Law 2024: VICTOR O. CARDWELL

A native of Lynchburg, Cardwell was chair of the board of directors of Roanoke law firm Woods Rogers in 2022, a position he held onto after the merger of his firm and Norfolk’s Vandeventer Black that year.

Cardwell, who became the first Black president of the Virginia Bar Association in 2022, continues as a leader at the state’s fifth largest law firm, which shortened its name from Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black back to the original Woods Rogers in May. 

After graduating from the University of Virginia, where he played football, Cardwell went to Washington and Lee for law school. Following graduation, he worked as deputy associate chief counsel with the U.S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board before going to work at Woods Rogers in 1991. 

In his practice, Cardwell advises executives and human resources managers on issues, including harassment, sexual orientation and gender identity, retaliation and discrimination. He also provides guidance on topics including workforce reductions, unfair competition and union-organizing campaigns. 

In 2019, Cardwell was selected for the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice honor awarded by Roanoke’s chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.