First Families Of Virginia

The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board agreed to a one year suspension with terms of an attorney who bears the name of a distinguished line of Virginians dating back to a Confederate General and United States Senator and the founder of the Hunton and Williams law firm

In March 2023, Respondent was admitted to Fellowship Hall in Greensboro, North Carolina for inpatient medical treatment.

In June 2023, upon completion of the inpatient program at Fellowship Hall, Respondent returned to Virginia and signed a contract with the Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (VJLAP) for continuing treatment and monitoring for substance abuse and addiction.

In addition to misconduct in two client adoption matters

In October 2022, while an associate with Cravens & Noll, Respondent took an advanced legal fee of $1,800.00 from Chastity L. Rice (“Ms. Rice”) to represent her in a child custody matter “on the side of his employment” of Cravens & Noll. Respondent did not advise Cravens & Noll of the representation or the legal fee.

Respondent also represented a “handful of others,” on the side of his employment at Cravens & Noll and diverted certain fees from Cravens & Noll, in violation of his written employment agreement with Cravens & Noll.

In the Rice matter

Respondent did not diligently represent Ms. Rice, nor did he communicate with her.

Respondent did not appear at the first court appearance. Respondent did answer the court’s call to ask his whereabouts and appeared by phone. Respondent could not recall why he was absent from the hearing in Ms. Rice’s case.

Ms. Rice’s trial was set for April 2023. Respondent did not make any arrangements to handle Ms. Rice’s case when he was admitted to Fellowship Hall in March 2023, nor did he notify Ms. Rice that he would not represent her in her April 2023 custody trial. Respondent did not withdraw as counsel ofrecord from Ms. Rice’s custody case.

Ms. Rice learned through opposing counsel, on the date of her trial, that Respondent would not appear on her behalf and that Respondent had been terminated from employment at Cravens & Noll. The judge continued the trial in the custody case so that Ms. Rice could retain new counsel.

Recent family troubles involved his sister’s guilty plea to child sex offenses as reported by The Daily Progress

(Mike Frisch)