The VLW Blog

Former Fairfax County Circuit Judge Burch Millsap died on June 6 of lung disease. He was 85.
Born in Missouri, Judge Millsap served in the Army Air Forces during World War II as an airplane mechanic. He graduated from law school at American University in 1950.
Judge Millsap was appointed to the court in 1968 after […]

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Stafford County lawyer Thomas M. “Mack” Moncure died on Saturday.
A native of Stafford, Mr. Moncure attended the College of William & Mary for both undergraduate and law school, according to his obituatry in The Free Lance-Star. During WWII, he served briefly in the Army Air Corps and later served as a U.S. Marine officer in […]

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Washington lawyer Mark I. Levy apparently took his own life this morning at his office at the firm of Kilpatrick Stockton, according to news reports.
Mr. Levy was the head of the firm’s Supreme Court and appellate advocacy practice.  Published reports indicate that Levy shot himself.
Mr. Levy had served occasionally as an adjunct faculty member at […]

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Lloyd Coleman Sullenberger of Orange, former judge of the 16th Circuit, passed away Wednesday. He was 68.
Judge Sullenberger was a graduate of the University of Virginia, according to his obituary in The News Leader. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard and earned his law degree from the College of William & Mary. […]

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Former Richmond public defender John B. Boatwright III died this past Monday after an illness. He was 56.
Mr. Boatwright was a 1981 graduate of the University of Virginia law school. He worked in private practice until 2002, when he became the first regional capital-murder defense attorney in the state.
“John was a fierce advocate. He was […]

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Former Richmond city attorney Conard B. Mattox Jr. died Saturday. He was 85.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mr. Mattox spent five years as a U.S. Army Air Forces pilot in World War II. Afterwards, he earned bachelor’s and master’s and law degrees from the University of Richmond.
He was named Richmond’s city attorney in 1967, and served until his retirement […]

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Alexander “Sandy” Wellford, a retired Richmond attorney and First Amendment expert, died Wednesday at his home in Glen Allen. He was 78
Mr. Wellford, a partner at what is now Christian& Barton LLP for more than 40 years, played a key role in Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia, the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case that decided […]

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Recently retired York/Poquoson Circuit Judge N. Prentis Smiley passed away on Christmas day after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 70.
A graduate of Lynchburg College and the College of William & Mary law school, Judge Smiley was in private practice for nearly 30 years before being appointed circuit judge in 1995. He ended his […]

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William Courtney King Jr., a civic leader and long-time Roanoke attorney, died this past Sunday. He was 85.
Mr. King served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. After working in New York City, he practiced law in the City of Roanoke for approximately 40 years.
Mr. King was a past president of […]

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Robert E. Shepherd Jr. (right), a longtime professor at the University of Richmond law school and an expert on juvenile law, died last night, according to a report from UR Law Dean John G. Douglass. Prof. Shepherd was 71.
A graduate of Washington and Lee University and its law school, Prof. Shepherd entered the Army JAG […]

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