I gained an understanding of not only the magnificent lawyer Tom was, but most importantly, the magnificent person he was and the example he set for us all.” Retired Tysons partner Steve Robinson ran with Farrell every day at lunch for several years and they tried several cases together. “After one, a covenant not-to-compete case we won in Fairfax, I went home to my then-wife and said, ‘Tom Farrell is the most imaginative lawyer I have ever met. I am going to work hard to be like him.’ ” Robinson says he was crushed when Farrell moved to Richmond, but he could already tell there were big things ahead for him. “I did not see him much after he went to Dominion, but every time he did, he treated me like his best friend. He was the epitome of grace and class in addition to being an amazing lawyer.” In the early 1990s, at the request of then- McGuireWoods chairman Bob Burrus, Farrell moved from Alexandria to Richmond. The move was to assist the firm team representing Dominion CEO Tom Capps and Dominion 82 ONE McGUIREWOODS | Summer 2021 Resources Inc. in a public dispute with its subsidiary, Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), and with the State Corporation Commission, over corporate control of the subsidiary. After Dominion Resources prevailed in the corporate battle with VEPCO, Farrell moved to Dominion as its general counsel in 1995. He succeeded Capps as CEO, president and board chair of Dominion, roles he held from 2007 to 2020. Along the way, he grew Dominion into a national energy company worth more than $50 billion, 10 times its size in 1995, with electric and gas generation, transmission, distribution and storage assets across the country. Under Farrell’s leadership, Dominion Energy and McGuireWoods shared a close relationship over the years, as law firm and client, as business partners and neighbors. In 2016, McGuireWoods helped Dominion finance a new $365 million commercial building, just a block away from McGuireWoods’ Richmond office. Together, they partnered on multiple pro bono and racial justice initiatives: a medical-legal pro bono partnership with VCU Health, a Leaders in Color webcast, the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation’s pro bono Triage Project and others. So often, Farrell was the instigating force. “Tom’s legacy obviously speaks loudly and in many corners,” says Richmond partner was relentless in his pursuit of a goal, and he demanded excellence from his entire team, including his lawyers. That was always inspirational. But he also cared very deeply about those around him, including his colleagues and those in the broader community. Personally, I was a great beneficiary of his trust and confidence in taking on a key, career-changing role representing the company, and even more so my wife Carter, who worked so closely with him for many years as part of Dominion’s senior leadership team. I think it was that investment in people and their abilities which is one of the greatest lessons we can take from a truly remarkable leader.” Farrell also served as the non-executive board chair of Altria Group Inc. (corporate parent of Philip Morris USA), but his greatest impact was in the Richmond community and beyond. He served on the Board of Visitors for Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia, where he also was rector for two years. During his tenure on the UVA board, he oversaw the development of the University of Virginia Investment Management Co., with reported assets of over $10 billion in 2020, and the development of John Paul Jones Arena. Farrell chaired the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, was a member of the board of trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and a member or board member of the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Reform, the Virginia Business Council, the Management Roundtable, the Greater Washington Partnership, the Northern Virginia Technology Council and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. And Farrell returned the regard expressed by so many at McGuireWoods, saying in 2006: “During my 15 years practicing law, and in the more than 10 years since, I have gotten to know many lawyers and seen law firm cultures at some of the U.S. and UK’s great law firms. None has the special culture that McGuireWoods enjoys. McGuireWoods is a law partnership in the old-fashioned sense of that term. Dominion is fortunate to have the firm as our lead, and I, at least, still consider myself to be part of the McGuireWoods family.”McGUIREWOODS For questions about One McGuireWoods, email Next >