Meet an Alumnus: William J. McGinley

William J. McGinley, JD '97
Partner, Jones Day 

William "Bill" McGinley, Chair of the Steering Committee for the Political Law Studies Initiative (PLSI), credits his success to his education at The George Washington University Law School, saying "GW Law is a great institution, a leader in the field, and one of the leading voices in law."

As a nationally recognized law school, GW Law provided him with opportunities that he would not have gotten elsewhere. For instance, the campus’ proximity to the power centers in Washington enabled Bill to clerk for the Republic National Committee (RNC) during his 1L summer and continue his involvement throughout law school. Throughout his time with the RNC, he caught the "political bug," as he covered the 1996 presidential election, learned the nuts and bolts of democracy, and further developed the skills he was learning in his law school classes.

Bill always appreciated the quality of GW Law faculty and the classes that were offered, especially Constitutional Law, Evidence, Criminal Procedure and Torts. Jonathan Turley taught his first law school class and soon became one of his favorite professors.

After graduation, Bill first served as Deputy General Counsel to the RNC, where he instructed state and local political parties and candidates on campaign finance and ballot access. He also held the role of counsel to the RNC Standing Committee on Rules, a group that suggests rules for both the Republican Party and a selection of national convention delegates.

Afterwards, Bill became General Counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), where he assisted on similar election law issues. Afterwards, he joined Patton Boggs, counseling federal and state candidates, political action committees, donors, political vendors, and advocacy organizations on matters of political law. Bill recently became partner at Jones Day, representing members of Congress, candidates, and corporations in investigations before the Office of Congressional Ethics and the House and Senate Ethics Committees. He also advises corporations regarding the design and implementation of political law compliance programs and candidates, political party committees, and outside groups regarding election law issues.

Bill's interests lie in the evolving nature of the political law field. Actively participating in alumni development activities, he was eager to join the PLSI Steering Committee as its chairman. In addition to events and outreach, PLSI also seeks to facilitate dialogue among policymakers, practitioners, and academics to discuss ideas, develop the political law field, and create bipartisan professional networks. Bill enjoys connecting with students and credits his rewarding career to GW Law's influential faculty and prominence in Washington, DC.