Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino (VLMG)

Best Law Firms


Best Law Firms 2024

Tysons Corner, VA, United States, December 13, 2023 -- Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms®, ranked by Best Lawyers®, nationally in 2 practice areas and regionally in 3 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2024 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be considered for this milestone achievement, at least one lawyer in the law firm must be recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Achieving a tiered ranking in Best Law Firms® on a national and/or metropolitan scale signals a unique credibility within the industry. The transparent, collaborative research process employs qualitative and quantitative data from peer and client reviews that is supported by proprietary algorithmic technology to produce a tiered system of industry-led rankings of the top 4% of the industry.

Receiving a tier designation represents an elite status, integrity and reputation that law firms earn among other leading firms and lawyers. The 2024 edition of  Best Law Firms® includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas. Additionally, one "Law Firm of the Year" was named in each nationally ranked practice area.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2024 Best Law Firms®:

  • National Tier 1
    • Litigation - Construction
    • Construction Law
  • Regional Tier 1
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Litigation - Construction
  • Regional Tier 2
    • San Francisco
      • Construction Law

 

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Tysons Corner, VA, United States, November 3, 2022 -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, for the 13th consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms":

    • National Tier 1
      • Construction Law
      • Litigation - Construction
    • Metropolitan Tier 1
      • San Francisco
        • Construction Law
      • Washington, D.C.
        • Construction Law
        • Litigation - Construction

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been ranked in the 2023 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list nationally and regionally in multiple practice areas.

Firms included in the 2023 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2023 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas.

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Tysons Corner, VA, United States, November 4, 2021 -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, for the 12th consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2022 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms":

    • National Tier 1
      • Construction Law
      • Litigation - Construction
    • Metropolitan Tier 1
      • San Francisco
        • Construction Law
      • Washington, D.C.
        • Construction Law
        • Litigation - Construction
    • Metropolitan Tier 2
      • San Francisco
        • Copyright Law
        • Litigation - Construction

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been ranked in the 2022 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list nationally in 2 practice areas and regionally in 3 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2022 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2022 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas.

 

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Tysons Corner, VA, United States, November 5, 2020 -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, for the 11th consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2021 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms":

  • National Tier 1
    • Construction Law
    • Litigation - Construction
  • Metropolitan Tier 1
    • San Francisco
      • Construction Law
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Construction Law
      • Litigation - Construction

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been ranked in the 2021 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list nationally in 2 practice areas and regionally in 3 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2021 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2021 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas.

Selected Client Comments

"The lawyers at Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino have more construction industry litigation knowledge and experience than any other firm in the country. They are very cost effective while delivering a thorough and complete analysis. They can handle matters in any jurisdiction effectively and are our first choice for major construction industry litigation."

"The performance of Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino was outstanding and exceptional. The team was efficient, punctual, including quick documents, messages, opinions turn around - I appreciate that the team highly dedicated itself to this arbitration, affable mood, flexible and acted in a cost-efficient manner. I want to emphasize that lawyer's technique of cross-examination is first-class and without peer."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino lawyers have excellent subject matter knowledge and are very cost effective. Experienced litigators who know their way around the courtroom; very knowledgeable of others in the field which enhances negotiations where needed."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino lawyers are meticulous and can comprehend the law itself and complicated facts and technical matters concerning construction. They are very good at explaining them in easily understandable ways."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino is a top flight construction specialty firm. They are experienced, knowledgeable, cost effective and very communicative. Highly recommended."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino have distinguished themselves as a leader in the construction legal world. They possess an incredible depth of construction industry knowledge which combined with exceptional legal skills make them a valued business partner. Further, we routinely choose Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino to assist with highly technical and bet-the-company type cases primarily because of their extensive experience in the construction industry and our trust in them to provide effective assistance on such high stakes type cases. Paul Varela is a top-notch lawyer with expertise in all facets of construction litigation. He is aggressive but mindful of the desired outcome and budget. He is our first stop for all construction litigation both nationally and internationally. No matter the size of the dispute, he is always responsive, efficient, well prepared, and extremely effective at handling a multitude of complex issues, specifically related to delay and disruption claims. I highly recommend Paul and Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino when it comes to construction law, litigation or international arbitration. In addition to Paul, we routinely use Bennett Lee, Joe Guarino, Chris Burke and Nick Merrill on complex construction litigation matters. They are all outstanding litigators and among the first people I call with a dispute or question. They are a go-to law firm for construction disputes and litigation."

"Our construction firm has used Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino extensively for years now in support of our operations across the US. We have found them to be an extremely cost-effective partner for us who excels at analyzing the sometimes-confusing facts that tend to underlie complex construction disputes and rendering practical, well-reasoned advice and analysis. And while VLMG has the resources to make us feel confident having them handle 8-figure claims, they can also be very efficient at providing support on smaller matters for which there is not much budget for attorney fees."

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Tysons Corner, VA, United States, November 1, 2019 -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, for the 10th consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2020 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms":

  • National Tier 1
    • Construction Law
    • Litigation - Construction
  • Metropolitan Tier 1
    • San Francisco
      • Construction Law
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Construction Law
      • Litigation - Construction

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been ranked in the 2020 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list nationally in 2 practice areas and regionally in 3 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2020 Edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2020 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 127 metropolitan-based practice areas.

Selected Client Comments

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino have distinguished themselves as a leader in the construction legal world. They possess an incredible depth of construction industry knowledge which combined with exceptional legal skills make them a valued business partner. Further, we routinely choose Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino to assist with highly technical and bet-the-company type cases primarily because of their extensive experience in the construction industry and our trust in them to provide effective assistance on such high stakes type cases. Paul Varela is a top-notch lawyer with expertise in all facets of construction litigation. He is aggressive but mindful of the desired outcome and budget. He is our first stop for all construction litigation both nationally and internationally. No matter the size of the dispute, he is always responsive, efficient, well prepared, and extremely effective at handling a multitude of complex issues, specifically related to delay and disruption claims. I highly recommend Paul and Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino when it comes to construction law, litigation or international arbitration. In addition to Paul, we routinely use Bennett Lee, Joe Guarino, Chris Burke and Nick Merrill on complex construction litigation matters. They are all outstanding litigators and among the first people I call with a dispute or question. They are a go-to law firm for construction disputes and litigation."

"Our construction firm has used Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino extensively for years now in support of our operations across the US. We have found them to be an extremely cost-effective partner for us who excels at analyzing the sometimes-confusing facts that tend to underlie complex construction disputes and rendering practical, well-reasoned advice and analysis. And while VLMG has the resources to make us feel confident having them handle 8-figure claims, they can also be very efficient at providing support on smaller matters for which there is not much budget for attorney fees."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino's lawyers are meticulous and have high capability to comprehend complex facts and technical matters with respect to construction (and they are very good at explaining them in ways easy to understand). I want to emphasize that VLMG's technique of cross-examination is first-class and without peer. VLMG successfully elicited a lot of testimony favorable to [us] from the counterpart's witnesses."

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Tysons Corner, VA, United States, November 1, 2018 -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, for the ninth consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings.

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP received the following rankings in the 2019 U.S. News – Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms":

  • National Tier 1
    • Litigation - Construction
  • Regional Tier 1
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Litigation - Construction
  • Regional Tier 2
    • San Francisco
      • Construction Law

Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP has been ranked in the 2019 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list nationally in 2 practice areas and regionally in 3 practice areas.

Firms included in the 2019 "Best Law Firms" list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2019 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 75 national practice areas and 122 metropolitan-based practice areas.

Ranked firms, presented in tiers, are listed on a national and/or metropolitan scale. Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.

Selected Client Comments

"Our company has a long relationship with Varela Lee.  They have successfully handled numerous large, complex, high-exposure matters for us, and have done so with with great skill and professionalism.   I highly recommend their excellent lawyers for construction/design professional liability cases."

"Great strategists.  They understand the importance of thorough preparation while adhering to budgets.  I would trust them with any of my construction advice or litigation needs."

"Top notch lawyers with expertise in all facets of construction litigation.  Aggressive but attuned to client's desired outcomes and not focused purely on their own litigation win.  First stop for all construction litigation nationally."

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U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers has recognized Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP in 2018 "Best Law Firms" rankings nationally and for the Washington, D.C. metro area in the practice areas of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction.  Each year, the publication recognizes firms based on performance in legal practice areas as reported by clients, as well as feedback from peer practice area attorneys at other firms and information provided to U.S. News - Best Lawyers as part of its annual law firm rankings survey.

Selected Client Comments

"As a former managing attorney for large engineering and construction companies, Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino has been my "go to" firm for construction litigation and disputes.  I have retained Paul Varela and his firm for litigation and disputes involving national and international projects.  The amounts in dispute have often exceeded $10 million and much larger amounts.  The firm has a superb understanding of the engineering and construction business and exhibits broad depth of experience and knowledge."

"Varela, Lee, Metz, & Guarino focuses upon the engineering and construction industry and, as a result, is able to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to complex matters, as well as practical solutions to business disputes. Their attorneys are seasoned litigators who can advocate vigorously and effectively. I recommend them highly."

"I have worked with Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino attorneys on several important construction law matters over the years.  They are knowledgeable, responsive, and easy to work with.  I recommend them highly."

 "Joseph (Joe) Guarino of Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino is a terrific litigator. He has excellent instincts, is very sharp, and is great at spotting issues. He is an extremely zealous advocate. Joe is among the very best at deposing and examining witnesses. He is a fantastic bargain for such high quality work."

 "Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino is extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of the construction industry. They understand and are responsive to the client's needs and do not just apply the litigation playbook. They think outside the box."

"Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino treats both large and small with the same level of intensity and economy. The firm is cognizant of the business needs of the client and is always looking for ways to obtain the maximum leverage to maneuver a case into settlement whenever possible."

"I have worked with several members of Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino and have received excellent advice and prompt service from each of them."

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U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers has recognized Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP in 2017 "Best Law Firms" rankings nationally and for the Washington, D.C. metro area in the practice areas of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction.  Each year, the publication recognizes firms based on performance in legal practice areas as reported by clients, as well as feedback from peer practice area attorneys at other firms and information provided to U.S. News - Best Lawyers as part of its annual law firm rankings survey.

Selected Client Comments

"VLMG are great litigators because they understand the disputes thoroughly and communicate the critical issues in an easy-to-understand manner."

"Joe Guarino is a terrific litigator. He is extremely bright, tenacious, and has great instincts. His services are an excellent value."

"VLMG attorneys are strategic thinkers that know contract law and the businesses in which their construction owner, engineer and contractor clients operate."

"Bennett Lee of Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino is very intelligent, diligent, and responsive. He obtained excellent results for our company."

"The Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino team has a deep bench of responsive and aggressive construction law practitioners. I know that I will be in good hands with their team and that they will be responsive and aggressive as required to get the matter to the finish line." 

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Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino was named by U.S. News - Best Lawyers as a "Best Law Firm" for 2016, achieving rankings both nationally and in the Washington, D.C. metro area in the categories of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction.
 

Selected Client Comments

Litigation - Construction

"The lawyers at Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino are all seasoned construction litigators that understand the particular nuances of construction disputes, of which there are many."

Construction Law
 
"The Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino law firm is exceptionally knowledgeable in all facets of construction law; successfully advising my company on several matters before they matured into disputes. The partners have so much collective experience that, as a client, you know that your issue is being handled correctly, efficiently and with the input of many experienced lawyers."
 
Firms included in the 2016 U.S. News Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms listing are recognized for professional excellence, quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. Based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process, the listing honors firms that have consistently received impressive ratings from clients and peers.
 
Awards were given in 74 practice areas, while as many as 120 practice areas were covered on the metropolitan lists. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have a lawyer listed inThe Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top four percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S.
 
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Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino was ranked in the 2015 Edition of U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" Nationally and for the Washington, D.C. Metro Area in the areas of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction.

The U.S.News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process. To be eligible for a ranking in a particular practice area and metro region, a law firm must have at least one lawyer who is included in Best Lawyers in that particular practice area and metro.

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