Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.

Title: Founder and managing attorney

Other legal specialties: Business and corporate law, commercial contracts and leasing, personal injury 

Education: Bachelor’s degree, George Mason University; law degree, Penn State Dickinson Law

Family: My beautiful, amazing and bada** parents, Khom Soc and Thanh H. Ly, as well as my sister, Soriya Walker, nephew, Ezra, and nieces, Micah, Mikaila and Joelle. I am a “bachelorette” currently seeking the right person to try and start a family of our own.

Career mentors: Too many to name them all but from Randy Ogg and Peter Grenier, the first lawyers I ever worked for as a paralegal at a “well-oiled machine” personal injury firm, to Jamel Rowe, a phenomenal domestic relations attorney with whom I worked side by side gaining tremendous courtroom and highly contested case experience, to Tonya Penn and Tori Bramble, fellow women of color law firm owners, to Andrea Bryk, another amazing woman warrior law firm owner, to retired Judge Lorraine Nordlund and Judge John Tran, who have kindly and graciously been litigation, general career and life mentors, I have been tremendously blessed.

TV show I’d recommend: “Life Below Zero,” a National Geographic documentary series about subsistence hunters making a living in remote parts of Alaska

How does being a second-generation American influence you as an attorney? Being a second-generation American informs my belief in the core American values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Navigating different home and societal cultures and expectations equipped me with more patience, empathy and compassion and also trained me as a cultural bridge, helping to find and/or create solutions to meet complex goals among diverse individuals that foster growth and mutual respect. 

What do you find most satisfying about estates and trusts work? Helping clients attain peace of mind by guiding them through the complexities of estate and succession planning, ensuring the future of their assets, businesses and families are protected and well cared for. I call it “happy law” because I help them to proactively avoid and/or solve conflicts and problems before they arise rather than duke it out after a conflict arises.

Read all of the 2024 Virginia Legal Elite here.

Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.

Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.

Title: Associate attorney

Legal specialties: Commercial litigation, government and special investigations, regulatory compliance

Education: Bachelor’s degree in psychology, University of Texas at Austin; law degree, University of Richmond

Family: I live in Floyd with my husband, Alex Wood, who works as a dentist at a local community health center, and our beagle, Ruby.

Career mentors: I feel lucky to have many mentors across my career so far. In law school, Professors Rachel Suddarth and Carl Tobias provided valuable perspective and encouragement as I explored different career paths. I learned so much during my year clerking with Judge Thomas Cullen through his mentorship and example. Now, at Woods Rogers, I work alongside so many incredible mentors, like Ben Rottenborn, Patice Holland, Mike Hastings, Chip Casola and Justin Simmons, who have all given me great guidance, opportunity and trust, for which I am grateful.

Favorite place you’ve traveled: This is a tie between Costa Rica and Peru for me. I traveled to Costa Rica as a high schooler and then had the pleasure of taking a group of high schoolers back to Costa Rica in my former life as a teacher. I traveled to Peru in college with a good friend and we completed the Inca trail hike to Machu Picchu!

Bingeworthy TV show: I am generally terrible at keeping up with new shows and prefer to rewatch my old favorites. For example, I love rewatching “Gilmore Girls” each fall.

What do you do for fun outside of work? I love to do just about anything outside. We live in a great area for kayaking and hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have been attempting to teach myself piano too, but that is a work in progress.

What was the most valuable experience you had during law school, and how does it affect your work today? My judicial internships and externships were some of the most valuable experiences that I had during law school. They provided a great opportunity to see how different attorneys practice, confront various legal questions, and engage with the judges and my fellow interns to analyze legal issues.

Read all of the 2024 Virginia Legal Elite here.

Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.

Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.

Title: Shareholder

Other legal specialties: Commercial and real estate litigation

Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, University of Michigan; law degree, George Washington University

Family: A large extended family throughout the District of Columbia and the Tidewater area

Career mentors: Too many to name. They all provided me with opportunities to get out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to simultaneously take what I do seriously and remain humble.

Your dream client: One who takes my advice and trusts that I am working in [his or her] best [interest].

Bingeworthy TV show: “Yellowstone” or “The Wire”

Did Virginia banning pay-if-paid clauses impact your practice? Yes. There was definitely an increased need for amending contracts and educating clients about contract negotiations.

What has your work taught you about relationships? The importance of trusting others, being able to work collaboratively, understanding that there is more than one way to accomplish a goal, acceptance and being able to give and receive support.

Will the new presidential administration impact construction law?  Absolutely, depending on the regulations that will undoubtedly be enacted or removed, policies will be implemented that will affect the agreements [between] contractors and owners …  Those agreements will have a direct [impact] on who can be hired to work on projects as well as benefits that must be offered to construction workers. Those issues will increase the need for counsel to ensure that parties appreciate what may be a very different landscape under which construction occurs in the United States.

Read all of the 2024 Virginia Legal Elite here.

Legal Elite 2024 Q&A is sponsored content.