Practice/Organization Description
My practice includes a broad range of civil litigation matters representing clients in federal and state courts in Virginia and North Carolina, including maritime, transportation, insurance coverage, subrogation, premises liability, environmental, commercial litigation, and wrongful death.
My maritime litigation practice includes cases involving breach of maritime contracts, subrogation, environmental matters, marine insurance coverage disputes, salvage, collisions, limitation of liability, vessel arrest, cargo claims, fire and property damage, and wrongful death and injury cases under the Jones Act.
Virginia Super Lawyers has designated me as a "Rising Star" since 2007. I have also been named as one of Hampton Roads' "Top 40 under 40."
I serve as adjunct faculty at Regent University School of Law, where I have taught Admiralty Law for the past five years. One of the several articles that I have authored, “Cargo Litigation: A Primer on Cargo Claims," is linked to on this page and has been cited by federal judges, in admiralty law texts, and in law review articles.
Bar Admissions
Virginia Courts
Eastern District of Virginia
Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
U.S. Supreme Court
Education
-Regent University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1998
-Articles Editor, Regent University Law Review
-DePauw University, B.A., cum laude, 1995
Professional Associations & Memberships
-Virginia Bar Association (Co-Chair, Tidewater Pro Bono Hotline, 2004-2006; Member, Transportation Law Section Council, 2007-present)
-Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association (Chair, Young Lawyers Section, 2003-2004; Bench Bar Committee, 2004-Present)
-Federal Bar Association (Tidewater Chapter)
-Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute (Board of Directors, 2006-2007)
-National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
-Maritime Law Association of the United States (Proctor)
-Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
-Defense Research Institute
-Virginia Maritime Association
-Propeller Club (Port of Norfolk)
Honors and Awards
-Recipient of Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association's 2007 Walter E. Hoffman Community Service Award
-Named one of Hampton Roads' “Top Forty Under 40” by Inside Business, 2005
-Named a “Rising Star” by Virginia Super Lawyers, 2007, 2008, and 2009
-Accepted a 2005 Virginia State Bar Award of Merit on behalf of the NPBA in recognition of the revitalization of the Young Lawyers Section from 2003-2004
