Sign In
Free Newsletter
Law 2023: T. VADEN WARREN JR.
A personal injury attorney since 1997, Warren is the 2023-24 president and chairman of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, a professional organization for litigators statewide, offering advocacy and education. In addition to having served on the VTLA’s board for several years, Warren founded his Charlottesville firm in 2009. Previously, he was a founding partner of […]
Law 2023: MELANIE D. WILSON
Dean of Washington and Lee University’s law school since July 2022, Wilson is a prolific writer and author who also holds the Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professorship in Law. Her experience spans multiple schools, states and awards: She was an associate professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and a visiting professor at William & […]
Law 2023: WILLIAM R. ‘BILL’ VAN BUREN III
Growing up in a family that formerly owned the Daily Press newspaper in Newport News, Van Buren learned to manage a wide variety of challenges. From canyoning in the Swiss Alps to negotiating complex mergers, he’s always enjoyed learning new skills, although Van Buren says he “still gets the shakes” when he looks at the […]
Law 2023: JEFFREY A. BREIT
A personal injury lawyer, Breit has represented plaintiffs in several prominent lawsuits. In 2010, a federal judge appointed Breit to the 15-lawyer plaintiff steering committee for the consolidated BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill lawsuits. Breit oversaw the case against Halliburton, which settled its portion for $1.24 billion. Alabama also retained Breit as one of its […]
Law 2023: ROBERT ‘BOB’ TATA
As a young naval officer, Tata navigated across the Atlantic and back using only celestial navigation. Today, he navigates the Norfolk office of Hunton Andrews Kurth, an $830 million law firm with 435 employees in Virginia and 1,619 employees worldwide. Tata received his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy (where he set 17 records […]
Law 2023: FARHAD AGHDAMI
Aghdami’s practice focuses chiefly on tax planning for wealth transfer, business succession planning and fiduciary litigation. His client list is wide and varied, including individuals and families with high net worth, middle-market business owners, charities and others. Williams Mullen is one of Virginia’s largest firms and employs 360 people in the commonwealth. Aghdami, who joined [[...]
Law 2023: THE HON. S. BERNARD GOODWYN
Born in 1961 in Southampton County, Goodwyn was appointed to the state bench by Gov. Tim Kaine in 2007 to fill the court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy. In 2021, he was elected chief justice for a four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2022, filling the vacancy created when Chief Justice […]
Law 2023: LAURA FOOTE REIFF
A longtime immigration advocate, Reiff has 30-plus years of experience representing businesses and organizations in the immigration and compliance field. She oversees more than 50 attorneys as co-managing shareholder of the firm’s Northern Virginia office, a regional hub for the global firm. She is also co-founder of Greenberg Traurig’s Business and Immigration and Compliance group, [&[...]
Law 2023: A. BENJAMIN SPENCER
In 2020, Spencer became the first Black dean to lead William & Mary Law School. A year later, he was awarded the Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation Trustee Professorship. He previously held professorships and academic appointments at Harvard Law School, University of Chicago Law School, University of Virginia School of Law and others. Spencer started his […]
Keeping their own counsel
Of the 1.3 million attorneys practicing in the United States — more than 35,500 of them licensed to practice in Virginia — the American Bar Association reports that more than half are based at law firms, while only about 10% serve as in-house general counsels. That disparity is not because general counsel jobs are unwanted […]
Law 2023: BROOKS M. SMITH
A leader in the energy and environmental law arena, Smith has been employed at the national law firm since 2013, after co-chairing Hunton Andrews Kurth‘s global environmental practice. Named managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Richmond office in 2019, he specializes in litigation, enforcement defense, project development and compliance counseling. Smith also serves as water and [&hel[...]
