McGuireWoods pro bono director and counsel Angie Zimmern earned the honor of Attorney of the Year in the 2025 Southeastern Legal Awards, presented by The Daily Report, an American Lawyer Media publication. Winners of the awards — which cover a seven-state area including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee — were announced at a May 1, 2025, ceremony in Atlanta and featured in a special section of The Daily Report.
Zimmern, based in Charlotte, devises and executes pro bono initiatives recognized nationally for innovation and impact. Under her leadership, the firm has twice won the Pro Bono Institute’s Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award for collaborating with corporate legal departments to provide pro bono legal assistance to underserved populations in communities where McGuireWoods has offices.
The award-winning programs include Charlotte Triage, a collaboration led by McGuireWoods, Bank of America, Duke Energy, Moore & Van Allen, and Wells Fargo to address critical legal needs for the most vulnerable members of the Charlotte community. Zimmern is a member of the Charlotte Triage task force, which includes representatives of the program’s corporate partners and legal aid organizations.
“I am honored to receive this recognition and be part of this wonderful awards program,” Zimmern said. “This is a tribute to the value McGuireWoods places in pro bono service and the collaborative efforts of our lawyers and clients to make a positive difference in our communities.”
Zimmern is the second McGuireWoods winner of the Attorney of the Year award. Raleigh partner Jonathan Ellis — co-leader of the firm’s Appeals & Issues Practice Group — won the honor in 2023.
McGuireWoods managing partner J. Tracy Walker IV said: “Angie’s leadership and passion for pro bono service enable us to develop innovative programs that expand access to justice and serve the most vulnerable in our communities. We congratulate her on this well-deserved honor.”
Two McGuireWoods lawyers were named finalists in the Southeastern Legal Awards program. Partner Brian Kahn managing partner of McGuireWoods’ Charlotte office, was a finalist for Managing Partner of the Year. Kahn assisted the firm’s Charlotte office and McGuireWoods colleagues throughout the country in coordinating help for North Carolina communities ravaged by Hurricane Helene in 2024. With Kahn’s guidance and support, volunteers from the Charlotte office delivered essential items such as baby formula, water and pet food to affected communities.
Raleigh associate Jessica Blau was a finalist for Most Promising Newcomer. She advises clients on private equity and corporate transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions. She also handles healthcare private equity deals, notably assisting on the 2024 sale of one of the largest orthopedic-focused management companies in the nation.