Premier sponsor 1 Catherine M. Six s Josh J. Coe s John E. Zydron (of counsel) s C. Stewart Gill s Laura L. McQuesten Out of 30,902 active members of the VA State Bar, 26 bar members were selected for the 2016 Virginia Leaders in Law. Congratulations, Mr. Zydron of The Zydron Law Firm, P.L.L.C. East Coast Trial Lawyers, PLC salutes John E. Zydron’s 39 years of outstanding accomplishments in the law and being selected as a 2016 Leaders in the Law recipient. Congratulations, Mr. Zydron, for achieving the highest reported motorcycle settlement case in Virginia history of $7,500,000.00 and on a $1,000,000.00 case of first impression in the deaths of a mother and a 7 month old unborn fetus (Policy limits $500,000.00 per person/$1,000,000.00 per accident) under 2012 amended Virginia Code Section 8.01-50B. 2 Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Paul E. Fletcher Executive Editor Deborah Elkins News Editor Peter D. Vieth Digital Editor Jordan Bondurant Setting the standard ___________________ Virginia Lawyers Weekly is pleased to introduce the 2016 class of honorees in Ad Director our “Leaders in the Law” program. We seek to recognize attorneys who are setting Sherma Mather the standard for other lawyers – those who changed practice, advanced the law or improved the justice system in Virginia. Account Executives We considered numerous nominations from across the commonwealth, and all of the Katie Lee Renée Baldwin nominees were highly accomplished. We are very proud to honor these 26 people. ___________________ In addition, this year we are recognizing Up & Coming Lawyers. These are legal practitioners who are establishing a name for themselves and displaying the ambition, Office Manager drive, determination and accomplishments that set them apart among their peers — in Denise Woods their first 10 years in practice. ___________________ The 2016 Leaders and Up and Coming Lawyers were feted at a reception Oct. 27. But in this special section, we are highlighting their responses to a questionnaire, providing Business Manager Amanda Passmore insight about them as individuals and about their accomplishments. ___________________ Paul E. Fletcher Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Audience Development Manager Tracy Bumba ___________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS Production Manager John Reno Leaders in the Law ___________________ Jonathan T. Blank .............5 Declan C. Leonard . .12 Roberta A. Bondurant .........5 Hon. Michael J. Lindner . 12 Designer Thomas J. Bondurant Jr.. .6 Hon. Marcus H. Long Jr. 13 Michael Duntz Harris D. Butler ...............6 R. Peyton Mahaffey . 14 ___________________ David C. Canfield .............7 Mary T. Morgan . 14 Brett A. Callahan .............23 Patice L. Holland .............27 Victor O. Cardwell ............7 Jay Prabhu . 15 Alyssa C. Embree .............23 Macel H. Janoschka ...........27 Copyright © 2016 Terrance Shea Cook ...........8 Gene Schleppenbach . 15 Robert F. Friedman ...........24 Laura Golden Liff .............28 Virginia Lawyers Media Sherry A. Fox .................8 Cullen D. Seltzer . .16 Melanie A. Friend ............24 D. Bradley Marshall ...........28 Stephanie E. Grana ............9 Kristina Keech Spitler . .16 Ryan A. Glasgow .............25 Edward A. Mullen ............29 John T. Jessee . 10 Melissa S. VanZile . 18 Colleen M. Haddow ...........26 Dipti Pidikiti-Smith ...........30 Brian H. Jones . 10 Susheela Varky . .18 Lisa J. Hedrick ...............26 Jeremy S. Williams ............30 Material published in the 2016 Reginald N. Jones . 11 James L. Weinberg . .19 Leaders in the Law magazine, a special Lorri Kleine. .11 John E. Zydron . .19 supplement to Virginia Lawyers Weekly, is compiled at substantial expense and is for the sole and exclusive use of purchasers and subscribers. The material may not be photo copied, Premier sponsor republished, resold, recorded, or used in any manner, in whole or in part, without the publisher’s explicit consent. Any infringement will be subject to legal redress. Virginia Lawyers Weekly Silver sponsors (USPS 001-826) is published weekly by Virginia Lawyers Media, 411 E. Franklin St. Suite 505, Richmond, VA 23219. Periodical postage paid at Richmond, VA and additional offices. ISSN No.: 0897-4772 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 411 E. Franklin St. Suite 505, Richmond, VA 23219 Bronze sponsor 3 2016 Leaders in the Law Virginia Lawyers Media | Page 3 VIRGINIA’S Leaders2016 Law IN THE 4 Jonathan T. Blank McGuireWoods LLP, Charlottesville A highly regarded specialist to maintain that Rule of Law that other fields do not have. If we fail, society will fail. in energy law, Blank is a key player in the Charlottesville Personal accomplishment: My biggest personal accomplishment is legal aid community; he assisting my wife in raising two sets of twin currently serves as the Legal daughters. Aid Justice Center’s board Surprising advice: president and has been a I have received these three pithy pieces of advice: Showing up is 90 percent of success. leader in efforts to provide Always return the email or phone call you relief for low-income drivers least want to return before all others. Park on the top deck of a parking deck every time and facing license suspensions. you will never forget where your car is parked. A less succinct piece of advice is: When you Looking back: think the worst has happened, stop and walk I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and I remem- around the block. Everything will still be there. ber my father taking me to Capitol Square to see President Ford speak. I later became The world has not ended. Catch your breath. a page in the General Assembly. Even as And deal with what lies ahead. an adult, when I am downtown, I gravitate towards Capitol Square whether to meet First job: people or sit in the park and each lunch. And I I was a page in the General Assembly. It was always remember that moment in time, on my truly a life-changing experience. I learned father’s shoulders, looking over the crowd. how laws are made. An important mentor: Biggest career challenge: University of Virginia Professor Ernest “Boots” My biggest challenge has been to understand Mead. His office in the University’s Old Cabell that it is called the practice of law for a rea- Hall was famous for its position “beneath the son and that there is no perfect game. truth,” that is, under the words “the truth” in the carving on the pediment, “You shall know the Best tip for balance: truth and the truth shall set you free.” Boots Find things that you love to do that you can Favorite get-away: Education: shared with me, as well as the thousands he do with those in your professional life. It Locally, 72nd Street, Virginia Beach, in a BA, University of Virginia taught, the wise counsel to go find the truth. makes your personal life more rewarding. kayak chasing dolphins. Internationally, Chang JD, University of Virginia He also told me to ask my now wife out on our Mai, Thailand. first date. I always listened to Boots, whether I might have been: about my wife or seeking the truth. A design build developer/renovator. If I had a free month: ting a foul in a high school basketball game Travel. but never officially playing in the game. And it Leadership in the law is: Guilty pleasure: happened twice. I have studied, with varying The Rule of Law is the foundation of our soci- French fries. You didn’t know: degrees of success, French, Spanish, He- ety. As leaders in the law, we have obligations I hold an unofficial VHSL record of commit- brew, Greek, Latin and I just started German. Roberta Motherway Bondurant Bondurant Law, Bent Mountain A former assistant public high treason, hung, drawn and quartered. In our mock jury trial, our class rewrote Father defender and long-time Campion’s fate. community activist, Bondurant I’m also grateful for the generosity of time was a driving force in securing and expertise of the late Washington and an absolute pardon for a Lee Law Professor Roger Groot, who guided students and defense counsel in the man wrongfully convicted of Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse (VC3) setting a fire that killed his for many years, and eventually himself accepted court appointments to death pen- two children. alty cases. Professor Groot supported Mr. Reedy’s case for a half-dozen years until Looking back: his death in 2005. I was born in Bath, Maine, and grew up on both coasts. Our dad was a career Ma- Personal accomplishment: rine, and our family, 10 of us including the I’m blessed to have shared with my husband Great Dane, had the best of times traveling cross-country in a station wagon and a camp- the journey of parenting our three very capa- er. An especially fond and impactful memory ble and courageous, grounded and kind- was a moment during a camping trip to hearted, fun and interesting children, who are Lake Marion, South Carolina. Guided by our personally invested in the world they’ll inherit. parents to sit behind the camper with eyes In matters great and small, our children have away from the sun, my sibs and I listened and been my truest teachers. watched in wonder as the day turned to night in the forest, and back again, in the midst of a First job: solar eclipse. In eighth grade I took over my sister’s paper route, six days a week and Sunday morn- An important mentor: ings. I learned to throw from a bicycle riding My eighth-grade middle school teacher “no hands.” In my biweekly collection visits, I at Virginia Beach Junior High School, Ms. learned a little something about my neighbors Shesso, assigned me to research the case – people from all walks of life.