Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that members Joseph (Joe) A. Fernandez and Valecia M. McDowell have been named to Lawyers of Color’s fifth Power List, which is presented with the support of the Diverse Partners Network. Honorees will be formally recognized at a reception in Washington, D.C. on February 26 and also profiled in Lawyers of Color’s forthcoming Power Issue.
The Power List was established to recognize influential minority attorneys and allies. Included on the list are general counsel, managing partners, and law school deans, as well as legal media and nonprofit leaders. Lawyers of Color is a 501(c)(3) devoted to promoting diversity in the legal profession and advancing democracy and equality in marginalized communities.
Fernandez is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and co-head of MVA’s Corporate team. He represents independent energy companies, financial institutions and private equity groups in complex transactional matters involving the financing and transfer of electric generating facilities and other infrastructure projects located around the country. He counsels sponsors and developers of natural gas-fired and solar energy electric generating facilities in the development and construction of new facilities. Fernandez also has substantial experience structuring, negotiating and documenting various energy commodity and other hedging transactions involving financial derivative and physically settled products for electric generating facilities. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas, Inc.
McDowell is also a member of MVA’s Management Committee and co-head of the firm's White Collar, Regulatory Defense and Investigations practice. She has more than 20 years of experience conducting investigations, performing platform-wide gap assessments, and defending lawsuits on behalf of financial services clients, with a particular focus on conduct risk management matters. McDowell has represented clients in matters involving the Fed, OCC, CFPB, DOJ, SEC, HUD, FINRA, CFTC, Congress, State Attorneys General, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Japanese Financial Services Agency (JFSA), and the Banco Central do Brasil (the Central Bank of Brazil), among others. She has been recognized by Chambers Partners USA, Best Lawyers in America, Litigation Counsel of America, and others for excellence in the practice of law. McDowell has served as a guest instructor at Duke University School of Law on the topic of “Internal Investigations” (2016-2018) and published articles in Corporate Compliance, Westlaw Journal Derivatives, American Banker, InsideCounsel.com, Bloomberg Law Reports and other publications.
About Moore & Van Allen
Moore & Van Allen PLLC (www.mvalaw.com), founded in 1950, has more than 300 attorneys. Ranked in the prestigious “Am Law 200” list, Moore & Van Allen has offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. The attorneys at Moore & Van Allen provide sophisticated legal services within their nationally recognized Litigation, Corporate, Finance, Intellectual Property and Real Estate law practices for international banks and manufacturers, energy leaders, and growing healthcare and technology companies. U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers recognized Moore & Van Allen in their 2020 “Best Law Firms” rankings, both regionally and nationally.
