This year was a Rewarding and challenging one for Washington Gas and for Leslie Thornton, general counsel of Washington Gas and its parent company, WGL Holdings Inc. The company handled a $6.4 billion merger, defense of an EEOC employment suit and braced for a crucial decision by the National Transportation Safety Board.

With a staff of 18 attorneys—five have more than 30 years of experience each—and 10 legal support staff, Washington Gas handles about 80 percent of its legal work in-house, Thornton said.