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Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino has once again been recommended by the Legal 500 United States as a top firm in the Construction practice area for 2017. Moreover, the guide highlighted the firm’s founding partners Paul Varela, Bennett Lee, Todd Metz, and Joe Guarino for their work.  

The Legal 500 guide noted VLMG’s reputation for handling “bet-the-company litigation,” and recognizes that VLMG clients hailed the firm for its “business-minded, practical and experienced lawyers” and “successful litigators, who are very cost effective.” To see full rankings, click here.   

About the Legal 500 Series The Legal 500 Series is widely acknowledged as the world’s largest legal referral guide. More than 250,000 corporate counsel have been surveyed and interviewed globally in the past 12 months. The Legal 500 is an independent guide, and firms and individuals are recommended purely on merit. The Legal 500 Series' analysis of law firm capabilities extends to 107 jurisdictions worldwide. The website www.legal500.com has 4 million unique individual users each year, including 2.5 million corporate counsel. Used by commercial and private clients, corporate counsel, CEOs, CFOs and professional advisers - as well as by other referrers of work both nationally and internationally - the series is widely chosen for its definitive judgement of law firm capabilities.

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Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino has been once again been recognized in the Chambers USA guide in the “Construction” category. The 2017 guide describes VLMG as a firm that is widely respected by clients, who note a “deep bench of skilled and experienced construction lawyers” who "always provide a timely and thorough response." VLMG was also praised for being a "very client-focused” firm that “strives to provide quality service for a fair and reasonable fee." VLMG is ranked as a top firm Nationwide, “Band 1” in Virginia, and a “Noted Firm” in California.  

To identify and rank the world’s best lawyers and law firms, Chambers and Partners, a UK-based research and publishing group, employs a team of more than 140 full-time researchers to conduct an in-depth assessment of recent work and extensive interviews.  When asked about VLMG, one such interviewee stated, “The service and results that I have obtained with this firm have been top-notch. I would rank them in the top echelon of the firms that I have dealt with who are experts in construction and surety law."    

Chambers and Partners also once again recognized Paul Varela, Bennett Lee, and Todd Metz for their individual achievements.  As described by Chambers:

Paul Varela is a highly regarded construction practitioner who is known for his work on both contentious and non-contentious construction matters. He is praised for his advocacy, with one interviewee saying: "an excellent lead counsel," describing him as "calm in the eye of the storm" and noting that he "inspires trust and confidence."  

Bennett Lee is a highly regarded construction litigator. Commentators describe him as "very sharp, intelligent and proactive," noting his "very good judgment" and "good legal strategy capabilities."  

Todd Metz "has consistently provided keen advice against tight deadlines, and his experience on complex construction contract issues has been a true asset for us," according to Chambers interviewees. He focuses on construction-related disputes and regularly works on matters relating to projects in the USA and abroad.   

Finally, Joseph Guarino and Christopher Burke are listed as “recognised practitioners” in Virginia.  

To view the 2017 Chambers USA rankings in their entirety, click on the links below:  

Construction - California

Construction - Nationwide

Construction - Virginia

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For the second consecutive year, Varela, Lee, Metz & Guarino, LLP is pleased to announce its nomination for the Chambers USA Awards 2017 Award for Excellence in the category of Construction.  Only five law firms in the United States received this prestigious nomination.

Founded in 2014, VLMG also holds the distinction of being the newest firm nominated in any of the 23 practice areas. “To be nominated for this award in two of our three years of existence as a firm is a tremendous honor,” Virginia Partner Paul Varela said. 

San Francisco Partner Bennett Lee recognized, “VLMG sincerely appreciates the feedback provided by our clients, with whom we are business partners, which allowed us to secure this honor.”

“We have great respect for the other nominated firms, and are proud to be recognized among them,” added Virginia Partner Todd Metz.

“We view this nomination as recognition for every member of the VLMG Team who implements our unique vision of client service on a daily basis,” said Virginia Partner Joe Guarino.

Chambers shall announce the award on May 25th in New York City. These awards are based on research conducted for the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and shine a spotlight on firms that have excelled above all others in the U.S. legal market, reflecting pre-eminence in key practice areas and notable achievements, including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.  

Chambers and Partners, a London-based publisher, selects leading firms and lawyers by researching firms and lawyers for each state, in over twenty areas of commercial law. To identify and rank the world’s best lawyers and law firms, Chambers and Partners’ team of more than 140 full-time researchers conduct an in-depth assessment of recent work and extensive interviews to identify and assess the firm’s legal abilities, professional conduct, client service, diligence, commitment and other qualities most valued by clients.

The USA Guide was first published in 2003. To learn more about Chambers’ methodology, visit http://www.chambersandpartners.com.

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