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 attorneys and recovered $1 billion.

Breit represented plaintiffs in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia in a decadelong national lawsuit against Chinese drywall manufacturer Taishan Gypsum, which settled for $248 million in 2019.

Following the May 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Breit distributed more than $4 million to affected families through the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund.

In March, Breit joined the legal team representing Abby Zwerner, the Newport News elementary school teacher shot by a 6-year-old student in January.

Breit is a past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, as well as a member of the Virginia Poverty Law Center’s Advisory Council. He’s also an adjunct professor of law at William & Mary Law School.

MOST VALUED POSSESSION: My father’s watch

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: In negotiations, always learn what the other side needs for success.