News

Richmond Spotlight: Dale Mullen, Co-Chair, Corporate & Securities

Date: December 30, 2025
As Co-Chair of Whiteford's Corporate & Securities Law Section, Dale Mullen leads a team that includes former attorneys general, Special Assistant United States Attorneys, regulatory board veterans and federal law clerks. Together, they defend clients against regulatory enforcement and, in doing so, have built a track record of anticipating regulatory shifts and helping shape the rules themselves. It is an approach that has attracted Fortune 500 companies, REITs, nonprofits, manufacturers, data centers, investment advisors, private equity and emerging technology leaders who understand that traditional legal strategies can fail against sophisticated regulatory challenges.

"Many firms react to enforcement," Mullen observes. "We work preventively to build trust and add value to render enforcement unnecessary. When prevention isn't possible, we have the corporate, litigation and appellate experience to respond efficiently, effectively and economically.”

Mullen points to a list of recent, representative successes:
  • Zero penalties in a state environmental crisis that threatened coastal economies.
  • Dismissal or successful resolution of numerous violations alleged under clean air, clean water, solid waste, federal chemical and product regulation, and state waste and recycling law.
  • Dismissal of a multi-million dollar FDA-recall-based international arbitration.
  • Assistance in facilitating $16 billion in data center infrastructure investments in a single county in Virginia.
  • Dismissal without hearing in a Texas State Securities Board enforcement action.

"Building trust and adding value means working with clients and regulators across time. Clients come to us for routine compliance. They also come when the stakes couldn't be higher—when regulatory action threatens everything they've built. That's when the trust and value we build matters most."

Mr. Mullen previously served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Special Assistant United States Attorney, county attorney and general counsel for an airport. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Virginia Board of Accountancy. His work has earned him recognition from Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Virginia Business and Virginia Lawyers Weekly. He received his law degree from the University of Richmond and an MBA from the University of Illinois and teaches classes at the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University.
About Whiteford: Whiteford provides a comprehensive range of business law and litigation services to clients ranging from innovative start-ups to middle market companies to Fortune 100 enterprises. With a growing East Coast footprint that includes offices in Delaware, D.C., Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia, we serve clients regionally, nationally and internationally.