Areas of Experience

Medical malpractice, personal injury, premises liability, products liability, business dissolution, civil rights, condemnation, construction, consumer, contracts, defamation, disability, employment, environmental, local government, professional liability, real property, sports & entertainment, trusts & estates, and family law including child/spousal support, custody/visitation, and equitable distribution.

Professional Experience

• Certified Mediator, Supreme Court of Virginia.
• Chief Judge, 17^th Judicial Circuit, Arlington, VA, 2003-2023; Judge 1993-2003.
• Civil Litigator in Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia, 1980-1993.
• Former Commissioner in Chancery, Arlington County Circuit Court.
• Former Member, Virginia Medical Malpractice Review Panel.
• Former Trademark Attorney, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office.

Affiliations

• Recipient, Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Service Award, 2019.
• Recipient, Distinguished Alumni Award, The Catholic University Columbus School of Law, 2017.
• Recipient, William L. Winston Award, Arlington County Bar Foundation, 2013.
• Recipient, NAACP Community Service Award.
• Recipient, Superior Achievement Award, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Recipient, Urban League Rising Star Award.
• Voted “Best of the Bench,” Washingtonian Magazine.
• Member, 2024 Class of the Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Lawyers Hall of Fame.”
• Past Vice-President and Past Executive, Arlington County Bar Association.
• Council Member, Old Dominion Bar Association.
• Founder and Past President, Northern Virginia Black Attorneys Association.
• Former Member and Chair, Arlington County Board of Supervisors.
• Former Member, Northern Virginia Planning District Commission.
• Former Member, Arlington County Planning Commission.
• Former Chair, Public Safety Committee for Washington Council of Governments.
• Member, Board of Visitors, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
• Former Faculty, Virginia State Bar Professionalism Course.
• Founder and President Emeritus, Arlington Community Foundation.
• Former Member, Advisory Council of the Northern Virginian Urban League.
• Former Member, National Capital Area YMCA Trustee’s Council.
• Founder, Arlington County Mentoring Program.

Education

• The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, J.D.
• Ohio University, B.F.A.