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Lawyers in the News

Salem attorney Ross C. Hart received the 23rd Judicial Circuit of Virginia’s Pro Bono Award for 2007 at the Annual Meeting of the Salem/Roanoke County Bar Association. The Pro Bono Circuit Awards were established by the Virginia State Bar’s Special Committee on Access to Legal Services to recognize outstanding efforts by attorneys in Virginia who provide legal services to the public at no cost. In many of his cases, Hart represented persons suffering from mental disabilities who were unable to get access to medical care because no one had been appointed as a guardian who could be responsible for making medical and financial decisions.

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Robert J. Allen has joined the Irvington office of Spotts Fain PC as an associate. He will focus on business law, complex real estate and civil litigation. Allen’s previous practice concentrated primarily on land use and zoning cases. He also has experience with conservation easements, special education law, legal issues involving Virginia farm wineries, personal injury and civil litigation in all Virginia state and federal courts.

Allen earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from the University of Richmond in 2003.

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Harvey B. Cohen has been appointed associate practice group leader for litigation in the Tysons Corner office of Miles & Stockbridge PC. For more than 40 years, Cohen has handled business disputes including securities, sophisticated business transactions, contract, employment, professional malpractice, insurance coverage and bankruptcy litigation. Cohen serves as local Virginia counsel to national law firms on major securities litigation and his practice also includes a broad spectrum of personal injury matters.

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Timothy R. Spaulding has become an associate attorney with the Norfolk-based law firm of Glasser and Glasser PLC. Spaulding is a graduate of Roberts Wesleyan College and the Regent University law school. He will practice in the area of creditors’ rights, mainly in the foreclosure and commercial litigation areas.

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Erin Evans-Bedois has become an associate in the Chesapeake office of Kaufman & Canoles. Her practice will focus on litigation. She received her undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University and her law degree from George Mason University. She previously held a two-year clerkship with the Chesapeake Circuit Court.

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W. Brian McCann has joined the Richmond law firm of Hirschler Fleischer PC. As an associate in the litigation section, McCann will handle commercial litigation matters including personal injury, wrongful death, contract, property and business disputes. He received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the College of William and Mary. He is the chairman of two committees of the Young Lawyers Division of the Virginia Bar Association.

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Bradfute W. Davenport, a partner with the Richmond office of Troutman Sanders LLP, was inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America at its Spring Conference and Induction of Fellows in Miami on May 1. Davenport has 35 years of experience in complex commercial litigation, including environmental, construction, contract, banking, franchise, leasing, bankruptcy, church property and other business cases. His practice also includes arbitration and mediation, both as an advocate and as an arbitrator and mediator. Additionally, Davenport is on the American Arbitration Association-approved panels of construction industry arbitrators and commercial arbitrators.

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Joshua P. Darden Jr. has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the Liberty Bell Award from the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association. This award recognizes a non-lawyer whose contributions to the local community have strengthened the effectiveness of the American system of justice.

Darden is president of Darden Properties Inc. and is the former owner of Colonial Auto Group. He is a co-founder and director of the ACCESS College Foundation, which has made higher education possible for more than 60,000 public school students across South Hampton Roads. He has served as rector of the University of Virginia and chaired its capital campaign. He was president of the Norfolk Academy board and helped found the CIVIC Leadership Institute, where he serves on the board. He chairs The Norfolk Foundation board and serves on the Virginia Commission on Higher Education Appointments.

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Michael F. Fasanaro Jr. is the 2008 recipient of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association Eggleston/I’Anson Professionalism Award. This award recognizes a member of the association who, throughout his legal career, has exemplified the concept of professionalism and served as a role model for other members of the bar.

Fasanaro received his law degree from St. John’s University and served as a Navy Judge Advocate. Currently, as a retired captain, Fasanaro renders assistance to the local military legal community on a regular basis. Additionally, Fasanaro devotes a great deal of time to mentoring junior counsel. He has been a Norfolk Commissioner in Chancery for many years and has served on the Second District Disciplinary Committee of the Virginia State Bar and the NPBA Fee Dispute Resolution Committee.

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