official 2015 fourth circuit conference program

4th Circuit Spring Conference

and Governor Election

_____________________________ Finding Your Legal Niche

2015

Conference Program

Meet the Team

Highlighted Pages

Schedule of Events

8

12

14

Keynote Luncheon

18

25

Mrs

.

Ma

ry

Kat

e

Zek

ert is a

an

atto

rne

y

Breakfast with the Judiciary

Speaker Directory

2 Finding Your Legal Niche | 2015

http://www.americanbar.org/content/aba/groups/law_students/initiatives_awards/diversity.html

http://www.americanbar.org/publications/student_lawyer/2013-14/february/download_student_lawyer_app_now.html

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/family_law/resources/essay_contest.html

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/law_students/initiatives_awards/awards.html


Table of Contents

Greetings and “Welcome!”………………………,,……………………...…..4

About the ABA Law Student Division/About the

Conference……………………………………………………………...……….7

Meet the 4th Circuit Leadership

Team…………………………………………………………………….….……...8

4th Circuit Leadership Team: Summary of Accomplishments….…..……9

Welcome Mixer and Opening

Ceremony…………………………………………………………...………..…10

Special Events:

Keynote Luncheon…………………………………………………..…..12

Public Interest Event………………...…………………………………...13

Mental Health Seminar………………………......……………………..13

Governor Election and State of the Division Report………………13

Cocktail Attorney Mixer………………………………………..……….13

Breakfast with the Judiciary: Missed Manners and Courtroom

Decorum………………………………………………………………..….14

Schedule of Events………………………………………………………….....18

Speaker Directory………………………………………………………………25

Thank you to our sponsors!........................................................................41


February 27, 2015

Greetings 4th Circuit SBA Presidents, ABA Representatives, Law Students, and

Supporters:

As the 2014-2015 ABA Law Student Division board member elected last spring at

Wakeforest Law School to represent the needs and concerns of law students

attending the 17 schools in NC, SC, VA, and WV, it is my pleasure to address you

today. On behalf of the Division and the 4th Circuit, I would like to welcome you

to the 2015 ABA Law Student Division 4th Circuit Spring Meeting and Governor

Election.

This year’s spring meeting entitled, “Finding Your Legal Niche” provides 4th Circuit

law students the unique opportunity to jump-start their professional network by

meeting other law students and members of the bar. Additionally, law student

attendees gain an understanding for how to best strategize and refine their

educational and professional goals through practical approaches and tips from

experienced attorneys.

With the unrelenting support of the 2014 4th Circuit Lt. Governors, we were able

to make ABA 4th Circuit history by:

Expanding the conference to two days

Adding new professional development sessions such as: bar prep, on-site

MPRE review, mental health and loan repayment seminars led by

leading experts in the field, and a Judicial Breakfast and Courtroom

Etiquette workshop

Securing over 40+ attorneys and judges to serve on over 15 panels

And many more.

The conference planning team and I hope that you get as much out of this new

conference experience as we have worked to put into the event. It is our hope

that you will take home valuable tips and strategies for adjusting and thriving in

the legal profession. We urge you to use this opportunity to begin establishing

relationships within the legal profession—with members of the bar from every

practice setting, both veteran and new to the profession—that will prove

invaluable to you not only now, but in the future, and on a professional and

many times personal level. Thank you in advance for your participation and

continued support of the ABA Law Student Division 4th Circuit.

With 4th Circuit Pride,

Maritza T. Adonis

American Bar Association Law Student Division Board of Directors

4th Circuit Governor and Resolutions & Advocacy Co-chair, 2014-2015

Charlotte School of Law, J.D. Candidate, 2016


The ABA was founded on August 21, 1878, in Saratoga Springs, New York by 100 lawyers from 21 states. The legal profession as we know it today barely existed at that time. Lawyers were generally sole practitioners who trained under a system of apprenticeship. There was no national code of ethics; there was no national organization to serve as a forum for discussion of the increasingly intricate issues involved in legal practice.

The Law Student Division was created in 1967, succeeding the loosely organized American Law Student Association. It is the largest professional student organization in the country and one of the largest dues paying entities of the Association. All students attending ABA-approved law schools are eligible to join.

The Division is concerned with legal education and works with the Section of Legal Education on issues of mutual concern. The Division also has an impact on practical and professional skills development and provides assistance in the search for jobs, both during and after graduation from law school. Additionally, the Division offers leadership training, public service opportunities, career development programming, and practical skills competitions.

The Division is comprised of fifteen circuits (not to be confused with the federal judicial circuits) to better serve the needs of students on a regional, as well as national level. The Division is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Assembly, which convenes once a year during the Division’s portion of the ABA Annual Meeting, and a Board of Governors which meets several times during the year. The Assembly is the policy making body of the Division. Members of the Assembly (SBA Presidents and ABA Representatives from the 204 ABA-accredited law schools) debate and vote on resolutions relating to legal education and the legal profession. Assembly Delegates also elect the Division’s three delegates to the ABA House of Delegates. The Division’s Board of Governor’s has primary responsibility for operations, programs and finances of the Division. The Board is comprised of five officers, one representative to the ABA Board of Governors, 15 Circuit Governors, and three division delegates to the ABA House of Delegates. The Board also includes several nonvoting members from affiliated organizations. Five Officers are responsible for the day-to-day activities of the Division

The Division’s headquarters is located in Chicago, IL under the direction of Austin Groothius, Executive Director. For more information about the American Bar Association Law Student Division, visit http://ambar.org/lsd.

About the 2015 Conference

The ABA Law Student Division 4th Circuit spring meeting is the cornerstone activity for the Circuit. The spring conference is truly an event in which both students and professionals gather with enthusiasm to attend a wide range of enriching educational and networking events. The conference is the premier professional development event for current and future legal professionals.

The theme of this year’s conference is Finding Your Legal Niche. With the continual evolvement of the legal profession, the conference planning team wanted to acquire panelists from as many practice areas and legal experiences as possible. We hope that the expansion of this year’s conference and the various professional development additions will provide a wealth of resources and knowledge to personify the mission of the ABA Law Student Division.

About the Law Student Division

http://ambar.org/lsd


MEET THE 4th CIRCUIT LEADERSHIP TEAM

Maritza T. Adonis, Circuit Governor North Carolina State University, B.A. in Sociology Charlotte School of Law, 2L Areas of Interest: Child Welfare, Community Economic Development, Government Administration,

Legislative Lobbying, and International Arbitration

Marissa Meredith, Executive Lt. Governor College of William and Mary, B.A. in Gov’t North Carolina Central School of Law, 3L Areas of Interest: Estate Planning, Business

Formations/Planning, and Elder Law

Dean Castaldo Jr., Lt. Governor of Circuit Relations & Communications UNC-Greensboro, B.A. in Poli.Science & I.T. Charlotte School of Law, 3L Areas of Interest: Procurement Contracts,

Estate Planning, and Administrative Law

Michael A. Secret, Lt. Governor of SBA Presidents and ABA Representatives West Virginia University, B.A. in English, Concentration in Professional Writing and Editing West Virginia University College of Law, 2L Areas of Interest: Labor and Employment Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Defense Litigation, and International Arbitration

Akemini Isang, Lt. Governor of Medical-Legal Partnership and Mental Health University of Baltimore, B.A. in Jurisprudence Univ. of South Carolina School of Law, 2L Areas of Interest: Health Law and International

Law

Jordyn Webb, Lt. Governor of ABA Membership Roanoke College, B.A. in Political Science Liberty University, M.A. in Human Services Charlotte School of Law, 2L

Areas of Interest: Transactional Law

Marlene Johnson-Moore, Lt. Gov. of Diversity College of Charleston, B.S. in Bus. Administration Univ. of South Carolina School of Law, 3L Areas of Interest: Employment Law, Workers’ Compensation, EEO, Social Security Disability, &

Administrative Law

Christopher Smith, Lt. Gov. of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programs West Virginia Univ., B.A. in Philosophy and Women's Studies West Virginia Univ. College of Law, 2L Areas of Interest: Labor & Employment, Consumer Protection Law & Civil Defense

Shyneisha Rous’e, Lt. Gov. of Diversity Lane University, B.S. in Business Charlotte School of Law, 2L Area of Interest: Family Law

David Kershaw, Lt. Gov. of Public Interest South Carolina State, B.S. in Marketing Univ. of South Carolina School of Law, 3L Areas of Interest: Family Law, Criminal Law, Real Property, Commercial Law, & Administrative Law

Stephanie Welsh, Lt. Gov. of Public Interest West Virginia University Honors College, B.A. in Political Science and Multidisciplinary Studies West Virginia University College of Law, 3L Areas of Interest: Public Interest and Child Welfare

Carla Fassbender, Lt. Governor of Legal Education Advancement Univ. of Wisconsin-La Crosse, B.A. in Spanish American College of Education, M.A. in Edu. Leadership Charlotte School of Law, 2L Areas of Interest: Employment and Education Law


Summary of Accomplishments

Published monthly Circuit newsletters highlighting

Circuit happenings from all 17 Circuits

Established a social media brand through the creation

of a Facebook page, Twitter handle and LindkedIn

account (Facebook page has over 400 ‘likes’)

Initiated a LinkedIn challenge to encourage 4th Circuit

law students to utilize LinkedIn

100& ABA Representative and SBA President Reporting

Conducted first 4th Circuit SBA/ABA Conference Call

Collaborated with all 17 SBA Presidents to submit a

resolution to the Division encouraging the Division to

adopt the 2 year versus 3 year legal education issue

Initiated first Public Interest activity at an Annual ABA

Conference Division meeting

Drafted resolution encouraging the Division to

incorporate a Public Interest activity in all Division

programming.

Highest attendance at Fall Super Circuit Meeting

(Atlanta, GA)

7 out of 17 SBA Presidents and ABA Representatives in

attendance at the Division Assembly (Boston, MA)

Assisted the State of South Carolina with the initiation

of a Medical-Legal Partnership

Established working relationships with Public Interest,

Diversity and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance offices

across the 17 Circuit Schools.

Drafted Practice Ready booklet and distributed to

Civil Procedure professors from all 17 schools

Initiated Circuit-wide Public Interest Challenge to

encourage service and pro-bono activities across the

Circuit

Expanded Spring Meeting to two conference days

Recruited a record 40+ Attorneys and judges to serve

as speakers and panel at a Spring Meeting

Added on-site bar prep and MPRE review to Spring

Meeting

Published three articles in the Student Lawyer

magazine

Chronicled the development of Public Interest across

all 17 Circuit Schools

Reignited ABA enthusiasm and commitment across all

17 Circuit schools


Friday, February 27, 2015

7:00pm-10:00pm

Welcome Reception and Bowling Mixer

AMF Williamsburg Lanes

5544 Olde Towne Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23188

Begin your Spring Meeting experience with mingling and

camaraderie. Light appetizers and a cash bar will be provided. The

cost of bowling and rental shoes is at your own expense.

(Conference Rate: $10.19-includes 2 hours of bowling and shoes)

WELCOME MIXER AND OPENING CEREMONY

Saturday, February 28, 2015

8:00am-9:00am

Registration and Opening Ceremony

William & Mary Law School

613 South Henry Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Southern-style hot buffet breakfast available at conference hotel. Be

sure to stop by the registration table at the law school to pick up your

conference badge and other meeting materials. Welcome and

introductions will begin promptly at 8:45a.m.


Keynote Luncheon

Saturday, February 28, 2015, 12:15pm-1:30pm

From Attorney to Inmate: Ethics, Professional Responsibility,

and the Lawyer A real world scenario that brings to life the ethical quandaries lawyers face in

everyday legal practice in a manner designed to leave an indelible impression

on those about to embark on a legal career. This is a story about a lawyer who

transgressed ethical boundaries, ended up being sanctioned by the bar, and

prosecuted. This real life story makes it possible for students to see problems of

ethics and professionalism from the perspectives of a real lawyer who dealt

with a real situation. Students will learn more from this presentation than they

could ever learn from just studying abstract principles

Stephen M. Gunther

Mr. Gunther is a former attorney in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is now a National

Speaker on the topic of “Professional Ethics.” He is the Director of Marketing for Gunther Law

Group in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Hertford, North Carolina. Stephen is also the Vice

President of the Chamber of Commerce in Perquimans County, North Carolina.

In May 1997, Stephen earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion

University. Following his undergraduate studies, Stephen earned his Juris Doctor from St.

Thomas School of Law in Miami, Florida. After law school, Stephen moved back to Virginia

Beach Virginia and passed the Virginia State Bar Exam. Finally after five years in the employ

of others, Stephen opened his own firm, Stephen M. Gunther, P.C., which quickly became a

profitable and successful venture. From 2005 until 2009, Stephen was the President of the

Tidewater Real Estate Investor’s Group, which is the largest real estate investors club in

Hampton Roads, Virginia.

During the summer of 2009 things suddenly took a dramatic turn for the worse. Stephen was

questioned by the FBI regarding four real estate transactions he closed in 2006. In March

2010, Stephen accepted a Plea Agreement to one count of wire fraud. During the same

month, Stephen notified the Virginia State Bar that he was going to surrender his license to

practice law. Stephen was sentenced to serve 20 months in federal prison on June 22, 2010.

Seventeen days later, Stephen reported to Butner Federal Prison Camp to commence his

sentence.

Since arriving home from prison Stephen has spoken to groups of high school students, law

students, real estate investors, realtors, title agents, and attorneys around the country in an

attempt to educate others from his past mistakes. Stephen has never accepted any

compensation for his many presentations.

“I am a firm believer that real character is defined by how we conduct ourselves when we

are faced with adversity.” Stephen M. Gunther


Public Interest Event Saturday, February 28, 2015, 1:30pm-4:00pm

Thanks in advance to the conference attendees confirmed

to provide assistance to the Williamsburg ReStore located at

1303 Jamestown Road in the Colony Square Shopping

Center. ABA 4th Circuit law student attendees will help the

staff get the building in shape for upcoming spring Inventory.

Pre-registered students will meet 4th Circuit Lt. Governors of

Public Interest Stephanie Welsh and David Kershaw at 1:30pm

for departure. Many thanks to Sue Buyrn from W&M Law

School for making this event possible.

Mental Health Seminar

Saturday, February 28, 2015, 1:30pm-3:00pm

Uncommon Counsel

LAWYERS ARE 3.6 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION

LawLifeline IS A CONFIDENTIAL MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCE

SPECIFICALLY FOR LAW SCHOOL STUDENTS

Join Dave Nee Foundation’s Programming Director, Dr. Katherine

Bender, in this nationally renowned interactive workshop

designed to provide you with the skills and resources needed to

detect and address mental health concerns throughout your

legal career. Catch the drips now before you sink!

Governor Election & State of the Division Report Saturday, February 28, 2015, 4:00pm-5:00pm

your school’s delegation to vote for the best candidate. This

year we a record high of 31 voting attendees representing 11

out of the 17 4th Circuit law schools.

Moreover, a national officer attends each Circuit meeting to

provide law student attendees updates on the Division’s

developments. The 4th Circuit has the esteemed pleasure of

hearing national updates from the Division’s Chair, Aaron

Sohaski.

Finally, don’t miss out on your outgoing Governor’s Address

and Award Presentation. Lt. Governors and many law

student leaders from across the Circuit will be recognized.

This event will close with the PIE-IN-THE-FACE Service

Challenge.

Cocktail Attorney Mixer Saturday, February 28, 2015, 6:30pm

Williamsburg’s Brickhouse Tavern

755 Scotland Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185

Join us for a unique opportunity to mix and mingle with judges,

attorneys, law students and professors. Light appetizers will be

provided. Cash bar and food available for purchase.

The cornerstone event at Circuit spring

meetings is the Governor elections. The

primary ABA Representative and SBA

President from each ABA-approved

law school in the 4th Circuit casts their

vote for the 2015-2016 Circuit

Governor. Be sure to join us for the

candidate speeches and encourage Chair Aaron Sohaski

http://www.daveneefoundation.org/


Breakfast with the Judiciary

Sunday, March 1, 2015 8:00am-9:45am

Missed Manners and Courtroom Decorum

Over the centuries the English court system has developed many customs. The

customs are not arbitrary and can be summed up into one simple point:

Consideration and respect for the interests and concerns of all parties. By

following the customs, one will have a better chance of bringing into the court

a high degree of credibility, respect, and even success for himself. In this

workshop, students will learn how to address the court, comportment and

court room decorum, dress, language, court relations outside of court and

most importantly, how to avoid a judge's pet-peeves. Interested participants

will take turns properly addressing the participating judges.

Carolyn A. Dubay, Moderator Assistant Professor of Law, Charlotte School of Law

Judge Bruce D. White is a Circuit Court Judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit. He was appointed

to the bench in January of 2008. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge White was a

partner in the Fairfax law firm of Brault Palmer Grove White & Steinhilber, with a trial practice

concentrating on personal injury defense. Judge White was a substitute Judge for more

than 12 years before his appointment to the Circuit Court bench. He has served on the

Virginia State Bar’s professionalism faculty for both new attorneys and law students. He is a

Distinguished Adjunct Professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law where

he teaches Trial Advocacy and Virginia Practice and Procedure. Judge White is an Emeritus

Master of the George Mason Inn of Court. A participant in the Model Judiciary program for

over ten years, Judge White is the current Chief Judge of the Fairfax County Model Judiciary

Program. He is also a judicial representative to the Judicial Section Counsel of the Virginia

Bar Association and serves on the Virginia Supreme Court Judicial Administration Committee.

He is a graduate of the George Washington University and earned his law degree at the

Cecil C. Humphries School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Judge Marla Graff Decker is a graduate of Gettysburg College where she earned her B.S. in

Political Science. She received her J.D. from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University

of Richmond. Judge Decker began her career in 1983 as Assistant Attorney General in the

Criminal Litigation Section, where she tried cases in state and federal court and defended

convictions on appeal. After almost 20 years in the Criminal Litigation Section, Decker was

promoted to Section Chief of the Special Prosecutions Section, which consisted of the

Medicaid Fraud Control, Organized Crime, Environmental and Health Professions Units. Later,

she was appointed Deputy Attorney General of the Public Safety and Enforcement Division

and managed the Criminal Litigation, Correctional Litigation, Special Prosecutions and

Medicaid Fraud Control Sections.

In January of 2010, Decker was appointed by the Governor to serve as Secretary of Public

Safety. In that role, she was responsible for the eleven state agencies that comprised the

Public Safety Secretariat, including the Departments of State Police,

Honorable Joseph J. Ellis is Chief Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, sitting in

Spotsylvania County. His judicial career began in 1999 when he was elected to serve on the

Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court bench. Prior to his election, he was in a

private, general practice firm in the Fredericksburg area. Judge Ellis held several positions

within the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked from 1986 until 1992, including

Attorney Advisor to the Office of the Inspector General and Legal Advisor to the Assistant

Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs. While with the Federal government, he also

served in the General Counsel’s Office of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and later as

Deputy Clerk of the Board. Before beginning his legal career, Judge Ellis taught at the

college level and was Chief Officer of Virginia Probation and Parole Services in the 15th

Judicial Circuit where he now serves as Chief Judge. Judge Ellis holds an LL.M. degree in

International Law from New York University; a J.D. degree from the Cumberland School of

Law in Birmingham, Alabama; an M.A. degree in sociology from Western Kentucky University

in Bowling Green, Kentucky; and a B.A. degree in sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson,

Mississippi.


Mr. David J. Novak serves as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Richmond Division of

the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA). Before taking the bench in February of 2012, Judge

Novak served as an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) in the EDVA, ending his tenure in

that office as the Chief of the Criminal Division with supervisory responsibility over all criminal

prosecutions brought in the district. He has received numerous awards, including the

Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security

and the CIA Seal Medallion for his work as a member of the prosecution team of United

States v. Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be convicted for his role in the September 11

attacks. Before joining the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Novak served as an Assistant

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas and as a trial attorney with the

Department of Justice. He began his career by serving as an Assistant District Attorney in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Judge Novak is a graduate of Villanova Law School and St.

Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Judge Dennis J. Smith was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and received a B.A. from Brooklyn College

in 1975 and Juris Doctorate from Washington College of Law of the American University in

1978. He was admitted to the D.C. bar in 1978, and to the Virginia bar in 1979. In private

practice, Judge Smith was a principal in the firm of Shoun, Smith & Bach, P.C., concentrating

in family law matters. He has served as a member and chairperson of various committees of

the Fairfax Bar Association. He also was on the Board of Governors of the Family Law Section

of the Virginia State Bar as an attorney, and he then served as the Circuit Court

representative on the Board. He has been a member of the Boyd-Graves Conference since

1995. Judge Smith has lectured for many organizations including the Virginia State Bar,

Virginia CLE, local Bar Associations, the National Business Institute, the National Judicial

College, the Judicial Conference of Virginia, and since 2000 he has been Adjunct Faculty for

George Mason University School of Law teaching Virginia Family Law.

In his judicial career, Judge Smith served as a Commissioner in Chancery for the 19th Judicial

Circuit from 1987-1995, and as Substitute Judge for the General District and Juvenile &

Domestic Relations District Courts from 1990 until his appointment to the Circuit Court in June

1995. Since his appointment to bench, he has served as a member and Chairperson of the

Judicial Education Committee of the Judicial Conference of Virginia, which is comprised of

all Courts of Record. He also was a Virginia representative to the 1999 National Symposium

on the Future of Judicial Branch Education and the 2012 National Summit on Language

Access in the Courts. He was a member of the Pro Se Litigation Planning Committee of the

Supreme Court of Virginia and the Governor’s Task Force on Alternatives for Non-Violent

Offenders. He chaired the Virginia Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the

Establishment of a Family Court in Virginia. He is Co-Chairperson of the planning Committee

for the Workshop on Handling Capital Cases offered by the Judicial Conference of Virginia

and is on the faculty for this annual course. He currently serves on the committee that edits

the Virginia Civil and Criminal Bench Books. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the

National Conference of Metropolitan Courts and is President-Elect of that Conference.

Judge Jan L. Brodie has served as President of the Fairfax Bar Association, a member of the

Bar Council and Executive Committee of the Virginia State Bar, and a member of the Fairfax

Law Foundation Board and the Virginia Women Attorneys Association. She is a faculty

member and lecturer for the Harry S. Carrico Professionalism Course and a faculty member

of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy at Georgetown University. She was appointed to

the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board and has participated in the Fairfax

County Circuit Court’s Model Judiciary Program. Prior to her appointment to the Circuit

Court Bench, she was with the Office of the Fairfax County Attorney for more than 20 years,

focusing on land use and tax litigation while representing the Fairfax County Board of

Supervisors and various County agencies, and retired as a Deputy County Attorney for

Fairfax County. She is currently a member of the George Mason American Inns of Court.

Judge Brodie is married to Captain (Ret./USN) Glenn T. Brodie and has one son, Christopher

T. Brodie, and three grandchildren. Judge Brodie holds a B.A. in French from the College of

William and Mary, a M.A. in Counseling from San Jose State University, and a J.D. from

George Mason University.


Honorable Walter S. Felton, Jr. was first elected to the Court of Appeals of Virginia in

September 2002 and was first elected by his peers to serve as Chief Judge effective April 1,

2006, a position he held until his retirement on December 31, 2014. Judge Felton received his

undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond, where he was inducted into the Phi

Beta Kappa Society, and the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society. He also received his

law degree from the University of Richmond where he was Articles Editor of the Law Review

and Chancellor of the McNeil Law Society. Following his graduation from law school in 1969,

he served as a Captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps until 1973,

after which he began his law practice in Suffolk, Virginia.

In 1982 he was appointed to the faculty of the William & Mary Law School, where he

subsequently attained the rank of Professor of Law, and served as Legislative Counsel for the

College. He also served as Administrator of the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Council, the

state agency responsible for training the Commonwealth’s prosecutors.

In 1994 he was appointed Deputy Attorney General of Virginia, heading the

Intergovernmental Affairs Division. In 1995 was appointed as Senior Counsel to the Attorney

General. Thereafter, he served as Counsel to the Governor of Virginia, and as Director of

Policy. He was a member of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Virginia Courts in the 21st

Century, serving as Chair of the Task Force on the Structure of the Judiciary. He served as a

member of the Judicial Council of Virginia, the Executive Committee of the Judicial

Conference of Virginia, and the State/Federal Judicial Conference. He served on the Chief

Justice’s New Judge Mentoring Committee, and as Vice Chair of the Chief Justice’s Indigent

Defense Training Initiative. He is a member of the Boyd Graves Conference of the Virginia Bar

Association, served on the Board of Governor’s of the Education of Lawyers Section of the

Virginia State Bar, and as faculty member of the Professionalism Course of the Virginia State

Bar. He is a member of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeals of the

United States. In May 2014, the Judicial Council of Virginia named Chief Judge Felton as the

recipient of the Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award.

Judge Randall G. Johnson, Jr. was born to Randall G. and Jacquetta B. Johnson in

Bremerhaven Germany. Raised in Richmond, Virginia, Judge Johnson graduated from

John Marshall High School, received his B.A. degree from the College of William & Mary

and his J.D. degree from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond.

Prior to his election as a Judge of the Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations District

Court, he was employed as a Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney with the

Richmond Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. He previously operated his own law firm,

was a partner in the firm Dinkin, Purnell & Johnson, and was employed as an associate in

the litigation section of the firm Hirschler, Fleischer, Weinberg, Cox & Allen. He also served

as a law clerk to the Honorable James W. Benton, Jr. of the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Judge Johnson served the Virginia State Bar’s disciplinary system as a member of a

District Committee and the Disciplinary Board for a number of years. He teaches trial

advocacy to second year law students as an adjunct professor of law at the T.C. Williams

School of Law. A member of Third Street Bethel A.M.E. Church in Richmond, Judge

Johnson sings in his church’s choir and previously served as Vice Chair and pro tem of the

Steward Board and member of the finance committee. On a personal note, Judge

Johnson has been married to his lovely wife Zelda for seventeen years and has three

children – fifteen-year-old twin daughters Vanessa and Marissa and his thirteen-year-old

son Randall III (Randy).


Detailed Schedule of Events

February 27-March 1

Friday, February 27, 2015

7:00pm-10:00pm

Welcome Mixer

AMF Williamsburg Lanes

5544 Olde Towne Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188

Saturday, February 28, 2015

8:00am-

8:45am

Registration

8:45am-

9:00am

Welcome and Introductions ·

Maritza T. Adonis, 4th Circuit Governor, ABA Law Student Division, Charlotte School of Law (Charlotte, NC)

Aaron Sohaski, Chair, ABA Law Student Division, Western Michigan University, Thomas M. Cooley Law School

(Auburn Hills, MI)

· Representative of the Dean’s Office (invited) William & Mary Law School (Williamsburg, VA)

· TBD, 2015 SBA President, William & Mary Law School (Williamsburg, VA)

9:00am-

9:50am

Finding Your Legal Niche Once you receive your law degree you will find many doors opening to you. Panelists will examine the many

opportunities available to young lawyers and how following your passion can result in a professionally and

personally rewarding career whether as a traditional or non-traditional legal professional.

Moderator: Eric Leckie, Attorney at Law, Marine JAG Reservist

Helivi L. Holland, City Attorney for the City of Suffolk, VA and President of Old Dominion Bar

Association

Theo Stamos, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church

Heather Pedersen, Managing Attorney, Pedersen Law

William Dudley, Assistant Public Defender, Newport News, VA

9:50am-

10:40am

Branding 4.0: Are You LinkedIn? Presented by: Dean Michael J. Ende, Associate Dean,

W&M Law School Career Services Department

Are you LinkedIn? Come learn how to make effective

and efficient use of the most popular (and most

important) professional networking resource available.

The Bar Code: Cracking the Bar Exam Essays Presented by: Stephanie Fitzgerald, Kaplan Regional

Director

This workshop is designed to familiarize students with

the essay portion of the Bar Exam. This workshop will

include an explanation of the essay portion of the exam

and how the Kaplan product helps prepare students for

exam day. Furthermore, students will have the chance to

practice and review a sample essay.

http://www.leckielaw.com/attorney.html

http://www.suffolkva.us/citynews/2012/helivi-holland-appointed-as-new-city-attorney

http://news.arlingtonva.us/bios/theo-stamos-221321

http://hlpedersenlaw.com/attorneys.php

http://law.wm.edu/careerservices/aboutus/index.php

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=174661500&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=I9HA&locale=en_US&srchid=802306591422841460424&srchindex=1&srchtotal=1&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A802306591422841460424%2CVSRPtargetId%3A174661500%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary


10:40am-

10:45am

Break

10:45am-

11:30am

Loan Repayment and Debt Management The high cost of education and the burden of student

debt prevent many from pursuing and remaining in

public interest careers. Learn about educational debt

relief programs devoted to advocating for student debt

relief and spreading the word to make sure those who

need relief are taking the right steps to qualify. You will

leave this workshop understanding your student loans,

knowledgeable about Public Service Loan Forgiveness,

income-driven repayment plans, Loan Repayment

Assistance Program and many more.

Radhika Singh Miller, Senior Program

Manager, Law School Engagement &

Advocacy, Equal Justice Works

Diversity Experience Workshop: Building Your

Cultural Competency in the Legal Profession The Diversity Experience Workshop will allow

participants to increase their cultural competency

through interactive and introspective discussions on the

importance of diversity in the legal profession.

Participants will have the opportunity to engage with

panelists and student leaders in understanding current

diversity issues law students may encounter and share

solutions on how these issues can be addressed.

Moderators: Shyneisha Rous’e and Marlene Johnson-

Moore, PHR

Mrs. Elaina Blanks-Green, General Tax

Attorney, Norfolk Southern

Christopher L. Griffin, Jr., Assistant Professor

of Law, William & Mary Law School

Leslie Puzo, Student Bar Association

President, UNC School of Law

11:35am-

12:15pm

Exploring Clerkships, Fellowships, Internships and

Externships An important part of the career exploration process is

taking part in experiential opportunities that will help

you determine how your values, interests, personality,

and skills best fit into the legal profession. By pursuing a

clerkship, externship, fellowship, or internship, you can

test-drive a particular legal career, gain valuable work

experience, and build a professional track record. This

workshop will give students an opportunity to hear from

professionals that can provide insight on the benefits of

these various opportunities.

Moderator: Eric H. Joss, Consulting Advisor, Office of

Career Services of the W&M Law School; Partner in

Residence, Office of Career Services of Columbia

University School of Law; and Retired Partner, Paul

Hastings LLP

Gilbert Bartlett, Partner, Bartlett & Spirn

Laura Finch, Law Clerk, Eleventh Judicial

Circuit of West Virginia

Courtney Van Winkle, Partner, Allen and Allen

From Law Student to Lawyer: Making the

Transition from J.D. to Esq. This discussion panel will examine the transition from

learning the law in a courtroom to practicing law as a

licensed attorney. Panelists ranging from law school

clinical instructors to young practicing attorneys will

engage in discussions and topics including, but not

limited to, the law school courses that young attorneys

found were most helpful when they began practicing as

attorneys, how their understanding of the legal system

has evolved and changed since law school, and what

practical skills they've learned since leaving law school

that have been critical in their practice of the law.

Moderator: Katrina Castillo, Young Lawyer Division

Liaison to the ABA Law Student Division, Policy and

Compliance Specialist, D.C. Dept. of Human Resources

T. Greg Doucette, Esq., The Law Office of T.

Greg Doucette, PLLC

Kathleen McKee, Associate Professor,

Director, Civil Practice Clinic, Regent

University School of Law

Hannah Carter, Associate, Green Hampton and

Kelly, PLLC

Mary Kate Zekert, Fourth Circuit Court of

Appeals CJA Appellate Panel, Member; and

Associate, Bowen, Ten, Cardani

12:15pm-

1:30pm

Luncheon: From Attorney to Inmate: Ethics, Professional Responsibility and the Lawyer

A real world scenario that brings to life the ethical quandaries lawyers face in everyday legal practice in a manner

designed to leave an indelible impression on those about to embark on a legal career. This is a story about a lawyer

who transgressed ethical boundaries, ended up being sanctioned by the bar, and prosecuted. This real life story

makes it possible for students to see problems of ethics and professionalism from the perspectives of a real lawyer

who dealt with a real situation. Students will learn more from this presentation than they could ever learn from just

studying abstract principles.

Stephen Gunther, Former Attorney, National Speaker

http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/about/staff#Miller

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=75555795&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=_Ur2&locale=en_US&trk=tyah2&trkInfo=tarId%3A1422840534085%2Ctas%3AShyneisha%20Ro%2Cidx%3A1-1-1

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/marlene-johnson-moore-phr/76/536/115

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/marlene-johnson-moore-phr/76/536/115

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/elaina-blanks-green/4/b01/106

http://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/clgriffinjr.php?svr=law

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliepuzo

http://www.superlawyers.com/virginia/lawyer/Eric-H-Joss/8a38a98b-4fab-4baa-a844-f0235d0143e1.html

http://bartlettspirn.com/bartlett.html

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/laura-finch/72/7aa/3b3

http://www.allenandallen.com/courtney-allen-van-winkle

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kcastillo09

http://www.tgregdoucette.com/

http://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/faculty_staff/mckee.cfm

http://ghklaw.com/attorneys/hannah-e-carter/

http://www.btclawva.com/Attorneys/Mary-K-Zekert.shtml

http://stephenmgunther.com/


1:30pm-

4:00pm

On Site Public Interest Activity

*Pre-registration required

Habitat for Humanity of Williamsburg (Williamsburg Restore)-- 1301 Jamestown Rd.

Pre-registered students will meet 4th Circuit Lt. Governors of Public Interest Stephanie Welsh and David

Kershaw at 1:30pm for departure. Please bring warm clothes and clothes that you’re willing to get dirty.

Williamsburg Restore is looking forward to having you. Thank you for your service!

1:30pm-

3:00pm

Uncommon Counsel:

Catching the Drips Before they Sink This interactive workshop is designed to educate law students about depression, its prevalence in the legal

profession, and the availability and effectiveness of treatment. Students attending this workshop will be equipped

with the skills and resources to assist them with mental health concerns throughout their legal careers.

Katherine Bender, Ph.D., NCC, Programming Director, Dave Nee Foundation

3:00pm-

3:45pm

Destination Washington, D.C.: From Practice to

Policy Ranking 5th among highest employment rates for

lawyers, Washington D.C. provides a wide range of

opportunities for legal professionals. This workshop will

provide attendees with valuable insight into the life of a

lawyer engaged in policy and legislative

reform. Panelists, combined, have decades of experience

working in non-profit, local, state or federal government

settings making a difference in the future of our nations’

policies.

Moderator: Karl A. Doss, Director, Access to Legal

Services at Virginia State Bar

Kenneth Goldsmith, Senior Legislative

Counsel, ABA Governmental Affairs Office

Amy Walters, Staff Attorney and Clinic

Supervisor, Legal Aid Justice Center

Eleni Roumel, Assistant Counsel, Office of

General Counsel at U.S. House of

Representatives

Outbreak: Hot Law Practice Areas While some law practice areas are suffering in the

current recession, certain practice areas are thriving. The

future of the job market remains uncertain, and many

people, especially law students, wonder whether they

will be able to find a job after they graduate. Come learn

more about the eight hot practice areas that are gaining

traction, and prompting demand from legal

professionals. Panel will include information from

professionals practicing in various “hot” fields.

Moderators: Carla Fassbender, Lt. Governor of Legal

Education Advancement and Christopher Smith, Lt.

Governor of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Priscilla Harris, Associate Professor,

Appalachian School of Law (Health Law and

Environmental Law)

Michael W. McLaughlin, P.E.Senior Vice

President SCS Engineers (Environment,

Energy and Resources)

Jordan McKay, Associate, Michie Hamlett

(commerical litigation and business law)

http://www.daveneefoundation.org/about/board-of-directors-and-staff

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kenneth-goldsmith/5/a18/a70

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/amy-walters/71/b99/653

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=126115939&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=TGnF&locale=en_US&srchid=802306591422841786561&srchindex=1&srchtotal=1&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A802306591422841786561%2CVSRPtargetId%3A126115939%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary

http://www.asl.edu/JD-Program/Our-Faculty/Faculty-Bios/Priscilla-Norwood-Harris.html

http://www.scsengineers.com/scs-secure/Resumes/Mike_McLaughlin.html

http://www.michiehamlett.com/attorneys/jordan-e-mckay/


4:00pm-

5:00pm

Governor’s Address and Law School Award Presentations As a last order of business, Circuit Governor, Maritza T. Adonis will present special recognitions to those circuit

members whose contributions during her term made a significant impact in the success of her administration.

Bronze Key Awards will also be presented to three law schools whose membership activities have resulted in

membership increases.

Candidate Speeches and Election of the New Circuit Governor Moderator: Aaron Sohaski, Chair, ABA Law Student Division

The primary ABA Representative and the SBA President from each ABA-approved law school in the 4th Circuit

will vote for the 2015-2016 Circuit Governor. Be sure to join us for the candidate speeches and encourage your law

school delegation to vote for the best candidate.

State of the Division Report Presented by: Aaron Sohaski, Chair, ABA Law Student Division, Western Michigan University, Thomas M.

Cooley Law School (Auburn Hills, MI)

Hear developments in the Division's efforts to eliminate Interpretation 305-2 from the Standards for Legal Education

as well as other initiatives currently under way in the Law Student Division.

5:00pm-

6:30pm

Break

6:30pm Cocktail: Attorney Mixer--Williamsburg’s Brickhouse Tavern 755 Scotland Street

Williamsburg, VA 23185

Light Appetizers Provided, Cash Bar and Additional Food Available for purchase

Thank you for participating on the first day of the 4th Circuit

Spring Meeting. Please be sure to complete the survey. Your

feedback is very important to us.

We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

http://www.brickhouse-tavern.com/BHWMAIN.html


Sunday, March 1, 2015

8:00am-

9:45am

Breakfast

Approaching the Bench, Breakfast w/ the Judiciary Participants will have an opportunity to have breakfast with members from all levels of the judiciary.

---

Missed Manners and Courtroom Decorum

8:30am-9:30am Over the centuries the English court system has developed many customs. The customs are not arbitrary and can be

summed up into one simple point: Consideration and respect for the interests and concerns of all parties. By

following the customs one will have a better chance of bringing into the court a high degree of credibility, respect,

and even success for himself. In this workshop, students will learn how to address the court, comportment and court

room decorum, dress, language, court relations outside of court and most importantly, how to avoid a judge's pet-

peeves. Interested participants will take turns properly addressing the judges on the panel.

Moderator: Professor Carolyn Dubay, Executive Committee, Lawyers Conference of the Judicial Division of

American Bar Association; Board Member, Justice Initiatives; Member, National Advisory Council of the American

Judicature Society; and Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law, First Amendment and Judicial Administration at

Charlotte School of Law.

Hon. Walter S. Felton, Jr., Chief Judge-retired, Court of Appeals of VA

Judge Dennis J. Smith, Circuit Court

Judge Bruce D. White, Circuit Court, Nineteenth Judicial District

Mr. David J. Novak, U.S Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division

Hon. Joseph J. Ellis, Chief Judge, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Spotsylvania County

Judge Randall G. Johnson, Jr., District Court, Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations

Judge Marla Graff Decker, Virginia Court of Appeals

Judge Jan L. Brodie, Circuit Court, Nineteenth Judicial District

9:45am-

10:00am

Professional Development Series (All events in the PDS will be running throughout the day and require pre-registration)

Head and Shoulders Above” - Professional Headshots

Students can take advantage of the opportunity to have their headshot taken by a professional photographer.

For liability purposes, no on-site payment will be allowed. Please see the nearest 4th Circuit officer for instructions.

Congratulations to the new Circuit Governor-Elect. Be sure to

connect with them to express your interest in serving on the 4th

Circuit Lieutenant Governor team.

http://www.justiceinitiatives.org/directors_cdubay.php

http://www.vsb.org/site/about/reflections-19

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/circuit_court_judges.htm

http://www.law.gmu.edu/faculty/directory/adjunct/white_bruce

http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov/locations/ric.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011503577.html

http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/jdr/Henrico/home.html

http://www.leadershipdirectories.com/profiles/Marla-Decker-Judge-Chambers-of-Judge-Marla-Graff-Decker-Cou.htm

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/circuit_court_judges.htm#judge8


10:00am-

11:00am

Career Panel:

Litigation Participants will receive

advice from practitioners on

entering and finding success

in the stimulating and

dynamic field of litigation.

Moderator: William A.

Woodruff, Professor of Law,

Norman Adrian Wiggins

School of Law

Bruce N. Cameron,

Litigation Team,

National Right to Work

Legal Defense

Foundation, Professor

of Labor Law, Regent

University School of

Law

David Eggert, 24 Year

Litigator, Arnold &

Porter, LLP, Visiting

Professor of Law,

Washington and Lee

University School of

Law

Thomas Wolf, Business

Litigator, LeClairRyan

Career Panel:

Finding Your Legal Niche Panelists from several different

practice areas, in government and

the private sector, will discuss the

exciting career opportunities within

the legal profession and also

provide advice on how to “Find

Your Legal Niche.”

Moderators: Akemini Isang, Lt.

Governor of Mental Health and

Medical Legal Partnership and

David Kershaw, Lt. Governor of

Public Interest

Candice C. Shiver, Special

Adviser to the National

Director of the Minority

Business Development

Agency, United States

Department of Commerce

Cylia Lowe, Attorney Advisor,

United States Office of

Personnel Management’s

Office of General Counsel

Roy Hoagland, Visiting

Professor of Practice, William

& Mary Law School

MPRE Review *Pre-registration required

(10:00am-2pm)

(including two 15 minute breaks)

The purpose of this presentation is to provide

students with the tools they need to be

successful on the Multistate Professional

Responsibility Exam. Students should leave

this presentation with the content they need to

know on Test Day and advice on how to

organize their approach and get the most out

of their study time. Students attending this

workshop will have an opportunity to take an

on-site MPRE Practice Test and participate in

a live practice walk-through with a leading

MPRE Test Prep Instructor.

Chuck Shonholtz, Manager of Legal

Education, Instructor, Thomson Reuters

11:00am-

11:45am

Skills For Networking and Communication (Speed

Networking)

This workshop will assist students in: 1) “seeing” networking

opportunities and knowing how to take full advantage of them; 2)

assessing their personal strengths, so that they can connect with

colleagues and professionals with maximum results and minimum

anxiety; and 3) realizing the opportunities and limitations of online

networking. A live speed networking session to follow.

Christopher L. Griffin, Jr.,

12:00pm Adjournment

(Participants may continue engaging in the Speed Networking Mixer and Professional Development Series until

1pm)

**Conference planners have negotiated late check out of 1pm with conference hotel.

http://www.law.campbell.edu/page.cfm?id=273&n=william-a-woodruff

http://www.law.campbell.edu/page.cfm?id=273&n=william-a-woodruff

http://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/faculty_staff/cameron.cfm

http://law2.wlu.edu/faculty/profiledetail.asp?id=668

http://www.leclairryan.com/thomas-m-wolf

http://www.mbda.gov/node/1677

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/cylia-lowe/3/932/167

http://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/visiting/rahoagland.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIMEqGvIbaY

http://law2.wm.edu/faculty/bios/fulltime/clgriffinjr.php?svr=law


12:00pm-

2:00pm

Professional Development Series

(All events in the PDS will be running throughout the day and require pre-registration)

Head and Shoulders Above” - Professional Headshots

Students can take advantage of the opportunity to have their headshot taken by a professional photographer.

“Getting to the Top of the Stack” – Resume and Cover Letter Review

Career services professionals and professional attorneys will review students’ resumes and cover letters and suggest

ideas for strengthening students’ individual attractiveness to potential employers.

“So, Tell Us a Little About Yourself…” – Mock Interviews

Career services professionals will conduct mock interviews, which will give students a platform to strengthen their

interview skills and discuss potential employers’ expectations.

“Phase Four: Life after 3L Year”—Individual Consultations

Career services professionals, employers, and legal professionals will provide career planning information and

resources on how to obtain internships and job opportunities.

“Show Your Stripes” – Diversity Video Campaign

Members of the legal community will discuss why Diversity is important to them personally and how Diversity is

important to the legal community. The discussions will be recorded for wide distribution to the ABA 4th Circuit

during ABA Diversity Day on March 2. The video will also be in support of the ABA 4th Circuit “Show Your

Stripes” Diversity Campaign.

Thank you for attending the 4th Circuit Spring Meeting. Please be

sure to complete the survey. Your feedback is very important to us.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the opportunities that the ABA

Law Student Division has to offer. Visit us at

http://ambar.org/lawstudents. Safe travels!

http://ambar.org/lawstudents

Finding Your Legal Niche | 2015

Mr. T. Greg Doucette graduated

from N.C. State University with

his degree in Computer Science in

2009. While at N.C. State, he was

twice elected by the Student Body

to serve as the University’s

Student Senate President. Before

beginning his second term,

T. Greg was also elected by

student leaders across North

Carolina to serve simultaneously

as President of the statewide UNC

Association of Student

Government.

After graduation, T. Greg went

on to attend law school at the

North Carolina Central

University School of Law in

Durham. During his 1L year

T. Greg served a second term as

UNCASG President following a

unanimous reelection, and was

captain of the law school’s 1L

Trial Advocacy Team that took

2nd place against 31 other teams

in the annual Kilpatrick Stockton

Mock Trial Competition hosted

by UNC Chapel Hill. He also

won 3rd Place in NCCU Law’s

Mary Wright 1L Closing

Argument Competition.

T. Greg graduated cum laude

from NCCU Law in May 2012,

passed the North Carolina bar

exam that July, and started

the Law Offices of T. Greg

Doucette PLLC days after

taking the attorney’s Oath of

Office in September 2012.

Also known by his nom de

plume T. (“TDot”) and his

nom de guerre TGD, T. Greg

publishes the blog

law:/dev/null where he shares

his musings on law school

and life as an attorney. He

also volunteers with several

philanthropic groups,

including N.C. State’s

Friend’s of the Library and

NCCU Law’s Alumni

Association.

Mr. Michael Ende joined

William & Mary Law School in

2013 as Associate Dean for

Career Services. He is

responsible for developing and

implementing strategic

initiatives related to all aspects

of student and alumni career and

professional development,

alumni and employer outreach

and student and graduate

employment. Prior to joining

William & Mary, Dean Ende served

for nearly 6 years as the Assistant

Dean for Career Services at the

Maurice A. Deane School of Law at

Hofstra University in New York.

While at Hofstra, Dean Ende was

the co-creator of Hofstra’s

Professional Success and

Leadership Development Program

and its Success Strategies Boot

Camp, an annual, multi-day event

for students focusing on

professional development skills and

strategies.

Dean Ende is a 1989 graduate of

Fordham University School of Law,

where he was an Articles Editor for

the Fordham International Law

Journal. He also holds a B.A. in

English from the State University

of New York at Albany. Dean

Ende spent six years serving as

the Managing Director for two

leading companies specializing in

the recruitment and placement of

attorneys. Prior to entering the

legal staffing and placement

business, Dean Ende was a

partner with the law firm of

Cullen and Dykman, LLP, in

Garden City, New York, where

he specialized in bank regulatory

and compliance and corporate

transactional matters.

“It's every lawyer's dream to

help shape the law, not just

react to it.”

Thank you to all of our special guests from around the circuit that agreed to share their experiences and knowledge with us. Without their commitment to our professional growth, the success of this conference would not be possible.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alandersho574955.html?src=t_lawyer




Mrs. Eleni Roumel has served as Assistant Counsel since October 2012. Before

joining the Office of General Counsel she was a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley &

Scarborough, LLP, and had previously practiced at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale &

Dorr, LLP, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, LLP. She also taught as an

adjunct professor at the Charleston School of Law. Ms. Roumel served as a law clerk

to the Honorable William H. Pauley III, United States District Judge for the Southern

District of New York. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Tulane Law

School, where she was a member of the Tulane Law Review. Ms. Roumel received

her M.B.A. from Tulane University, and her B.A., cum laude, from Wake Forest

University.

Mrs. Amy Walters joined the Legal Aid Justice Center in the summer of 2014 to

supervise University of Virginia School of Law clinic students in the health law

clinic and the child advocacy clinic. She previously worked at Maryland

Disability Law Center, where she joined the staff as a Skadden Fellow after

clerking for U.S. Magistrate Judge F. Bradford Stillman. She received her B.A.

and law degrees at the University of Virginia, where she received the Claire

Corcoran Award for Public Service.

Mr. Michael McLaughlin is an attorney and engineer who began his career with SCS as a

summer engineering intern in 1973. He is a Senior Vice President for the firm's

Environmental Services Practice, overseeing the technical and business development for

the firm's environmental due diligence, environmental management, voluntary

remediation, storage tank, hazardous substances and hazardous waste (Superfund), and the

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). He assists clients throughout

the United States in complying with these and other environmental laws. He has overseen

the development of site-specific quality assurance/quality control plans, and health and

safety plans for environmental site assessment, RCRA and CERCLA projects, and has

worked on more than three dozen sites listed on the National Priorities List and on scores

of regulatory compliance, voluntary cleanup, and remediation projects for commercial,

industrial, municipal, and military clients practice. Mr. McLaughlin provides SCS with

special expertise in environmental regulatory systems. He is particularly familiar with the

regulatory frameworks established under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

(RCRA), the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA), the

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

Mr. Eric Leckie is an experienced trial lawyer in both state and federal criminal law. As

an active duty Marine Officer, he spent nearly 12 years as a Judge Advocate. During that

time, Eric Leckie served as a prosecutor, operational law advisor, and staff judge advocate

for numerous commands in both the United States and overseas during combat operations

in Afghanistan. Following his time on active duty, Eric Leckie has established a private

practice in the Hampton Roads region, while continuing to serve as a Marine JAG

Reservist. He brings more than a decade of legal experience to the defense of clients

facing charges ranging from simple misdemeanor offenses to more serious felony charges.

He is a dedicated military officer and attorney you can trust with your freedoms and

future. He has spent his career defending the constitution and now serves the community

in the defense of their own rights under the law.


Mrs. Candace Shiver is the special

advisor to the National Director

Minority Business Development

Agency at the U.S. Department of

Commerce. Mrs. Shiver received a

Presidential Appointment in 2012 to

Mr. Bruce Cameron teaches Religion in the Workplace, Labor Law and administers

the Right to Work Practicum. Prior to coming to Regent, he spent over 30 years

litigating religious freedom and constitutional law cases in the employment context.

During that time, he never lost a Title VII religious accommodation case in court. He

counseled employees in virtually every state as to their rights and formally represented

clients in administrative or judicial proceedings in at least 25 states.

Professor Cameron is the author of 21 published articles on the topics of religion,

Constitutional law, the rights of religious dissenters, and labor law. He coauthored a

section of a judicial handbook entitled A Judicial Guide To Labor and Employment

Law published by Lawyers Weekly Publications. He is also the author of the weekly

Bible studies on the popular web site GoBible.org.

Professor Cameron was an Andrews Scholar, an intern with the U.S. Attorney’s Office,

and a member of the U.S. Department of Justice Honors Program. He is a member of

the Federalist Society, the Christian Legal Society, several state bars, and a number of

federal bars, including the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

serve as Special Advisor to the

National Director of the Minority

Business Development Agency

(MBDA) within the United States

Department of Commerce. In this

capacity, Mrs. Shiver advises the

National Director on advancing

MBDA’s operations and programs

through its nationwide network of 44

Minority Business Centers.

Mrs. Shiver also aids the Agency in

forming pertinent public-private

partnerships, agreements with federal

agencies, and strategic alliances to

strengthen U.S. relations in targeted

markets and foreign countries. She

manages MBDA’s corporate relations

from the National Director’s Office,

represents MBDA in various

interagency collaborations, and

helps to develop policies aimed

at creating and retaining jobs

and supporting the growth of

minority-owned businesses

through greater access to

contracts, capital, and new

markets.

A native of Columbia, South

Carolina, Mrs. Shiver earned a

Bachelor of Arts degree in

English and Philosophy,

graduating Phi Beta Kappa,

from Spelman College in 2003.

After college, Mrs. Shiver

earned her Juris Doctor Degree

from Duke University School

of Law in 2006.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Mr. David Eggert is a professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Before coming to Washington and Lee, Professor Eggert taught for three years at Handong

International Law School, a US-style graduate law school in South Korea that trains

students from Korea and numerous other nations in US and international law. The classes

he taught included Civil Procedure, Evidence, Appellate Advocacy, Global Competition

law, Private International Law and Doing Justice. While in South Korea, Professor Eggert

participated in various conferences concerning global competition law and also

participated in entrepreneurship training seminars in Mongolia, Cambodia, Kenya, South

Korea, and Ghana. He also worked with present and former students to help establish

organizations in Korea dedicated to helping trafficked women, single mothers, and

immigrants and refugees.

Professor Eggert is also the Vice President and a member of the Board of Justice Ventures

International, an NGO that partners with groups in India and China to bring about justice

for victims of human trafficking, urban poverty, and other serious injustices. He

coordinates the organization’s China programs, oversees legal training for staff in India

and China, and heads up the organization’s development efforts.

Mr. Thomas Wolf is a trial lawyer focusing on business litigation, particularly in cases

involving construction law, employment law, intellectual property, general commercial law

and international law. He heads both the General Counsel Practice and the Construction

Law Practice of LeClairRyan. He is listed for both business litigation and construction

law in The Best Lawyers in America, an honor bestowed on the top 1% of lawyers as a

result of peer surveys, and has been recognized repeatedly by Virginia Business magazine

as one of Virginia's "Legal Elite" and Law and Politics magazine as a Virginia "Super

Lawyer" for both civil litigation and construction law. In 2010 he was named one of the

"Top 50" lawyers in Virginia by Law and Politics magazine.

Tom acts as general counsel to a number of companies. He is former President of the

International Alliance of Law Firms, a network of business-oriented law firms from around

the world. Tom is fluent in French and has a working knowledge of Spanish and Italian.

He is active in a number of construction-related industry groups.

Tom is a frequent lecturer on construction law, litigation, employment law and

international law both in the U.S. and abroad. He is a member of the American Bar

Association (Litigation Section, International Law Section and Forum Committee on the

Construction Industry). He has served the Virginia State Bar as Chair of both the

International Practice Section and the Construction Law and Public Contracts Section.


Professor William Woodruff brings extensive law practice and litigation experience to the

classroom. Students in Evidence and Advanced Trial Advocacy benefit from the

knowledge of problems and issues he gained in the crucible of a real courtroom in real

cases. Before joining the Campbell faculty in 1992, Woodruff served as the Chief, Army

Litigation Division, where he directed civil litigation involving Army policies, programs,

and activities. He also worked as a Trial Attorney in the Torts Branch, U.S. Department of

Justice and taught graduate legal education at The Judge Advocate General's School in

Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ms. Radhika Singh Miller is Senior Program Manager of Law School Engagement &

Advocacy at Equal Justice Works, focusing on law student initiatives. Prior to joining

Equal Justice Works, Radhika was a staff attorney at the Partnership for Civil Justice in

Washington, D.C., focusing on constitutional and civil rights litigation and

advocacy. She brings years of organizing experience to Equal Justice Works and is also

an expert on educational debt relief, having served on student loans committees in the

Department of Education's negotiated rulemaking focusing on debt relief initiatives.

Radhika received her J.D. from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and her B.A. from

American University.

Ms. Stephanie Fitzgerald is the Regional Director for Virginia for Kaplan Bar

Review. Prior to working for Kaplan Bar Review, she completed a fellowship with the

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Stephanie received her JD from the

University of Richmond School of Law in Richmond, Virginia, and her BA in History

and Political Science from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Ken Goldsmith is Senior Legislative Counsel and Director for State Legislation for

the American Bar Association. A federal lobbyist since 2003, Ken’s portfolio includes

primarily Legal Education and Military & Veterans Affairs. He is also director for the

ABA’s annual fly-in advocacy event, ABA Day, which brings bar leaders from all 50

states to lobby in support of priorities of the organized bar. As Director for State

Legislation Ken serves as a national nexus among state, local and other bar association

governmental relations programs, and each year he helps produce the three-day State

Legislative Workshop. He is an active leader in the National Association of Bar

Executives, receiving its Peer Excellence Award in 2013 and presently serves on its

Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Ken graduated law school after placements with a

county judge, public defender office, and state’s attorney’s office, but ultimately it was

a decision to apply for a volunteer position with the ABA Criminal Justice Section that

proved fateful. He has since served in a variety of counsel and project director positions

over matters as diverse as criminal justice, natural disaster preparation, environmental

law, and others. He is a member of the Maryland State Bar, board member with the

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and he volunteers with the U.S. Humane

Society N-DART—a natural disaster response unit. Ken graduated from the University

of Maryland and received his law degree from the University of Baltimore School of

Law. He currently lives in Kensington, Maryland where he held local political office

and is active in a number of community causes.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Leslie Puzo is the Student Bar

Association President at University

of North Carolina School of Law.

Leslie was born in Queens, New

York and her parents are from

Dominican Republic and

Haiti. Leslie’s childhood years were

spent in Dominican Republic, she

moved to Miami, Florida and has

resided in the U.S. ever since. Leslie

graduated Magna Cum Laude from

Florida Gulf Coast University with

bachelors in Political Science and

minors in Global Studies and Latin

American Studies. She is a third year

law student at UNC, focusing her

law classes to international and

immigration law. Leslie has interned

for the City Attorney's Office in

Winston-Salem, The Coca-Cola

Company and is a current Research

Assistant for the University of

North Carolina Consumer

Financial Transactions Clinic. On

her free time, Leslie enjoys

traveling. She has visited Brazil,

Panama, France, Spain, Bolivia,

Haiti, Dominican Republic and the

Bahamas. In addition to traveling,

Leslie also enjoys reading,

negotiating and Salsa dancing.

Mrs. Elaina Blanks-Green,

a general tax attorney, joined

Norfolk Southern Corp. in

October 2012. Previously,

she worked as a tax attorney

at Kaufman and Canoles in

Norfolk, Virginia where she

served on both the Diversity

and Recruiting committees.

A Virginia Bar Association

member since 2005, she has

served two terms as chair of

the Taxation Section. She

also served as

secretary/treasurer of the

Young Lawyers Division.

Before that, she chaired the

ABA/YLD Awards of

Achievement committee and co-

chaired the Diversity

Recruitment committee, which

held a Diversity Job Fair for five

successful years. Recently,

Elaina completed her tenure as

chair of the VBA Young

Lawyers Division where she

served as the head of

approximately 1,000 members

and oversaw the organization of

the Mentor Resource Program

for newly admitted students in

Virginia. Elaina graduated from

the University of North Carolina

at Chapel Hill with a BA degree

in Mathematics with honors in

2000 and the University of

Virginia School of Law in 2003

where she was awarded the

Thomas Marshall Miller Prize

for an outstanding an deserving

student. Elaina is married and

has an infant son.

Mr. William F. Dudley was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, and currently resides in Williamsburg, Virginia.

William attended I.C. Norcom High School and after graduation enlisted in the United States Army. After

serving with distinction, William went on to graduate from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of

Science in Finance and a Masters of Business Administration.

William graduated from T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, in 2011. During law

school, William clerked for the Honorable Kenneth A. Krantz at the U.S. Department of Labor in Newport

News, Virginia. William joined Lytle Law as an associate in 2012. After practicing at Lytle Law, William

joined the Newport News Public Defender’s office in 2013.


Mrs. Courtney Van Winkle, a

partner with the firm, concentrates

her practice on personal injury and

wrongful death claims. She is a

tireless, compassionate advocate for

her clients. Since joining the firm in

1990, Courtney has obtained

numerous victories in the courtroom.

Courtney’s compassion extends

beyond the courtroom as she works

closely with her clients to resolve

their cases. Although Courtney is

proud of her courtroom results, she

is most passionate about the people

she represents. “I’m a people

person,” she says, “and I enjoy the

individual relationships I develop

with my clients”. She draws

inspiration from the courage of her

clients to overcome adversity and

to recover from injury that was

caused by the fault of another.

Courtney has successfully resolved

through trial and settlement many

cases involving children. As the

mother of four children herself,

Courtney is able to draw upon her

own experiences to

compassionately work with

children. Courtney has lectured on

the topic of "Children as

Witnesses" and has participated in

producing a video, which has been

used to train lawyers, and judges on

the special circumstances involved

when children are in the courtroom.

Courtney aggressively takes

on insurance companies to

preserve the rights of her

clients. She once fought a case

all the way to the Virginia

Supreme Court to obtain

justice for a 12-year-old client

whose insurance company

wrongfully denied payments

for his medical bills.

Courtney is proud to be a trial

lawyer and an advocate for

injured people. She believes in

the civil justice system,

individual freedom and the

responsibility placed on

society and individuals to

maintain a system whereby

injured parties can seek and

receive justice.

Mr. Gilbert A. Bartlett has been a

practicing attorney for over forty

years. After graduation from the

College of William and Mary, in

1962 Mr. Bartlett served on active

duty with the United States Marine

Corps. He retired as a Colonel in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve.

After returning from active duty he

attended the Marshall-Wythe School

of Law at the College of William

and Mary, where he was inducted

into Omicron Delta Kappa

Leadership Fraternity and was

Operations Editor of the William

and Mary Law Review. He

received his law degree in 1969.

Gil also is an honorary recipient of

the Order of the Coif.

Mr. Bartlett has developed an

extensive law practice in

transactions and litigation

concerning real estate, probate

administration, and estate planning,

and tax-exempt organization and

governance oversight.

Mr. Bartlett has been President of

the Williamsburg Bar Association

and a member of Virginia State Bar

Disciplinary Committee for the

Tenth Judicial Circuit.

His private interests have included

membership on, and President of,

the William & Mary Law School

Foundation, a member and

Chairman of the Board of

Trustees of the Williamsburg

Community Health

Foundation, and President of

the Williamsburg Chamber &

Tourism Alliance.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Mrs. Laura M. Finch graduated

with a Bachelor of Arts in

Political Science from Christopher

Newport University in 2007.

Following college, she worked in

campaigns and elections, and as a

substitute teacher in

Williamsburg, Virginia, before

beginning law school at the

University of Kentucky in 2009.

During law school, she worked as a

summer intern at the Lexington Fair

Housing Council, a Fair Housing

Act enforcement agency.

After earning her Juris Doctor from

the University of Kentucky in May

2012, Laura campaigned for the late

Congressman Charlie Wilson in

Ohio’s Sixth District, before moving

to Lewisburg, West Virginia, to

serve as law clerk to the Honorable

James J. Rowe, in November 2012.

She a member of the West Virginia

State Bar, is admitted to practice

before the U.S. District Court for the

Southern District of West Virginia,

and represents Greenbrier, Fayette

and Nicholas counties on the West

Virginia State Bar’s Young

Lawyers Section Executive

Committee. Laura is a member

of the American Bar

Association, Young Lawyers

Division, and Government and

Public Sector Lawyers Division.

Mrs. Heather Larson Pedersen

is the founder and owner of

Pedersen Law, PLLC. She is a

graduate of Old Dominion

University where she earned a

Bachelor of Science degree in

Business Administration and

majored in both finance and

economics. Ms. Pedersen

competed before the Federal

Reserve Bank and took first place in

a competition in economic analysis.

Ms. Pedersen earned her Juris

Doctorate from Regent University.

Ms. Pedersen focuses her practice in

the areas of divorce (including

military divorce matters) and family

law, real estate, and wills and

estates. Ms. Pedersen also owns a

title company, Pedersen Title, and

handles real estate transactions.

Ms. Pedersen is a member of St.

Bede Catholic Church, the

Williamsburg Bar Association, the

American Bar Association, the

Virginia Bar Association and the

Williamsburg Kiwanis Club. She

also serves as President of the

board for the Institute for Dance,

Inc. and Vice President of the

Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg.

Ms. Pedersen resides in

Williamsburg with her two

Brussels Griffons, Ginger and

Ruby.


Ms. Helivi Holland served as

Deputy City Attorney for the City

of Suffolk prior to her appointment

to head the state DJJ. In that

capacity, she appeared weekly in

Juvenile and Domestic Relations

District Court representing the

Suffolk Department of Social

Services in child welfare cases.

Additionally, she supervised all of

the assistant city attorneys and

support staff of the Office of the

City Attorney, wrote and managed

the office's budget, represented the

Department of Human Resources,

served on the Management

Advisory Team of the City and

served as the liaison to the courts

of the City. She remains qualified

as a guardian ad litem.

With all of her obligations, Ms.

Holland still finds time to stay

active in the community, having

served on the board of directors of

The Children's Center, Suffolk

Education Foundation, Suffolk

Chapter of the American Red

Cross and the Genieve Shelter. She

regularly speaks and trains on

various subjects of law relating to

juvenile crimes, domestic

violence, child welfare, juvenile

delinquency and juvenile re-entry.

Additionally, she is a proud

member of First Baptist Church,

Mahan Street, in Suffolk, and a

Diamond Life Member of Delta

Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in the

Suffolk Alumnae Chapter.

Mrs. Theo Stamos is the

Commonwealth’s Attorney for

Arlington County and the City of

Falls Church, Virginia, having been

elected to that post in November,

2011. Theo first joined the office

in 1987 and was promoted to

Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney

in 1998 and then to Chief Deputy

in 2002. Theo has successfully

prosecuted thousands of cases

including capital murder, violent

sexual assaults, domestic violence

and drunk driving. As

Commonwealth’s Attorney, Theo

supervises a staff of assistant

commonwealth’s attorneys,

victim/witness specialists and

support staff who daily handle a

broad range of felonies and

misdemeanors in both adult and

juvenile court.

Theo serves is a statewide bar

association leader and serves on

the board of the Virginia

Association of Commonwealth’s

Attorneys as its Ethics Chair. She

also is co-chair of VACA’s newly-

formed Best Practices Committee.

She recently completed two terms

as an elected member of the

Virginia State Bar’s governing

body where she was asked to serve

on the Bar’s executive committee.

She also served six years as a

member of the Bar’s Standing

Committee on Legal Ethics and

currently serves on the Budget and

Finance Committee and on the

faculty of the Harry L. Carrico

Professionalism Course. She is a

member of the Board of

Governors of the VSB’s Criminal

Law Section.

Locally, Theo is on the board of

directors of the Arlington County

Bar Foundation and previously

served on the board of directors of

the Arlington County Bar

Association and was elected to its

judicial selection committee.

Theo is also active in her

community. She has served on the

executive committee of the

Arlington Traditional School PTA

and as Family Network Chair at

Swanson Middle School. She is a

former member of the Yorktown

HS Basketball Boosters and is a

graduate of Leadership Arlington.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Mrs. Carolyn A. Dubay is an

Assistant Professor at Charlotte

School of Law, where she teaches

constitutional law, judicial

administration and comparative

constitutional law. Prior to joining

the faculty in 2012, Professor Dubay

was a Visiting Scholar at the

Catholic University of Leuven in

Belgium.

Professor Dubay’s professional

career began in private practice and

continued in service to the federal

courts of the United States. After

receiving her law degree from

Fordham University School of Law,

Professor Dubay worked in the New

York office of the firm Jones Day

Reavis & Pogue, and then she went

on to serve as a law clerk to the

Honorable Joanna Seybert in the

United States District Court for the

Eastern District of New York.

Following her federal judicial

clerkship, Professor Dubay joined

the firm Hunton & Williams,

working in both North Carolina and

Virginia as a civil litigator appearing

before federal and state trial and

appellate courts. In 2005,

Professor Dubay left private

practice to work for the federal

courts, where she has worked for

the Administrative Office of the

United States Courts as an

attorney-advisor and the Federal

Judicial Center as a senior research

associate.

From 2007-2008, Professor

Dubay also served as a Judicial

Fellow at the Supreme Court of the

United States, where she worked

in the Office of the Counselor to

the Chief Justice of the United

States. In addition to her service

on the board of Justice Initiatives,

Professor Dubay is a member of

the National Advisory Council of

the American Judicature Society

and serves on the Executive

Committee of the Lawyers

Conference of the Judicial

Division of the American Bar

Association.

She also serves as an associate

editor of the International Judicial

Monitor, a leading international

legal blog.

Professor Dubay received her

undergraduate degree in history

from Duke University in 1991.

In 1995, she received her J.D.

from Fordham University

School of Law, where she

graduated cum laude and was

admitted to the Order of the

Coif. While at Fordham Law,

Professor Dubay served as an

editor of the Fordham Law

Review.

Professor Dubay received a

L.L.M. with distinction in

international and comparative

law from Georgetown

University Law Center in 2010.


Upon graduating from Georgetown University as an English and Theology major,

Mrs. Katherine Bender began teaching at an independent Catholic secondary school

for girls in Philadelphia. During this time, she became increasingly interested in the

social concerns of young women and decided to pursue a degree in community

counseling with a focus on women’s issues at the University of Scranton. After

completing an internship providing individual counseling to undergraduate students at

a residential college, as part of her Masters degree in counseling, she began working

as a full time mental health counselor for college students in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Recognizing that advocating for students with mental health issues in higher education

would likely require a Ph.D., Kate began her doctoral work at Old Dominion

University in January of 2011 and conducted research for her dissertation on college

student suicide prevention. She joined the team at the Dave Nee Foundation, as

programming consultant, in September of 2012 to coordinate the Uncommon Counsel

program. Kate completed her doctorate in Counseling from Old Dominion University

in August of 2013 and in September of 2013 was invited to work full time as the

programming director for the Dave Nee Foundation. During her time with the

Foundation, the Uncommon Counsel program has grown in the number of schools it

served (35 law schools in 2013-4 spanning across all regions of the United States) and

in the number of state bar association presentations. She sees her role with the Dave

Nee Foundation as an excellent way to continue to provide outreach services and to

raise awareness about depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention.

.

Since 2001, Professor Priscilla Harris has taught at the Appalachian School of Law.

ASL is located in southwestern Virginia, part of Central Appalachia. At ASL, she

developed an interest in the health of the people in the region. In the fall of 2010, she

was awarded an 18-month long grant for $149,900 to conduct research concerning

beverages and oral health. As part of the research grant, Professor Harris created a

research team composed of law students from ASL and graduate students from East

Tennessee State University’s College of Public Health.

Professor Harris has written law review articles about various public health issues. She

was selected by the first-year class as Professor of the Year in 2004.

In addition, she devotes time to community service at the Mountain Mission School

(MMS), a local residential school for at-risk children. At MMS, she has coached its

successful Mock Trial Teams and its FIRST Lego League (FLL) Robotics Teams

which have gone to state ten of the past eleven years. In 2007, she was named Virginia

FLL Coach of the Year.

Professor Harris formerly worked in the Elderly Advocate Program of Philadelphia's

Community Legal Services office. She practiced civil litigation and estate planning

with Reed Smith in Philadelphia and Bell Boyd and Lloyd (now K&L Gates LLP) in

Washington, D.C. as well as later working at the Michigan Court of Appeals in

Detroit, Michigan. Prior to coming to ASL, Professor Harris operated her own law

practice in Orange Park, Florida, where she concentrated on land use, environmental

law, and civil-rights litigation.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Mrs. Katrina Castillo graduated

with a BA in Government/World

Affairs and a minor in history from

The University of Tampa in 2009.

She obtained her JD from

Valparaiso University School of

Law and obtained her LL.M at

American University Washington

College of Law concentrating in

constitutional and civil rights with

a specialization in law, politics,

and legislation. She is Florida

barred attorney working in

Washington DC for a District

government agency in policy

and administrative law.

Katrina is an active member of

the American Bar Association-

Young Lawyers Division.

Currently, she serves as vice-

chair of the Young Lawyers

Division’s law student outreach

taskforce and the Young

Lawyers Division liaison to the

Law Student Division. Her

special areas of interest are

government ethics, national

security, constitutional law,

civil rights, veteran’s affairs,

administrative law, the

regulatory process and the

legislative process.

When not at work Katrina can be

found watching her Arizona

Diamondbacks on the baseball

diamond or her Tampa Bay

Buccaneers and Florida Gators on

the gridiron. She also enjoys

jetsetting across the country, tearing

it up in the kitchen and hitting the

yoga mat.

Since August 2013, Karl A. Doss

has served as the Director Access

to Legal Services for the Virginia

State Bar, where he is the

administrator to the Access to

Legal Services Committee and

coordinates the VSB’s access to

justice initiatives involving matters

of pro bono, civil legal aid, and

indigent defense. Prior to joining

the staff at VSB, Mr. Doss worked

for five years in with the Coalition

for Juvenile Justice and

Washington, D.C., serving as the

Associate Director of Training in

2013 and the Director of Training

Professional Development with the

National Legal Aid & Defender

Association from 2009 to 2012.

He also served one year as Deputy

Public Defender in the Norfolk

(VA) Public Defender's Office

where he supervised attorneys

assigned to the Juvenile and

Domestic Relations Court and from

2000 to 2002 was a Staff Attorney

with the Children's Law Center in

Brooklyn, NY. From 1997 to 2000,

Mr. Doss was a member of the

Hennepin County (Minneapolis,

MN) District Court bench as a

Referee of Family Court. Prior to

that he served seven years as an

Assistant County Attorney in the

Hennepin County Attorney's Office

and he began his career in 1987 as

an Assistant Hennepin County

Public Defender. Mr. Doss has

been a presenter at numerous

trainings and continuing legal

education programs on the subjects

of indigent defense leadership and

management, criminal law and

justice policy, client interviewing

skills, juvenile justice, attorney

ethics, and diversity in the law. He

received his J.D. from the

University of Minnesota School of

Law in 1986 and his B.A. in

Political Science/Sociology from

Tulane University in 1983.

From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Doss

served as the Director of the

Department of Judicial Programs

with the Office of the Executive

Secretary of the Supreme Court of

Virginia, where he developed a

training program to certify special

justices who conduct mental

health commitment hearings and

coordinated court projects to

reform Virginia's magistrate

system and mental health

commitment process as well as

improve compensation for court

appointed lawyers providing

indigent defense services. From

2003 to 2006, he also served as

Director of Training and Human

Resources with the Virginia

Indigent Defense Commission

where he developed and

conducted training programs for

public defenders and court

appointed private attorneys,

including the statutorily mandated

indigent defense certification

training program and the Public

Defender Trial Skills Bootcamp.


Mr. Eric H. Joss is a former

partner with Paul Hastings LLP.

He joined Paul Hastings in 1976

and spent the next 35 years there

representing, advising, and

training clients and others in all

aspects of labor relations and

employment law, including

wrongful termination,

discrimination, sexual

harassment, wage/hour, labor

management relations, collective

bargaining negotiations, mediations

and arbitrations.

Mr. Joss has been elected as a

Fellow in the College of Labor and

Employment Lawyers, selected for

inclusion in The Best Lawyers in

America, and has been named a

Southern California Super Lawyer.

He is a past chair of the Santa

Monica Bar Association

Employment Law Section and has

been a member of the Labor and

Employment Law Sections of the

American, California, and Los

Angeles County Bar Associations

(Executive Committee Member).

He has also been a member of the

American Bar Association

Committee on Equal Employment

Opportunity Law As It Affects

Labor Relations, Development of

Law, Practice and Procedure, the

Section on Tort and Insurance

Practice and the Committee on

Railway and Airline Labor Law.

Mr. Joss received his B.A. degree

from the State University of New

York at Albany (summa cum laude)

in 1973, and his J.D. degree from

the Columbia University School of

Law in 1976, where he was a

Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an

articles editor of the Columbia

Journal of Law and Social

Problems.

For nearly two decades, Mr.

Chuck Shonholtz has been

known as a Multistate Expert. A

graduate of Loyola Law School,

Mr. Shonholtz spent the first 10

years of his career as a primary

national lecturer for PMBR,

prior to joining BARBRI. Mr.

Shonholtz has taught thousands

of students and drafted many of

the MBE questions used in

BARBRI’s MBE courses. In

addition he has been a Professor of

Law at Thomas Jefferson School of

Law and Whittier College of

Law. At BARBRI, he brings his

unmatched MBE and MPRE

experience to the nation’s leading

bar review course.

Hannah Carter is an Associate with

Green Hampton and Kelly in

Chesapeake, Virginia. She is passionate

about helping children through

Guardian Ad Litem work, contested

custody cases, and adoption. She also

spends a large part of her practice

helping individuals in estate planning

with medicaid planning. She is a

graduate of Regent University School

of Law and was admitted to practice

law in April 2014. During law school,

Hannah competed in several American

Bar Association Negotiation

competitions. In 2012, she won 2nd

place at the ABA's National

Negotiation competition and in 2013

1st place at the ABA Regional

Negotiation competition. Hannah also

clerked for Judge Deborah V. Bryan of

the Virginia Beach Juvenile and

Domestic Relations Court in law

school. Outside of the practice of law,

Hannah enjoys spending time with her

three year old Zoe and husband

Abraham. She also is actively involved

in her community and serves on the

Board of Directors for Angelos Bible

College.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y


Mrs. Mary Kate Zekert is an

attorney with Bowen Ten Cardani.

Since joining the firm in April

2014, Mary Kate has had the

privilege of being a problem solver

for people experiencing a broad

range of legal issues including

child custody, divorce, child

support, protective orders,

misdemeanor charges, landlord/

tenant disputes, civil defense,

simple estate planning and

breaches of contracts.

Mary Kate recognizes that most

legal issues are unplanned and are

usually inconvenient, and because

of this she strives to put her

clients at ease by helping them

navigate this unfamiliar territory.

She does this by prioritizing client

communication and client

preparation

Public service is also an important

part of Mary Kate's practice. Mary

Kate was selected to be a member

of the Fourth Circuit Court of

Appeals CJA Appellate Panel,

representing indigent defendants

in their appeals from Federal

District Court. Additionally, Mary

Kate is a Virginia Supreme Court

certified Guardian ad Litem and

serves in Henrico County.

To her family and community she

is a daughter, sister, friend,

storyteller, and college football

enthusiast. Mary Kate is a

Richmond native and graduated

from Virginia Tech in May 2011.

She left the Commonwealth to

experience fried catfish and SEC

football at the University of

Mississippi where she graduated in

December 2013. Mary Kate is a

member of the Junior League of

Richmond and City Church in

Richmond, VA. In her spare time

she enjoys escaping to the

Rappahannock Rivah, cheering for

the Hokies and Rebels (for better or

for worse), and spending time with

her family and friends.

Mrs. Kathleen A. McKee is an

Associate Professor of Clinical

Studies for Regent University

School of Law where she has

been teaching since 1998. Before

that, Mrs. McKee was a

Managing Attorney with a

Virginia Beach, Tidewater Legal

Aid Society. Additional

experience includes solo

practitioner work in Washington,

D.C. and as an attorney with the

Food Research Action Center,

and the Indian Claims

Commission. Mrs. McKee

holds a B.A. form the State

University of New York at

Albany, a J.D. from Columbus

School of Law, Catholic

University, and a LL.M. in

Labor Law, from Georgetown

University Law Center.

Christopher L. Griffin, Jr. received his

undergraduate degree magna cum laude

in International Political Economy from

Georgetown University’sSchool of

Foreign Service. Following graduation,

he completed the MPhil in Economics at

Oxford as an Allbritton Scholar. Before

attending law school, Christopher

worked as a research associate at Yale

Law School and the Andrew W. Mellon

Foundation. A graduate of the Yale Law

School, Prof. Griffin received the

Margaret Gruter Prize for the best paper

on law and bioscience and was a John

M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics

and a Coker Teaching Fellow. He also

served as an Editor of the Yale Law

Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Yale

Law & Policy Review. Prior to joining

the William & Mary Law School faculty

in 2012, Prof. Griffin was a Visiting

Assistant Professor at Duke Law School.

His research interests include empirical

analysis of employment discrimination

law, criminal procedure, and judicial

decision-making.


Jordan E. McKay is an attorney at MichieHamlett in Charlottesville, Virginia and practices in the

firm’s commercial group. His litigation experience includes matters involving business torts,

construction law, securities litigation and arbitration, and employment law. In addition, Jordan also

provides legal representation to small- and medium-sized businesses on general corporate matters

such as business formation and structure, commercial leases, employee-related matters, mergers and

acquisitions, and the negotiating and drafting of contracts.

Most recently, Jordan served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District

of Virginia, where he prosecuted money laundering and felony drug conspiracy cases, managed

grand jury investigations, and wrote and drafted appellate briefs before the U.S. Court of Appeals

for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to his appointment as a Special Assistant United States Attorney, Jordan

clerked for the Honorable Alfred S. Irving, Jr. of the D.C. Superior Court in Washington, D.C.,

where he was exposed to various areas of civil and family law.

Jordan graduated cum laude with a B.A. in History from Amherst College, in

Massachusetts, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of

Law. While in law school, Jordan was an Executive Editor of the Virginia Journal of Social

Policy and the Law and a member of the Black Law Students Association’s Mock Trial

team.

Roy A. Hoagland is a visiting professor of practice and director of the Law School’s Virginia

Coastal Policy Clinic. Hoagland is the former vice president of environmental protection and

restoration for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. He previously served as both the deputy director and

the executive director for the Virginia office of the foundation. He is currently a principal in HOPE

Impacts, LLC, an environmental consulting firm working exclusively with nonprofits and

government agencies. Hoagland’s experience in environmental law is extensive, having worked on

land use, water quality, and restoration matters across the Chesapeake Bay watershed for more than

25 years. During his years with the Bay Foundation, Hoagland led much of its work on numerous

regulatory, legislative, litigation, and on-the-ground restoration initiatives. His leadership efforts

yielded the creation of a Bay-specific fund for farmers under the federal Farm Bill; the

implementation of oyster aquaculture and reef construction programs; the adoption of a state water

quality fund that finances local government pollution control projects; and a host of advances in

Virginia’s water protection laws. Hoagland is also a former adjunct professor with both the

University of Virginia and University of Richmond law schools. At UVA, he directed the

Environmental and Conservation Law clinic.

Cylia E. Lowe, Esq., a native New Yorker, is a graduate of the University of Maryland at

College Park. She obtained a degree in Government & Politics. In 2003 she graduated with a

Juris Doctorate from the University Of Baltimore School of Law with a concentration in

Family Studies. She later completed her Masters degree at the University of Baltimore in

Negotiations & Conflict Management.

Cylia is a practicing attorney for the Federal Government specializing in the area of federal

employment law. She litigates matters such as Discrimination/Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission cases, Merit System Protection Board appeals, Freedom of Information Act

matters, as well as advising, drafting, and consulting on other pertinent legal matters.

Prior to her current position, Cylia was a Prosecutor for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s

office. During her tenure as an Assistant States’ Attorney she prosecuted a variety of criminal

cases including drug cases, prostitution, criminal traffic matters, theft, and domestic violence

cases. As a member of the Domestic Violence Vertical Prosecution team she handled domestic

violence cases at both the district and the circuit court levels.

Cylia is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Monumental City Bar

Association. She is also a member of Junior League of Baltimore and 2014 she became

President Elect; making her the first African American woman to hold that position in the

organization’s 102 year history.

Ms. Lowe is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Epsilon

Omega chapter in Baltimore, Maryland where she serves as Member-at-Large,

Awards Chairman, Nominating Committee Chairman, and serves as a General

Director on the Board of the chapter’s Foundation.

R

D

I

R

E

C

T

O

R

Y

http://law.wm.edu/academics/programs/jd/electives/clinics/vacoastal/index.php

http://law.wm.edu/academics/programs/jd/electives/clinics/vacoastal/index.php

http://www.cbf.org/

http://hopeimpacts.com/

http://hopeimpacts.com/


__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________


THANK YOU TO OUR 2015 CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Student Bar Association-Executive Branch

http://www.vsb.org/

http://www.xcelhr.com/


ABA-LSD 4th Circuit Schools

• Appalachian School of Law

• Campbell University - Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law

• Charleston School of Law

• Charlotte School of Law

• Duke University School of Law

• Elon University School of Law

• Liberty University School of Law

• North Carolina Central University School of Law

• Regent University School of Law

• University of North Carolina School of Law

• University of Richmond School of Law

• University of South Carolina School of Law

• University of Virginia School of Law

• Wake Forest University School of Law

• Washington and Lee University School of Law

• West Virginia University College of Law

• William and Mary Law School

Thank you to all of the 4th Circuit students, professors, lawyers, and other

professionals that have made the 2014-2015 bar year an incredible experience.

Best wishes for your future endeavors in the legal profession.

– ABA-LSD 2014-2015 4th Circuit Team

official 2015 fourth circuit conference program

Documents