VADA Member Spotlight

This month’s spotlighted VADA member is Vivek Subramanyam of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, in Washington, D.C.  Vivek is a graduate of Denison University and the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.  Following a year as Vice-Chair, he currently serves as Chair of VADA’s Auto & Transportation Liability Section.

 

1.         Where were you born?

New Jersey.

2.         Tell us a little about yourself.  Spouse? Children? Pets?

I grew up outside Boston, and then I studied political science and economics at Denison University in Ohio, and then I came down to the D.C./NOVA area.  I’m a big history guy, a football nerd, and a movie critic, and playfully argumentative about all such subjects.

To use a Gen-Z term, my wife and I fall into the category of a “DINKWAD” couple (Dual Income, No Kids … with a dog).  Alisha and I got married on July 4^th weekend, 2022.  We got our dog Vera six months after that. She’s a beautiful, bold, sassy little Havanese who lights up our world.

3.         What type of law do you practice?

Insurance defense and civil litigation in Virginia and Washington, D.C., often involving injury claims, breach of contract claims, commercial litigation, and some residential disputes.

4.         How long have you been a member of VADA?

I joined the VADA in the summer of 2021 as soon as I began working as a civil defense attorney in Virginia.  Before that, I had been on the plaintiff’s side.

5.         What have you enjoyed most about your time in VADA?

It’s a great way to connect with the larger Virginia legal community.  I see many of the same people once or twice a year, every year, at the meetings, and it’s always great to catch up and discuss interesting topics over drinks.

6.         What is your favorite travel spot?

Any resort vacation where I can SCUBA dive.  Most recently, I’ve done that in the Maldives (honeymoon), and in Fiji.

7.         What is at the top of your bucket list?

I would like to skydive without someone attached to me.  To be sure, I have never skydived at all.  What keeps me from doing it, other than time, is knowing that I’ll have some instructor or “safety” person attached to me.  Where’s the fun in that?

8.         What made you decide to become an attorney?

I was told that I’d be good at it.  That’s the secret to getting me to do anything cool.  Just tell me I’d be good at it, and I’ll consider it.

9.         What is your favorite movie or television quote?

“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean.  I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” – Josey Wales, The Outlaw Josey Wales

10.       What is your biggest pet peeve?

Being rude to wait staff and servers.

11.       What talent or skill do you wish you had?

I wish I was more artistically and musically creative.  I’m terrible.

12.       What is something you have tried once and will never try again?

Before law school, I worked for a time on Capitol Hill.  I learned a lot – enough to know that I’m never doing that again.

13.       What was the make and model of your first car?

1999 Toyota Camry, a gift from my grandfather on my 16^th birthday.

14.       What was your first job?

My first job was at K-Mart back in its glory days.

15.       If you were to visit my office, one of the first things you would notice would be … 

You will see the judicial bobbleheads, which are a trademark of my alma mater George Mason University, and also a framed picture of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, which I got while attending Brady’s red jacket Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Gilette Stadium in 2024.

16.       When I am not in the office, I like to …

Read, listen to podcasts, watch movies, follow sports, study up on history, crack jokes with friends, and spend time with my family.

17.       If I wasn’t practicing law, I would be …

Critiquing movies and TV shows, maybe doing radio, podcasts, or some kind of commentary.  I wrote relatively regular movie reviews over a decade, and I had a Sunday morning classic rock radio show in college.

18.       What is your favorite food and drink?

Favorite Food: Ribeye steak, cooked rare

Favorite Drink: Old Fashioned

19.       What is your idea of the perfect weekend?

Watching an old movie in a theater or going to games or brunch with friends.

20.       What is your definition of success?

Living well is the best revenge.  Beyond that, if I express a thought, whether in person or in writing, that positively affects the way someone thinks about or views something, even something relatively unimportant, that’s good enough for me.