Hall of Fame

Virginia Lawyers Weekly is proud to present the Class of 2026 of the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame!

Event Date

Details coming soon!

Hall of Fame Honorees

Maryse Allen, Compton & Duling

Keith Bangel, Bangel, Bangel & Bangel, L.L.P.

Alexandra D. “Sandy” Bowen, Bowen Ten Long & Bal, PC

Joseph Cammarata, Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C.

Victor Cardwell, Woods Rogers

David Corrigan, Harman Claytor Corrigan Wellman

Craig Davis, Reinhardt Harper Davis

Hon. Nolan Dawkins, Retired Circuit Court Judge, City of Alexandria

Robert Donnelly, GoodmanAllenDonnelly

John S. Edwards, Law Office of John S. Edwards

Karen Elliott, Elliott Law Office, PLLC

Guy Harbert, III, Gentry Locke

James G. Harrison III, Marks & Harrison

Susan Massie Hicks, Hicks Crandall Juhl

Judith “Judy” Jagdmann, Troutman Pepper Locke

Wade Massie*, Penn Stuart

Martha Medley, Daniel, Medley & Kirby, P.C.

Frank “Bunky” Miller, III*, Sands Anderson

John B. Mumford Jr., Hancock, Daniel & Johnson, LLC

Jay B. Myerson, The Myerson Law Group

J. Thomas O’Brien Jr., Spotts Fain PC

Randall Parks, Hunton Andrews Kurth

Patrick M Regan, Regan Zambri Long PLLC

F. Douglas Ross, Odin Feldman Pittleman

Stanley Sacks, Sacks & Sacks

Richard Shapiro, Shapiro Washburn & Sharp

Robert Stoney, Blankingship & Keith

Ashley Taylor, Troutman Pepper Locke

Hon. John Charles Thomas, Virginia Supreme Court

Nan Walsh, Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C.

*posthumous honoree

2025 Top Settlements:

1. Paul B. Terpak, Blankingship and Keith
   Scott D. Helsel, Walton and Adams
2. Kevin Biniazan, Jeffrrey Breit, Justin Sheldon and Lee Floyd, Breit Biniazan
3. Edward L. Allen and Parker E. Allen, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
4. Bryan Slaughter, Kyle McNew and Ashley Davis, MichieHamlett
5. Drew LaFramboise, Bridget Cardinale, Andrew Greenwald and David Kopstein, JGL Law (Joseph Greenwald Laake)
6. Kevin Biniazan, Justin Sheldon and Lauren A. Martin, Breit Biniazan
7. Matthew W. Broughton and Jared A. Tuck, Gentry Locke
   Melvin B. Wright, Colling Gilbert Wright
8. Katie Rose Marion, Kevin Biniazan, Breit Biniazan
   John Cooper and Bailey Gifford, Cooper Hurley
9. David E. Bateman and Daniel M. Rathbun, Rathbun Bateman
10. Kevin W. Mottley and Benjamin P. Kyber, The Mottley Law Firm

2025 Top Verdicts:

1. Diane Toscano, Jeffrey Breit and Kevin Biniazan, Virginia Beach
2. Christopher D. Davis and Erin C. McDaniel, Davis, Burch & Abrams, Chesapeake
3. Joshua Erlich and Katherine Herrmann, Erlich Law, Arlington
4. Edward L. Allen and Anna Katogiritis, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
5. Derrick Walker and Kari La Fratta, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
6. Jason W. Konvicka, P. Wilson Van Winkle, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
7. Charles J. Zauzig and Melissa G. Ray, Nichols Zauzig
8. Lee Livingston and Anthony Greene, Livingston Law Group
9. Anthony M. “Tony” Russell, Les Bowers, MichieHamlett
10. Thomas K. Plofchan Jr. and Jacqueline A. Kramer, Westlake Legal Group

2025 Hall of Fame Honorees

Edward L. Allen, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
Peter Boatner, Staunton Public Defender’s Office
Elaine C. Bredehoft, Charlson Bredehoft Cohen Brown & Nadelhaft
Susan M. Butler, ShounBach
Stephen J. Cannella, Cannella & O’Neal
Roy V. Creasy, Roy V. Creasy PC
James (Jim) M. Daniel, Jr., Hancock, Daniel & Johnson
Michael Davis, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Paul E. Fletcher, Virginia Bar Association
Lisa M. Frisina, PennStuart
Michael Goodove, Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove
Jim Hurley, Cooper Hurley, PLLC
Hon. Raymond A. Jackson, Eastern District of Virginia
John T. Jessee, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith
Kristina Keech Spitler, Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian
David Masterman, Masterman Krogmann
William R. Mauck, Jr., Spotts Fain
Stephen E. Noona, Kaufman & Canoles
W. Joseph Owen III, Owen & Owens
W. David Paxton, Gentry Locke Attorneys
Paula L. Peaden, Parker, Pollard, Wilton & Peaden
James B. Pittleman, Odin Feldman Pittleman
Thomas K. Plofchan, Jr., Westlake Legal Group
Lewis F. Powell III, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Colleen M. Quinn, Quinn Law Centers
Craig W. Sampson, Barnes & Diehl
Michael W. Smith, Christian & Barton
Edward L. Weiner, Weiner, Spivey & Miller
Stanley P. Wellman, Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman
Elizabeth L. White, Sands Anderson
Edward W. Wolcott, Jr., Wolcott Rivers Gates

2025 Top Settlements

1.
Thomas “Bo” Frith IV, Frith & Ellerman

2.
Stephen Canella, Robert W. O’Neal, Christopher J. Pitera, Cannella & O’Neal

3.
Ryan T. Walker, Mike J. Braggs, Bryan L. Meadows, Marks & Harrison

4.
Jason W. Konvicka, Parker E. Allen, Ashley T. Davis, Allen Allen Allen & Allen

5.
Mark Obenshain, Justin Wolcott, Obenshain Law Group

2025 Top Verdicts

1.
Kevin Biniazan, Lee Floyd, Justin Sheldon, Scott Perry, Breit Biniazan 

2.
Charles Molster, The Law Offices of Charles B. Molster, III (DC) 
Shereef Akeel, Akeel & Valentine (Michigan Firm) 
Baher Azmy, Center for Constitutional Rights (New York)
Michael Buchanan, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler (New York)

3.
J. Michael Sharman, Commonwealth Law Offices PC 

4.
Kevin Martingayle, Matthew Moynihan, Bischoff Martingayle
Brett Spain, Bethany Fogerty, Wilcox Savage 

5.
Bob Carter, Mary Estfanous, Robert Carter Law 

Class of 2024 Hall of Fame honorees:

• Hon. Rossie Alston Jr., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia

• Alan Anderson, AAA

• Thomas Bondurant Jr., Gentry Locke

• Richard Bonnie, University of Virginia

• Dabney J. Carr, Troutman Pepper

• Ben Chafin, former Senator/Chafin Law Firm (posthumous)

• John Cooper, Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers

• Roger Creager, Marks & Harrison

• Darragh J. Davis, Flag Hill Law

• Chief Judge Marla Graff Decker, Court of Appeals of Virginia

• Robert “Bob” Diamond, Reed Smith

• Mark Dray, Hunton Andrews Kurth

• Hugh M. Fain III, Spotts Fain

• David Feldman, Odin Feldman Pittleman

• Claire Gastañaga, Dunlap Law

• Howard E. Gwynn, Commonwealth’s Atty. Newport News

• Judge John Samuel Johnston Jr. (posthumous)

• Trent Kerns, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen

• Melissa Katz, McGavin, Boyce, Bardot, Thorsen & Katz

• Hon. William T. Newman Jr. (ret.), The McCammon Group

• Wendy Purdue, University of Richmond School of Law

• Paul Terpak, Blankingship & Keith

• Lucia Trigiani, Mercer Trigiani

• William “Bill” Walsh Jr., Hirschler

• Charles James Williams III, Burnett & William

Our inaugural 2024 Newsmakers of the Year are:

• Elliott Harding — Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners, et al. v. Anderson

• Kevin Martingayle — McKinnon v. Croatan Investments, LLC, et al. and Suffolk City School Board, et al. v. Wahlstrom

• Charles Power and Alvin Lockerman Jr. — Lisann v. Lisann

• Diane Toscano, Kevin Biniazan and Jeff Breit — Zwerner v. Newport News Public Schools

2023’s top million-dollar verdicts and settlements as reported to Virginia Lawyers Weekly are:

Verdicts

• Travis W. Markley, Richard L. Nagle and Benjamin M. Wengerd, Reston — $6,146,575.34

• Thomas K. Plofchan Jr. and Jacqueline A. Kramer, Sterling — $5 million

• Jonathan M. Petty and Christopher P. Yakubisin, Richmond — $5 million

• Kevin W. Mottley and Benjamin P. Kyber, Richmond; Jonathan T. Wren and Robert E. Byrne Jr., Charlottesville — $3.5 million

• Les Bowers, Charlottesville, and Anthony M. “Tony” Russell, Roanoke — $3 million

Settlements

• Elliott Buckner, Scott Bucci and Jeff Stedman, Richmond — $16 million

• James McCauley, Edward Scher, Ryan Walker and Joel McClellan, Richmond — $9 million

• Matthew W. Broughton, Michael J. Finney and Jared A. Tuck, Roanoke — $7.75 million

• Scott M. Perry, Arlington; Jeffrey Breit, Virginia Beach; and Adam R. Leighton, Washington, D.C. — $7.5 million

• Craig B. Davis, Richmond — $7 million

• Griffin M. O’Hanlon and John G. Baker, Norfolk (tied for 5th) — $7 million

Class of 2023

Class of 2022

Class of 2021

Class of 2020

Class of 2019

Class of 2018

Membership in the Hall of Fame is reserved for Virginia lawyers who have been practicing for 30 years or more. Criteria for selection to the Hall will include:

• Career accomplishments
• Contributions to the development of the law in Virginia
• Contributions to the bar
• Contributions to the commonwealth of Virginia
• Efforts to improve the quality of justice in Virginia
  
  

Nominees may include retired lawyers, retired members of the judiciary and deceased lawyers. Current nominations will be considered for the Class of 2025.

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