Upcoming Regional Events, Award Winners, Legislative Update, and more. |
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VADA Defense Line
May 2026
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Southwest Region
June 24
Fork in the Alley
Please join us for the Southwest Regional Happy Hour! We will meet at 5:00 at Fork in the Alley.
Please RSVP by June 10. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Southwest Regional Director, Sarah Jessee at sarah.jessee@woodsrogers.com.
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Capitol Region
July 9
Bar West
Join us for an evening of networking and fun with fellow VADA members at Bar West.
Please RSVP by July 1. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Capitol Regional Director, Stewart Pollock at spollock@moranreevesconn.com.
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September 10
Bartizan Event Hall, Short Pump Your paralegals should plan now to join us for a full day of practical, skills-based training designed specifically for paralegals working in civil defense practices.
The seminar will cover key aspects of Virginia civil litigation, including discovery management, trial preparation, technology in practice, ethics, and strategies for maintaining wellness and work-life balance in a demanding legal environment. Attendees will gain actionable tools and insights to enhance their effectiveness and support their litigation teams.
Additional details, including registration information and the full agenda, will be available soon. |
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2026 Award for Excellence in Civil Litigation
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C. J. Steuart Thomas, III
TimberlakeSmith The Board of Directors of the VADA is honored to announce C. J. Steuart Thomas, III, of TimberlakeSmith as this year’s recipient of VADA’s Award for Excellence in Civil Litigation! A graduate of the University of Virginia and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, Steuart has made an indelible impact over his 40-year career on the practice of law and the legal profession. Among his many professional honors, Steuart is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation. He is a Fellow, too, of the Litigation Counsel of America and has been recognized as one of America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators. Steuart has been a Virginia Super Lawyer since 2006, has been named among the Best Lawyers in America since 2009, and is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Widely regarded as a leader in his profession and his community, he served as President of the Virginia Bar Association in 2018. He is a member of Virginia’s Boyd-Graves Conference, a past Treasurer of the Augusta Bar Association, and is a past Chair of the Board of Governors of the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar. He has served, too, as a member of VADA’s Board of Directors and is an adjunct professor at Washington and Lee University School of Law, where he teaches Trial Practice. In addition, Steuart serves his community as Chair of the Board of the Shenandoah Valley Conservancy and has served for many years on the Board of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. A proud husband and father, Steuart rightly has earned the trust and respect of the courts, his clients, and his peers. He exemplifies in no small measure the ideals upon which this Award is based. We will present the Award for Excellence in Civil Litigation to Steuart on October 22 during our Annual Meeting in Roanoke. Please join us in congratulating Steuart! |
2026 VADA-VTLA Civility and
Professionalism Award
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Bryan Slaughter
MichieHamlett
The VADA Board of Directors is pleased to announce Bryan Slaughter of MichieHamlett as the recipient of the 2026 VADA-VTLA Civility and Professionalism Award! Now in its 11th year, this Award, which is given each year by the VADA to a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and by the VTLA to a member of the VADA, honors an attorney who exhibits the highest degree of civility and professionalism in the practice of law and, through his or her interaction with others, promotes the highest levels of competence, integrity, and ethical conduct in the legal profession. We will present Bryan with this Award during our Annual Meeting in Roanoke on October 22. Congratulations, Bryan, on an honor well deserved! |
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VADA/VTLA Initiative to Improve
Courthouse Accommodations For the last two years, the VADA Women’s Section has been working with the VTLA Women’s Caucus to improve courthouse accommodations for lactating mothers. Taylor Brewer and Kathryn Bonorchis have met regularly with VTLA representatives Brielle Hunt and Melissa Dragone, Judge Dale Durrer (Culpeper Circuit), and Judge Louise DiMatteo (Arlington Circuit), to brainstorm how to increase awareness of this issue. With the support of these judges and the endorsement of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Mann, they secured a speaking spot at the annual Judicial Conference in Roanoke on May 14, 2026.
Taylor and Brielle spoke about their own experiences navigating trials and hearings as nursing mothers, and shared photos of accommodations in courthouses across the Commonwealth. They issued a call to action to Virginia's judiciary to create a culture that recognizes and accommodates the attorneys, witnesses, and jurors who need space and breaks for pumping. Judge Durrer encouraged his colleagues to include language in the Uniform Pretrial Scheduling Order about breastfeeding and lactation needs as bases for requesting accommodations.
Equal access to justice is a nonpartisan issue. When the VADA and VTLA show up together on the same side of an issue, we can create real change. |
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Taylor Brewer, Judge Durrer,
Brielle Hunt, Judge DiMatteo |
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VADA’s Legislative Committee and lobbyists actively lobbied against House Bill 449 and Senate Bill 229 during this year’s General Assembly session. The bills allow for class action litigation in Virginia. While VADA did not oppose the bills in concept, the bills as drafted tilted the playing field in favor of Plaintiffs and would serve to further reduce the number of civil jury trials in the Commonwealth. Governor Spanberger has vetoed both bills. Her veto statement is as follows:
I support the General Assembly’s goal of providing a class action mechanism that can be used by plaintiffs in Virginia courts. I offered amendments to ensure that when Virginia adopts its first-ever class action procedure, we do so in a tailored and judicious way — building on longstanding, federal precedent while providing regional circuit courts an opportunity to develop expertise. The General Assembly did not accept these amendments.
VADA thanks Governor Spanberger for her veto of these bills, and the Legislative Committee will be on the lookout for similar legislation in the 2027 session. |
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VADA/VTLA Frank N. Cowan
Golf Tournament
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Save
the Date! The annual VADA/VTLA Frank N. Cowan Golf Tournament will be held
November 4, 2026, at Independence Golf Course!
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We are coming down to the wire! All non-renewed members will
automatically lapse on June 30! If you have questions or are unsure of your
membership status, reach out to our Executive Director Sherma Mather at smather@vada.org – we don’t want to lose
you! |
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Ashley Archange
MGC Law Scott Koven
Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black
Andrew Selman
Harman Claytor Corrigan Wellman |
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This Virginia Beach native
is a drummer and tennis enthusiast, who is about to cross one very important
item off of his bucket list. For this, and more, on this month’s VADA
Spotlighted Member, click here. |
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The Women’s Section is in the process of planning an event in conjunction at the Annual Meeting at the Hotel Roanoke. If you have any suggestions, please reach out to us.
– Phylicia Preston & Ren Klinovskiy
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VADA’S Mission
The
mission of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys is to develop and
support Virginia attorneys engaged in a civil defense practice in the
professional and ethical representation of their clients through education,
communication and fellowship. |
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Join our social media sites where we post current court updates, relevant legal developments, and much, much more!
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Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
11533 Busy Street, #327
N. Chesterfield, VA 23236
804-649-1002 | www.vada.org Executive Director: Sherma Mather
Director of Meetings: Amy Gilbody
Journal of Civil Litigation Managing Editor: Molly Terry |
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