2013 Legal Elite profile: Business Law

George H. “Skip”  Roberts Jr.

Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver PLC
Harrisonburg/Lexington

Title:  Of Counsel
Other legal specialties: Nonprofit organizations, estate planning, family office management
Birthplace: Fort Lee
Education: Virginia Military Institute, bachelor’s degree; University of Virginia School of Law, law degree
Spouse: Kay Temple Roberts
Children: Sarah K. Kaiser, Anne R. Smith
Hobbies or pastimes: Fly fishing, hiking and reading
First job as a lawyer: Associate, Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver
Fan of:  Track
Favorite vacation spot: The Tetons
Recently read book: Richard Atkinson’s “The Guns at Last Light”
Career mentors: George S. Aldhizer II, George Aldhizer Jr. and Phillip C. Stone

How can the legal environment for business in Virginia be improved?
“While the legal demands for business require more and more specialization, the costs of such concentration are often beyond the reach of many, if not most, businesses in Virginia. This can be improved by developing more broadly trained business lawyers, sufficiently well versed in the wide-ranging specialties of the law to know when the specialists are truly needed and then to manage their engagements to give our clients truly cost-effective legal representation.”

Why did you leave private practice to become executive vice president and general counsel to the VMI Foundation in the 1990s?
“When VMI calls, you just don’t say ‘no.’ This was a rare opportunity to give something back to a school which has meant so much to me and my career. My partners at WAW could not have been more supportive. To have been at VMI during its litigation over and response to the admission of women will be the highlight of my legal career. This experience also shows how a broad-based practice may open up unexpected opportunities for public service and new careers.”

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