Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Douglas P. Rucker Jr., a shareholder in the law firm of Sands Anderson Marks & Miller, has been selected to join the board of directors for Needle’s Eye Ministries Inc. Rucker has served for years on the advisory board for the local Christian ministry. He is also a founding member of the Richmond Christian Leadership Institute and serves on its board and as chair of the student committee.

Rucker’s law practice includes professional malpractice defense, civil litigation, business disputes and contract law. He is a past president of the Virginia Bar Association and a member of the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents. He continues active membership in the American Bar Association, the Boyd-Graves Conference and the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys. He is a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.

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Robert E. Gordon has joined the law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP as an associate to its public finance practice group in Richmond. He was previously an associate with a law firm in Atlanta. Gordon’s practice will focus on the representation of debt issuers, conduit borrowers, underwriters and credit enhancers on a variety of public finance transactions.

Gordon is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Prior to his career in law, Gordon served on the staff of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., and held governmental positions in the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State.

Gordon received his undergraduate degree in 1994 from the University of Georgia and his law degree in 2005 from George Washington University.

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Matthew Yanovitch has joined Spotts Fain as an associate in the business section of the firm’s Richmond office. Yanovitch was previously a law clerk to Prince William County Circuit Judge William D. Hamblen. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in 1999 and his law degree from the Catholic University of America in 2007.

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John Paul Jones, a professor at the University of Richmond law school, has received the University’s Distinguished Educator Award for 2008 in recognition of his contributions as a teacher and mentor for a generation of students, and as a scholar in constitutional law and admiralty.

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Elizabeth Guilbert Perrow has been named as a principal in the Roanoke office of Woods Rogers PLC. Perrow focuses her practice on insurance defense and medical malpractice defense. She earned her undergraduate degree from Lynchburg College and her law degree from Oklahoma City University.

Perrow currently serves on the boards of the Roanoke Bar Association and the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys.

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Robert W. Wooldridge, retired judge of the 19th Circuit Court in Fairfax, has joined The McCammon Group.

Wooldridge served over 16 years on the bench in the Fairfax Circuit Court until his retirement in August 2008. Prior to that, he was a partner at McGuireWoods and a commissioner-in-chancery in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. His general civil practice included personal injury, product liability, contracts and trusts & estates.

Wooldridge is a past president of the Fairfax Bar Association. He is also a professor at George Mason University School of Law and a member of the board of visitors of the Graduate School of Forensic Psychology at Marymount University. He is a current board member for the Flicker of Hope Foundation and a camp counselor at the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp.

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Montgomery Knight Jr., a senior partner of the law firm of Williams Mullen, has been elected president of the Hampton Roads Tax Forum for 2008-2009.

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Two attorneys have joined the law firm of Kaufman & Canoles.

Alison M. McKee has joined the Virginia Beach office. Her practice will focus on commercial real estate. McKee received her undergraduate degree from Boston College and her law degree from the University of Virginia. She was a previously a partner with Hunton & Williams in Norfolk.

Aaron J. Ambrose has joined the firm’s Norfolk office as an associate. His practice will focus on commercial law. He received his undergraduate degree from James Madison University and his law degree from the University of Denver.

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W. Calvin Smith was promoted to senior attorney at Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC in Roanoke. Smith primarily practices in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy and commercial litigation. He received his undergraduate degree in 1996 from Geneva College and his law degree in 1999 from Washington & Lee University.

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