| Deck
the halls with lawyers?
by
Paula C. Squires
Virginia
Business
December 2003
At one time or another, most of us need a good lawyer.
In business, lawyers are essential in many areas, from
protecting intellectual property to shepherding companies
through bankruptcy. On a more personal level, we turn
to them for counsel during times of crisis: death, divorce,
the criminal defense of a loved one. One misstep in
their shoes, and a company’s future or a person’s
life could be at stake. To me, it would be a tough job
seeing people often at their worst. And yet our profiles
of the state’s top lawyers — as voted by their
peers — recounts men and women who wouldn’t
have any other career. They thrill to the challenge
of seeking justice in a chaotic world where the law
continues to evolve.
To
accommodate the ebb and flow, we tweaked this year’s
categories and added some new ones: bankruptcy/creditors’
rights and health and environmental law. In our fourth
annual quest to identify the state’s best lawyers
— which Virginia Business terms the Legal Elite
— we joined up again with the Virginia Bar Association
and polled more than 5,500 lawyers. They nominated lawyers
in their firms and from outside firms in 12 categories.
Read about the top vote getters, starting on page 28,
and check out the alphabetical list of others cited
by colleagues for outstanding work.
Overseeing
this big project was Senior Editor Robert Burke, who
prefers the shadows to the limelight, but whose hard
work every month adds significantly to the quality of
this magazine. Hats off also to receptionist Vanessa
Franklin who recorded the votes as they came in and
sent letters to all the winners. Veteran photographer
Mark Rhodes shot all the lawyers’ pictures. For
our cover illustration we recruited new talent, Dale
Glasgow, a freelance illustrator and graphic artist
from Fredericksburg whose client list includes many
national publications.
Also
in this month’s issue is a look at businesses that
have made the leap from leasing to owning their office
space, thanks to attractive mortgage interest rates.
Frequent contributor Brett Lieberman of Annandale wrote
the piece, which begins on page 14. If that’s not
enough to draw you away from the eggnog, check out the
story on commercial insurance. After Hurricane Isabel,
all property owners need to brush up on mandatory wind
deductibles.
December’s
regional report focuses on Charlottesville, an area
that’s growing its biotechnology industry by capitalizing
on research coming out of the University of Virginia.
We’d like to close the year by thanking readers
for their tips, encouragement and constructive criticism.
Coming up in 2004 are changes we think you’ll like,
but more on that later. In the meantime, pass the eggnog.
Paula
C. Squires
Managing Editor
psquires@va-business.com
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