Practice Expertise

  • Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
  • E-Discovery
  • Discovery and E-Discovery
  • FERC, NERC and State Energy Regulation

Areas of Practice

  • Discovery and E-Discovery
  • E-Discovery
  • Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
  • FERC, NERC and State Energy Regulation
  • Energy Regulation
  • Fourth Circuit Practice (US Court of Appeals ...
  • Litigation
  • National Business Tort and Product Liability
  • Product and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Regulated Markets and Energy Infrastructure
  • Retail and Consumer Products Litigation
  • View More

Profile

Chip’s practice focuses on representing clients before State and Federal Courts in complex civil litigation, and before the Virginia State Corporation Commission in regulatory matters.

Chip practices in the firm's Richmond office. He has over 30 years’ experience representing individuals and small, medium and large-sized companies in State and Federal Courts in Virginia and across the country. He has handled cases involving environmental contamination, aircraft product liability, consumer products product liability, commercial disputes arising from contracts and leases, and business tort claims. Chip has also handled litigated matters, including rate cases and large-asset purchase applications, before the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Chip is admitted to practice in the US District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and the US Courts of Appeals for the Second and Fourth Circuits.

Relevant Experience

  • First chair trial experience in bench and jury trials in State and Federal Courts.
  • Represented a large utility in rate proceedings before the Virginia State Corporation Commission.
  • Extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States in offensive and defensive discovery (depositions, with particular emphasis on defense of corporate executives and taking/defending experts on scientific issues, document discovery and discovery motion practice).
  • Handled regulatory cases involving distributed solar power generation and estimation of natural gas reserves.
  • Litigated largest defamation action ever filed in United States.
  • Extensive experience with developing, building-out and testing jury themes and supporting testimony and exhibits for complex litigation.
  • Coordinating defense of product liability actions throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Israel for a major US multinational client.

Bar Admissions

  • Virginia

Education
BA, Washington and Lee University, English and Politics, magna cum laude, 1981

Areas of Practice

  • Discovery and E-Discovery
  • E-Discovery
  • Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
  • FERC, NERC and State Energy Regulation
  • Energy Regulation
  • Fourth Circuit Practice (US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)
  • Litigation
  • National Business Tort and Product Liability
  • Product and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Regulated Markets and Energy Infrastructure
  • Retail and Consumer Products Litigation

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
  • First chair trial experience in state and federal trial courts. 
  • Extensive experience in state and federal courts throughout the United States in offensive and defensive discovery (depositions, with particular emphasis on defense of corporate executives and taking/defending experts on scientific issues, document discovery and discovery motion practice). 
  • Coordinating defense of product liability actions throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Israel for a major US multinational client. 
  • Extensive experience with, and knowledge of, leading "in-country" product liability counsel throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Israel. 
  • Extensive experience in rules of procedure and substantive law governing civil tort actions throughout various national jurisdictions of Eastern and Western Europe, Australia and Israel. 
  • Litigated largest defamation action ever filed in United States.


Professional Associations
  • Member, Virginia State Bar
  • Chair, Virginia State Bar Special Committee on Access to Legal Services
  • Member, Virginia Bar Association
  • Member, Federal Bar Association
  • Member, Board of Directors, Central Virginia Legal Aid
  • Member, Board of Directors, Legal Aid Justice Center
  • Chair, HomeAgain Board of Directors

Professional Activities and Experience
  • Fellow, The Virginia Law Foundation, 2014
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 1999-2018. A description of the selection methodology can be found on Best Lawyers’ webpage
  • Virginia State Bar Professionalism Faculty, 2011-2014
  • National Trial Advocacy College Faculty, 2008 – Current
  • Richmond Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award, 1990


Blogs

Privacy and Information Security Law Blog

Global privacy and cybersecurity law updates and analysis. Computerworld magazine has named Hunton & Williams the top firm for privacy for the fourth consecutive year based on a survey of more than 4,000 corporate privacy professionals. In addition, Chambers and Partners rated Hunton & Williams the top Privacy and Data Security practice in its Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Chambers UK guides, noting that the firm “is highly regarded for the strength of its excellent team.”

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