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Environmental Law 2022

Candace A. Blydenburgh
McGuireWoods LLP
Richmond

Brian L. Buniva
B.L. Buniva Strategic Advisor PLLC
Richmond

Clayton T. Burns
Dominion Energy Inc.
Richmond

Patrick A. Genzler
Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC
Norfolk

Lisa Spickler Goodwin
Hirschler Fleischer
Richmond

Harry M. “Pete” Johnson III
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Richmond

Dan Jordanger
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Richmond

John Lain
Wire Gill LLP
Richmond

James T. Lang
Pender & Coward PC
Virginia Beach

Stewart Leeth
 Inc.
Smithfield

Channing J. Martin
Williams Mullen
Richmond

David B. Oakley
Poole Brooke Plumlee PC
Virginia Beach

Bryan Scott Peeples
Pender & Coward PC
Virginia Beach

John Bryan Plumlee
Poole Brooke Plumlee PC
Virginia Beach

Henry R. “Speaker” Pollard V
Williams Mullen
Richmond

Joe Romero
Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC
Norfolk

Brooks M. Smith
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Richmond

Heather Nixon Stevenson
McGuireWoods LLP
Richmond

Daniel C. Summerlin III
Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC
Roanoke

David H. Sump
Willcox & Savage PC
Norfolk

James A. Thornhill
Wire Gill LLP
Richmond

Dennis H. Treacy
Reed Smith LLP
Richmond

Maxwell H. Wiegard
Gentry Locke Attorneys
Roanoke

Andrea Wortzel
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Richmond

Read the 23rd edition of the Virginia Business Legal Elite here.

Read the Environmental Law Q&A here.

2022 Construction Law Q&A

Petty, Livingston, Dawson & Richards PC, Lynchburg

Title: President (sadly, the title came with neither a scepter nor a cape) and shareholder

Other legal specialties: Comedy … or not. Construction law encompasses construction defects, professional design liability, bond claims and public contracts.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, William & Mary; law degree, George Mason University

Family: Wife Amy Miles Kowalski (the smarter Kowalski lawyer at PLDR) and our four wonderful kids: Kate (22, W&M alumna), Lily (20, junior at Christopher Newport University), Evie (18, freshman at Central Virginia College) and Graham (15, high school sophomore)

Career mentors: Bob Watt, Carter Reid and Kathy Barnes at Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald LLP and Jim Richards and Ed Dawson at PLDR. Each has provided wonderful examples and sage guidance in my (gulp) 27-year legal career.

Fan of: Tennis (playing and watching my son play) and running our 5-acre “farmlet” (gardens, chickens)

First : Yard man/handy man (self-employed), Kings Island Restaurant (Lynchburg) busboy

What recent developments in Virginia construction and contracts law have changed the field? The last five years have seen a great deal more construction-related legislation than I can recall from my earlier career — the addition of a statute of limitations on state work, restrictions on waivers of lien rights, wage-theft bills and, most recently, restrictions on
pay-if-paid provisions.

What drew you to construction law? I worked construction jobs on summer and other breaks and decided to combine that interest with my interest in law. Through the kind efforts of the late Judge Terry Ney, I was able to start my construction law career at Watt Tieder.

Read the 23rd edition of the Virginia Business Legal Elite here.

Read the complete 2022  list of Construction Law here.

The 23rd edition of the Virginia Business Legal Elite

Launched in cooperation with the Virginia Bar Association in 2000, Virginia Business’ polls lawyers licensed to practice in Virginia each year, asking them to identify which of their peers are the top attorneys across 20 categories of legal specialties.

In compiling the Legal Elite, Virginia Business contacted more than 14,000 attorneys and more than 50 law firms, directing them to a balloting website, which was available only during the annual voting period.

This year’s Legal Elite categories include a total of 1,431 lawyers, 25.3% of the 5,649 attorneys who were nominated by their peers this year. Attorneys cast 1,670 ballots, making 28,474 separate votes across all 20 legal specialty categories.

Virginia Business also profiles a representative from each legal category.

The 18 attorneys who have appeared in all 23 editions are listed. Ten are from Central Virginia, while five are based in Hampton Roads and three are in Northern Virginia. Notably, this year saw two long-term honorees fall off the list due to their retirements: Conrad M. Shumadine with Willcox & Savage PC in Norfolk and Ralph M. Tener with McCandlish Lillard PC in Fairfax.

Two firms are well-represented in this list of 23-year honorees, with three attorneys each. Willcox & Savage has Allan G. Donn, William M. Furr and Thomas G. Johnson Jr. Williams Mullen also has three long-term honorees: William D. Bayliss and Calvin W. “Woody” Fowler Jr., who are based in Richmond, and Thomas R. Frantz, the firm’s chairman emeritus, in Virginia Beach.  

The long haul: The 18 lawyers who have made the list every year since 2000

Smart growth: At 100, Gentry Locke sticks to its ideals

Click on category to see complete list and profile.

 

 

Technomics to add 150 jobs in Arlington

Government contracting firm Technomics Inc. is investing $1.7 million to expand its Arlington headquarters and add 150 , announced Tuesday.

Technomics is an employee-owned consulting firm that specializes offers a variety of analytics services for federal and international government clients. The company will lease an additional 10,000 square feet at 1225 South Clark St. to increase its capacity to slightly more than 40,000 square feet, and the company is already pursuing the addition of 10,000 more square feet, Thomas Oettinger Jr. said in an email.

Virginia competed with Washington, D.C., Maryland and California for the project.

“Virginia boasts the largest concentration of tech talent in the U.S., and Technomics is a prime example of how an educated and skilled workforce pipeline can contribute to the success of a business,” Youngkin said in a statement. “In addition to talent, provides strategic proximity to the company’s primary customers. We congratulate Technomics on this expansion and look forward to its continued growth trajectory in the commonwealth.”

Technomics was established in 1984 and opened its offices in Arlington in 2000. The company employs more than 220 and it provides a variety of analytical services. Technomics also has offices in California and Michigan, according to its website.

“In these financially challenged times, our federal clients need greater support to help them better manage their scarce resources. Because of its vicinity to many of our clients and employee-owners, Arlington County is the perfect location for our expansion,” Technomics President and CEO Al Leung said in a statement. “In fact, the need is so high that just as our expansion came to a close, we began to actively pursue an additional 10,000 square feet of space — also in Arlington County — to be dedicated to clients requiring compliance with highly specialized technical requirements.”

The worked with Arlington to secure the project and will support Technomics through the , which provides consulting services and funding to companies adding jobs to support employee recruitment and training activities.

Leonardo DRS completes merger, goes public

Arlington-based contractor Inc. is now a public company.

The company began trading on the composite Tuesday morning, opening at $11.50, following the completion Monday of its all-stock with Israel-based to form a $3 billion company.  The companies announced their plans to merge in June. Under the agreement, Rada shareholders will retain 19.5% ownership of the company and Leonardo DRS’ parent company, Italian Leonardo SpA, will own the other 80.5%.

Leonardo DRS took over Rada’s existing stock, converting it to the stock symbol “DRS” at the opening of trading Tuesday. The company will also be listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange beginning Wednesday. Rada is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leonardo DRS, and will be known as DRS Rada Technologies, one of eight lines of business under the company.

Leonardo DRS Chairman and CEO William J. Lynn III told Virginia Business Tuesday after trading opened Tuesday that going public will give DRS “more operational independence, financial flexibility [and] more strategic bandwidth,” allowing Leonardo DRS to approach in “a bigger way,” he added.

The merger also fills a strategic gap for Leonardo DRS, Lynn said, calling Rada a “best-in-class tactical radar company.” Leonardo DRS has four core markets: force protection, advanced sensors, electric power and propulsion, and network computing. Adding radar to Leonardo DRS’ broad portfolio of sensors strengthens the company’s mid-tier defense position, particularly as it approaches more work in that area with the Army and Navy.

“As a mid-tier, we’re not dependent on platforms. Most of the bigger [defense contractors] … are producing the ships, planes, tanks. We don’t do that,” said Lynn, who served as deputy secretary of defense from 2009 to 2011. “We do communications, we do electronics, we do sensors, so we’re independent of platform choices. We’re platform-agnostic. That’s important [because it] means we can go different directions with different platforms. It also means we’re ambidextrous between a new platform, or an upgrade of an old platform.”

The merger follows Leonardo DRS’ $450 million sale of its satellite communications subsidiary to -based satellite telecommunications company SES Government Solutions in August as part of the company’s plan to refocus its portfolio. In 2021, the company put the brakes on an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, citing adverse market conditions.

Lynn rang Nasdaq’s closing bell Tuesday.

Smithfield Foods names new CFO

Mark Hall, ‘s vice president of finance, has been promoted to and will start in the role on Jan. 1, 2023, the nation’s largest pork product manufacturer and hog producer announced Tuesday. The company’s current since 2015, Glen Nunziata, will leave at the end of this year.

With 25 years of experience in the industry, Hall will oversee finance, accounting, treasury, tax, risk management and serve as principal accounting officer. He started at Smithfield in 2014 as vice president of finance for the John Morrell & Co. A year later, he was promoted to vice president of finance for Smithfield’s combined packaged meats business. In 2019, he was promoted to senior vice president of finance for Smithfield’s fresh pork and packaged meats business. He started his current role, executive vice president of finance, in 2020. Hall began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen LLP and worked in equity research for Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc. He has also held finance positions with The Quaker Oats Co. and McCain Foods USA Inc.

“Mark is well prepared for his new role and brings a depth of experience, including serving for the last eight years in senior leadership positions on Smithfield’s finance team,” Smithfield President and CEO Shane said in a statement. “We are fortunate to have a deep bench and look forward to a seamless transition of responsibilities over the next few weeks.”

Smith also spoke highly of Nunziata. “During Glenn’s tenure, we have become a better company, achieving new levels of operational excellence and a strengthened balance sheet while growing organically and through acquisitions to become a world-class protein company. We thank Glenn and wish him all the best in his next chapter.”

Nunziata said, “Serving Smithfield for seven years as CFO and for 10 years during my previous role with Ernst & Young has been the highlight of my career. The future is bright for the company, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have worked alongside so many talented committed to a worthy mission to produce good food the right way. I plan to take some time to consider the next phase of my career.”

Chesapeake Bank CFO appointed COO

Chesapeake Financial Shares Inc. has appointed its , Rebecca Andrick “Becky” Foster, to the additional post of , the -based parent company of and Chesapeake announced Monday.

Foster, who has has been with the company for 27 years, has been its senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2014. Her previous roles include internal auditor, money desk manager and investment officer.

“Becky has been integrally involved in all facets of Chesapeake for a number of years and has done an incredible job. She is perfectly suited for this significant addition to her responsibilities,” Chesapeake Financial Shares Chairman, President and CEO Jeffrey M. Szyperski said in a statement.

Foster is a graduate of Christopher Newport University, the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management in Charlottesville and the Graduate School of at Louisiana State University.

A resident of Hardyville, Foster has served on the Northern Neck Family YMCA board since 2017 and is currently its vice chair. She is also vice chair of the Upper Advisory Council of the YMCA of the Virginia Peninsulas. Foster has also served on the Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury board since 2017 and chairs its finance committee.

Founded in 1900 in Irvington, has 16 branches. It reported $1.38 billion in 2021 assets.

Fairfax solar/roofing contractor aims to add 400+ jobs

McLean-based and contractor SmartRoof is relocating to , with plans to add 410 during the next five years, announced Monday.

Founded in 2006, SmartRoof is a residential and commercial roofing contractor that also offers energy systems. It serves customers in Northern Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey, Northern Delaware and Florida. SmartRoof is investing $350,000 to move from its current location at 6862 Elm St. to a 25,000-square-foot office at 11091 Sunset Hills Road in Reston. Virginia competed with Maryland for the project.

“SmartRoof is an innovative, Virginia-founded company that is changing the standard of service in the roofing industry, and it is exciting to see one of our homegrown businesses thrive and expand,” Youngkin said in a statement. “With one of the nation’s largest transportation networks, a skilled workforce pipeline and a pro-business climate, the commonwealth is an ideal location for SmartRoof to reach its growing customer base.”

SmartRoof CEO and founder Joshua Jerge said, “SmartRoof’s mission is to positively impact lives through roofing and solar. This starts with our employees and ripples through the local communities where we work. We were founded in Virginia and are excited for the opportunity to keep our headquarters in and improve the lives of Virginians for years to come.”

The Virginia Partnership worked with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to secure the project. The company is eligible to receive benefits from ‘s Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit for new full-time jobs.

United Way of SWVA promotes exec to VP of community impact

The named Mary Anne Holbrook, who has been with the since 2016, to the newly created position of vice president of impact, the nonprofit announced Monday.

Holbrook assumed the role on Nov. 1. She is providing strategic leadership for ‘s programs and community initiatives. She previously served as vice president of development and outreach, a role the regional nonprofit is now seeking to fill.

“Mary Anne has worked to develop new partnerships for the organization, secured sources of new grant funding and has provided leadership on various initiatives to help expand our work within the region,” UWSWVA President and CEO Travis Staton said in a statement. “I’m confident that with her leadership and new role within the organization, we will continue to grow and deepen the great work our program team has consistently delivered.”

Holbrook holds a master’s degree in English with concentrations in Appalachian studies and business and technical writing from .

Based in , the United Way of serves the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe and the cities of Bristol, Galax, Norton and Radford. Its programs and initiatives focus on health, education and financial stability.