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Lawyers in the News

Ted G. Yoakam has become a shareholder in the Virginia Beach law firm of McKenry, Dancigers, Dawson & Lake PC.  Yoakam will manage the medical malpractice section of the firm and continue his civil litigation and appellate practice in both federal and state courts.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Saint Vincent College in 1983 and his law degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1987. Yoakam is chairman of the mentor program of the Virginia Beach Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in both Pennsylvania and Virginia.

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Sandra Giannone Ezell, managing partner of Bowman and Brooke LLP, has been selected as a 2008 Burton Award for Legal Achievement winner for her article, “Round up the Usual Suspects: Traditional Methods of Selecting First-Chair Trial Counsel Exclude Women,” published in ALM’s Product Liability Law & Strategy, February 2007 issue. 

In addition to her trial practice, Ezell is a frequent speaker and author.  She is also active in many organizations, including the American Bar Association and Defense Research Institute.

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Alexandria attorneys Lonnie C. Rich and Edward S. Rosenthal have formed the law firm of Rich Rosenthal Manitta Dzubin & Kroeger LLP. The new firm’s offices are located in the historic Torpedo Factory Office Building at 201 North Union Street in Alexandria.

The firm’s practice areas include family law; wills, trusts and estates; business organization, transactions and litigation; federal and state criminal defense and appeals; and civil liberties and constitutional law.  Rich and Rosenthal were previously partners in the law firm of Rich Greenberg Rosenthal & Costle LLP. Former Rich Greenberg associates, Lana M. Manitta, Richard F. Dzubin and Shannon L. Kroeger, have joined RRMDK as partners.

Rich received his law degree from the University of Memphis Law School in 1974. His primary practice areas include wills, trusts and estate planning; business affairs; real estate and land use matters; and employment.  Additionally, Rich served on the Alexandria City Council from 1991 to 2000.

Rosenthal graduated from the Georgetown University law school in 1976.  Rosenthal focuses on civil litigation, criminal defense, personal injury and appellate advocacy. 

Manitta received her law degree from the Georgetown University in 1998.  Her practice areas include criminal defense and family law. 

Dzubin graduated from the University of Richmond law school in 1999.  His practice areas include commercial, criminal and civil litigation, including personal injury. Dzubin also serves as general counsel for the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. 
Kroeger received her law degree from the University of Richmond in 2000.  She concentrates in the area of family law and domestic relations. 

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Erin L. Roberts has joined the Falls Church office of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP as counsel.  Roberts will practice in the firm’s labor and employment section.  She previously practiced with the law firm of Womble Carlyle. She has also served as a staff attorney for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and as an associate with a North Carolina law firm.

She is the Northern Virginia regional director for the Virginia Association of Black Women Attorneys, a member of the Northern Virginia Association of Black Attorneys, a board member of Legal Services of Northern Virginia and a member of the Information Technology Association of America’s software policy steering committee. 

Roberts earned her law degree from Duke University in 1997 and her undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary in 1993. She is admitted to practice in both Virginia and North Carolina.

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G. Brian Tacey has joined the Richmond law firm of Duane, Hauck & Gnapp PC as an associate.  Tacey will focus on civil litigation matters with an emphasis on the defense of litigation involving automobile accidents. He graduated from the University of Richmond law school in December 2007.

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Luba Seliavski has joined the law firm of Willcox & Savage, where she will focus on business immigration.  Seliavski graduated in 2003 from the Capital University law school in Ohio.  She received a law degree equivalent from Tomsk State University in Russia in 1996.  Seliavksi previously practiced immigration law with a firm in Ohio and is currently licensed to practice in Ohio. 

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The Roanoke Bar Association has elected officers and directors for the 2008 -2009 year at its 83rd Annual Meeting:

• Mark K. Cathey, President
• Roy V. Creasy, President-Elect
• Francis H. Casola, Secretary/ Treasurer
• George A. McLean Jr., Past President
• Directors: Wade T. Anderson, David A. Bowers, Tracy A. Giles, Linda L. Gustad, William B. Hopkins Jr., Bryson J. Hunter, John C. Johnson, Alton L. Knighton Jr., Elizabeth G. Perrow, Lori D. Thompson, Samuel F. Vance IV

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