Kaufman & Canoles names executive director

Chris Smythe has been named executive director of Kaufman & Canoles, the Norfolk-headquartered law firm announced Monday.

In the role, Smythe will oversee the day-to-day operations of the firm and report directly to Jason R. Davis, its president and CEO.

Previously, Smythe was president of Tycon Medical Systems, a Norfolk home medical equipment and complex rehab supplier, according to his LinkedIn page. He joined that company in 2009. Smythe also worked as vice president of content at TotalVid.com, an aggregator and on-demand distributor of instructional video content, and as new ventures director for what was then Landmark Communications.

After earning a law degree from the University of Virginia, Smythe clerked for Judge John A. MacKenzie in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and later practiced law at Parker Poe in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2001, Smythe earned an MBA from U.Va.

“Chris has strong skills in all aspects of running a business, and as a former attorney has an understanding of lawyers and the law firm environment,” Davis said in a statement.

Created by the merger of two law firms in 1982, Kaufman & Canoles has offices in Chesapeake, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Tysons, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg, and in Raleigh, North Carolina.