< PreviousJOURNEY About 40 years ago, Ute Heidenreich made a decision for love — and taxes. Heidenreich, the daughter of an accountant, grew up in Germany. After graduating from high school, she came to the United States to take undergraduate classes at the University of Toledo in Ohio. There she met her now- husband, who was finishing law school. He took a job in Newport News, Virginia, and Heidenreich enrolled at nearby William & Mary. “I graduated in December 1983, and soon after, we held what we referred to as our federal government-induced wedding,” says Heidenreich. “We decided to get married before the end of the year so that my husband got a big tax refund. Between the IRS and the INS, we took care of things.” It’s a fitting love story for Heidenreich, now general counsel at TowneBank and president of Towne 1031 Exchange LLC in Suffolk, Virginia. Her work involves helping investment property owners execute tax-deferred 1031 exchanges, utilizing a section of the U.S. Tax Code that allows owners to swap one real estate investment property for another while deferring capital gains taxes. “To suggest I become an accountant, my father used to say, ‘Accounting is something people will always need.’ And I’d say, ‘Me sit in an office all day? Are you crazy?’ And here I am. He’s laughing somewhere.” Taxes, Love and Law School A Chat With Ute Heidenreich 10 ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23JOURNEY SLawyers overboard: While I don’t advise summer associates or young attorneys to pull partners into the Elizabeth River with them on a sailing journey, that is what happened to me as a summer associate at McGuireWoods. I was falling in while trying to get off the boat during Harborfest and pulled then-partner Glenn Hampton in with me. My reaction was, “I’m never going to get hired,” and his reaction was, “I drowned a summer clerk.” I still got a job. The great bake-off: I’m a decent cook, but I don’t know how to bake and I’ve taken that on as a challenge this year. It’s the art of cooking versus the science of baking. I’m expanding my horizons. Sand and sun: My happy place and my heart’s home is Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks. Proud mom: Becoming a parent late in life, at 39, to our son Miles is the best thing that ever happened to me. FOUR THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT UTE HEIDENREICH Ute Heidenreich, general counsel, TowneBank, and president, Towne 1031 Exchange LLC ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23 11“I was fortunate to start my legal career at McGuireWoods, where I learned things correctly. Working in a small office of a large firm was the best of both worlds. I got more responsibility. I often felt like a free-range chicken,” Ute Heidenreich says. Heidenreich later enrolled at William & Mary Law School and became a McGuireWoods summer associate in Norfolk. After graduating in 1990, she joined the firm as an associate focusing on real estate transactions, workouts and bankruptcies. About five years later, she moved in-house to Lawyers Title (which became LandAmerica during her tenure) as vice president, where she learned about tax-deferred exchanges. In 2008, Heidenreich moved to TowneBank, where she helped create its 1031 company, Towne 1031 Exchange LLC. She credits McGuireWoods with preparing her to counsel clients navigating the choppy waters of the Great Recession. McGuireWoods talked to Heidenreich about her time at the firm and her career path. How did you come to join McGuireWoods and what kind of work did you do at the firm? In 1989, I was a summer associate in the Norfolk office after my second year of law school at William & Mary, and I joined the firm as an associate in 1990. I worked with the banking and real estate team. 1990 was right after a recession, so I mostly did workouts, bankruptcies and foreclosures. I learned how not to do things by taking apart what other people put together and seeing the weaknesses and strengths. I worked with then- managing partner Tom Cabaniss, then-senior counsel Laura Lucas and a few other people. Partner invited me to assist her with some immigration work. We helped German company STIHL get green cards and work visas for employees, so my German came in handy. It was an interesting way to learn something new. Is there one memory that stands out about your time at McGuireWoods? I was fortunate to start my legal career at McGuireWoods, where I learned things correctly. Working in a small office of a large firm was the best of both worlds. I got more responsibility. I often felt like a free-range 12 ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23chicken. I had the luxury of working with Tom Cabaniss, who was brilliant, and I worked with Laura Lucas and the late Vann Lefcoe, who was one of those remarkable lawyers who did a little bit of everything. I had a client in Charlottesville, a small bank that bought two banks in Hampton Roads, and I handled 40 workout files, all different issues. That’s how I learned to do everything, and it stood me in great stead later in life, at TowneBank especially. What factored into your decision to go in-house to Lawyers Title? I worked with folks at Lawyers Title every day at McGuireWoods because every banking transaction has real estate collateral in Hampton Roads. Fellow McGuireWoods alum Ann Crenshaw had the job at Lawyers Title before me and she moved away, so I went to work as branch counsel. I enjoyed that because the work was varied, interesting and fun. That’s where I learned about tax-deferred exchanges, which became the focus of my work at Lawyers Title and then LandAmerica. I left in 2008 to join TowneBank and start Towne 1031 Exchange LLC. It was not the ideal time because of the recession, but that was where my training at McGuireWoods put me in good stead. TowneBank stood up an asset protection group to handle problem loans, which were not as big as at many banks. We were a small team, and I was the attorney. It was an interesting experience that led me to do more lawyering within the bank. A few years later, the bank — which never had a general counsel — officially made me GC. This role allowed me to learn about the whole endeavor. I love where I work. Most of my time now is spent with 1031 exchanges, which are tax-deferring vehicles for real estate investors. When you work at a bank, your raw materials are the deposits; that’s what we gather. My team of three people did over 630 exchanges last year and we had an average daily balance over $100 million, which was significant for the bank. It’s a great job because I talk to many different people. I keep my hands in the law, but I don’t have much time for it at this point. What advice would you give lawyers considering going in-house? It must be a good fit. Being in-house counsel is challenging sometimes because you represent the company, but you’re also part of the company. It is a balancing act where you have one foot in the business and one foot in the legal end, and sometimes you have to say no. You’re on the board of directors of the CIVIC Leadership Institute. When did you get involved and what is its mission? TowneBank nominated me to be in the executive class of 2015. The CIVIC Leadership Institute brings together executives throughout our region to improve life in Hampton Roads. I’ve lived here since 1980 and learned about the challenges we face — transportation, poverty, sea-level rise. I was enthusiastic about joining the board, because when you’re part of an organization like this, you meet people you otherwise would never know. How would I have met the police chief from Newport News or the commanding officer from Naval Air Station Oceana or any number of the 30 to 40 people I now call friends? The organization has a program called CIVIC Scholars. It involves Old Dominion University and Tidewater Community College, and brings young people together with programming to learn about the region. I liaise with the CIVIC Scholars program to keep these young leaders in our region and have their ideas help us with challenges. What do you value most about your time at McGuireWoods? Learning how to do things correctly and the relationships I made. I still see Jackie Stone and her husband BK Fulton, who is on TowneBank’s board in Richmond. And people like Patrick Hayden and Carol Hahn, associates at the time, are lifelong friends. I value most of all that I was taught to do things the right way. ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23 13When McGuireWoods was asked to serve as investigative counsel to the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, she had only one doubt to settle before deciding to leave the firm and pursue a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “I felt it was important to contribute, if I could, to investigating and ultimately recording for the historical record what happened, why it happened, and how we got to Jan. 6, 2021,” Lucier says. “But I did want to make sure that it was going to be a substantive, serious and lawyerly investigation. I got good assurances from people I trusted in Washington about that.” What was never in doubt, Lucier says, was the backing of her McGuireWoods colleagues. She says former McGuireWoods chairman Richard Cullen recommended her to fellow McGuireWoods alum Select Committee’s chief investigative counsel, when Heaphy was recruiting for his staff. When Lucier accepted Heaphy’s offer to serve, the firm strongly supported her, she says. Casey Lucier Returns After Serving on House Jan. 6 Committee Staff ‘A REAL PRESSURE-COOKER INVESTIGATION’ FULL CIRCLE 14 ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23“There was support for me personally and for the fact that I felt this was important,” she says. “The firm does a good job supporting its lawyers in many ways that they want to give back, including leaving private practice for a period of time to serve in government or another capacity.” The colleagues who encouraged Lucier to join the House Select Committee staff in October 2021 welcomed her back 14 months later, when she returned to McGuireWoods in the firm’s Lucier gained in the high-profile, politically sensitive investigation sharpened the skills that made her an effective litigator during her first eight years at the firm. “It was a real pressure-cooker investigation,” Lucier says. “We covered a lot of ground in a short period of time. This was like a multiyear investigation crammed into several months — with fast-paced negotiations and interviews and depositions. In addition to the public hearings, which were a unique experience, it deepened my skills and my ability to help clients through investigations and fact development.” CASEY LUCIER FULL CIRCLE ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23 15In her role as investigative counsel, Lucier focused on pressure exerted on Vice President Mike Pence, pressure placed on state and local officials, and the organization of Trump electors in key battleground states. She contributed to the committee’s litigation matters, the presentation of evidence during public hearings and preparation of the committee’s final report. The experience allowed Lucier to pursue two keen interests — government investigations and public policy. Before attending the University of Virginia School of Law, she worked at the Center for American Progress in Washington and for the political action committee of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, now a U.S. senator. Lucier was an associate in an Am Law 100 firm’s government investigations practice in Washington, D.C., before her family moved to Richmond in 2014. Lucier accepted a job at McGuireWoods that same year, though the firm wasn’t hiring government investigations associates at the time. But government investigations practice, introduced Lucier to now-retired partner Howard Feller, who was leading the firm’s antitrust group. Lucier found a home there, adding antitrust investigations and litigation to her general government investigations practice. In addition to Cullen and Adams, Feller and were important mentors, she says. “They took a chance on me, and I learned antitrust law on the job from them,” she says. “I enjoy the antitrust practice. I’m grateful for the way that worked out. Luckily, I’ve been able to work with McGuireWoods lawyers and clients in the antitrust and government investigations spaces.” Lucier represented companies and individuals in government investigations, including antitrust cartel matters. She conducted internal investigations, advised on compliance matters, and counseled clients on the risks of criminal prosecution and regulatory enforcement actions. While still an associate, Lucier also was instrumental in expanding the firm’s Family Leave Liaison Program, which serves as a resource for attorneys before, during and after parental leave. She became a partner in 2019, having honed skills that would serve her well when the opportunity arose to join the House Select Committee staff. “I had case management and client management skills that were well developed,” she says. “My experience handling the complex interplay between government investigations and civil litigation matters — especially in the antitrust realm where we’re frequently dealing with criminal and civil aspects at the same time — prepared me well.” FULL CIRCLE 16 ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23Her experience on the House Select Committee staff broadened her skills and her perspective. Investigators faced the challenge of building a factual record and producing a detailed written report. But the Select Committee took the extra step of presenting its findings in a series of nationally televised hearings in which live witness testimony, excerpts from videotaped depositions, footage of the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol and other materials were used to weave a narrative for the public. Lucier narrated a video played during the committee’s June 21, 2022, hearing, explaining the efforts to organize Trump electors in certain battleground states won by President Biden. “The committee understood that few people would read an 800-page report with thousands of detailed footnotes,” Lucier says. “The committee felt it was important to communicate the findings in a way that was effective in reaching the broadest possible audience of American citizens. The televised hearings in a tight narrative format was the right way to do that, and the process of planning the hearings made me think about our evidence differently.” Lucier says the experience changed the way she approaches persuasive presentations and advocacy. She adds, “Having that experience made me think differently about the most effective way to present information when you’re trying to persuade any audience, whether it’s a judge or a jury or three government lawyers in a conference room.” Lucier returned to the firm in December 2022 and splits time between McGuireWoods offices in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, where she lives with her husband and two children. “One of my chief motivations to come back was to continue practicing with people I respect and admire and enjoy spending time with,” she says. “That is what differentiates McGuireWoods from other places — not only doing high-level work but doing it with colleagues whose friendship I value.” The firm’s support for working parents also sets McGuireWoods apart. Notes Lucier: “My role as a working parent is a huge part of who I am. I’ve always felt I had the support of the firm to do exciting and challenging work, but also to be a good mom to my kids.” Casey Lucier became a partner in 2019, having honed skills that would serve her well when the opportunity arose to join the House Select Committee staff. ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23 17TOP 4 FOR CLIENT SER VICE 18 ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23Each year, the BTI Consulting Group surveys top legal decision makers at major companies to determine which law firms provide the best client service. The annual survey is the gold standard for measuring client service excellence. And in 2023, McGuireWoods ranks among the very best, earning a No. 4 overall ranking in The rankings are based on unprompted feedback from corporate counsel at companies — ranging in size from $1 billion in revenue to the largest companies in the world — who identified 241 law firms for possessing attributes that drive superior client relationships. The top firms are named to BTI’s Client Service 30 list. McGuireWoods was rated “Best of the Best” in 10 key performance areas. The firm earned top marks for providing practical and customized solutions, commitment to help, client focus, value for the dollar, keeping clients informed and anticipating client needs, among other attributes. “Top legal decision makers report McGuireWoods is relentless in improving their client service,” says Michael B. Rynowecer, president and founder of BTI. “The firm seeks ongoing feedback, works to share their industry knowledge, and is always reaching out with new perspectives on issues as they arise.” Clients praised the firm for its capabilities and responsiveness in interviews with BTI researchers. “Clients’ recognition of the firm’s increased effectiveness in providing both practical solutions and value for the dollar shows McGuireWoods’ commitment to day-to-day client needs,” the BTI report states. McGuireWoods has earned a place on BTI’s Client Service A-Team for 11 consecutive years and 17 times overall since the survey’s inception. The firm has become a mainstay because of its focus on excellence and ability to handle clients’ most complex legal matters. McGuireWoods Chairman says the BTI client service ranking is a testament to the quality of the firm’s work and the dedication of lawyers and professional staff. “World-class client service does not happen unless all of us lower our shoulder and go above and beyond the call of duty to deliver great results,” Harmon says. “This recognition says that companies around the world see us as one of the very best at it.” ONE McGUIREWOODS | SUMMER 20 23 19Next >