Friday, October 15th, 2021
William Spotswood is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group, where he handles a wide variety of commercial, real estate, corporate shareholder, and construction disputes and litigation. Prior to joining Gentry Locke full-time, William worked as a summer associate at Gentry Locke for two summers. William is a Board Member of the Virginia Bar Association Litigation Section, a member of the Ted Dalton American Inn of Court, and a member of the Roanoke Bar Association.
William earned his J.D. magna cum laude from William and Mary Law School, where he was a Notes Editor for the William & Mary Law Review and an award-winning brief writer for the Moot Court Team. He earned his B.A. summa cum laude in History from Virginia Tech. William grew up in the Roanoke area and is a current native of Floyd County.
Friday, September 3rd, 2021
Jessiah Hulle is a litigator whose practice focuses on high‑stakes white‑collar defense, internal and government investigations, complex civil litigation, and appeals.
In his white‑collar practice, Jessiah represents clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 500 companies in government investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud, public corruption, conspiracy, false claims, regulatory violations, and other misconduct. He frequently works alongside Am Law 200 firms as local or pool counsel in high-profile investigations conducted by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia. He has been recognized as a “Rising Star” for Criminal Defense: White Collar in the 2026 edition of Super Lawyers.
In his civil litigation practice, Jessiah represents corporate and municipal clients in commercial disputes involving contracts, land use, insurance coverage, and employment discrimination, as well as business torts like fraud, tortious interference, conspiracy, civil RICO, and conversion.
A former law clerk to the Honorable Mary Grace O’Brien of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, Jessiah also maintains an active appellate practice, representing clients in criminal and civil appeals before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Virginia.
Outside of work, Jessiah writes and speaks on civil procedure, evidentiary privileges, and the intersection of artificial intelligence with litigation and legal ethics, including as a guest analyst for Bloomberg Law.
Wednesday, May 12th, 2021
Karen Cohen is a Partner in Gentry Locke’s Richmond office and is a member of the firm’s Real Estate, Land Use & Zoning and Solar & Renewable Energy practice groups. Karen assists clients obtaining approvals for solar and energy storage projects and advises developers on real estate transactions, the entitlement process, environmental issues, and general corporate matters. Karen co-chairs the Land Use and Environmental Committee of the Real Property Section of the Virginia State Bar and previously served as Chair of the Section. She is a member of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Richmond, GRACRE (Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate), and WRISE (Virginia Chapter of Women in Renewable Industries & Sustainable Energy). Karen received her B.S. degree in architecture from the University of Virginia, her M.S. in real estate development from George Mason University, and her J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center.
As a featured presenter for the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section’s Living Library Series, Karen Cohen delivers a primer on land use law basics, and moderates a lively conversation with real estate bar colleagues, John Foote and Ben Leigh, in these videos: Real Property Library.
Wednesday, May 5th, 2021
John Danyluk practices in Gentry Locke’s White Collar Defense, Investigations & Compliance practice group, ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA. John represents both corporate and individual clients during their most difficult times, defending and guiding them through all phases of the criminal process. John defends and counsels clients in highly regulated industries, with a particular focus on government contractors and the defense industrial base, healthcare and pharmaceutical companies, and critical infrastructure entities.
In addition to litigating on his clients’ behalf, John specializes in helping clients avoid government scrutiny through compliance. John conducts internal investigations for organizations of all sizes to identify exposure areas and provide proactive compliance guidance to protect those clients from future litigation or criminal prosecution.
An expert in data privacy and cybersecurity, John is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/U.S.) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and guides clients through complex and evolving data privacy and cybersecurity laws and regulations. John provides proactive compliance advice to major corporations and government contractors and guides these clients through their responses to cyber incidents and ensuing investigations. Additionally, John uses his intimate knowledge of federal procurement and trade regulations, which he first developed as an Army JAG Officer, to advise government contractors on a wide variety of compliance requirements under the FAR, DFARS (including CMMC), DOJ’s Civil-Cyber Initiative, and ITAR.
Prior to joining Gentry Locke, John had a distinguished career with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the United States Armed Forces, serving for more than four years in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA). As a federal prosecutor in the Western District of Texas, John served as the lead trial attorney for Fort Hood’s exclusive federal jurisdiction and litigated over 1,000 cases, including numerous federal jury trials. As an Administrative & National Security Law Attorney in Grafenwohr, Germany, John advised on internal investigations into a variety of misconduct and financial issues, and advised senior military leaders on regulatory requirements for construction and acquisition of defense equipment.
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Ryan Starks works in Gentry Locke’s commercial litigation practice group, where he assists clients with complex business and civil disputes in state and federal courts throughout Virginia. Ryan has also practiced before the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims. Ryan has wide-ranging experience in courts extending from the eastern shore to southwest corner of the state. Ryan has represented businesses and individuals in complex contract, commercial landlord-tenant, employment, land use, and government contracting disputes. Ryan has also defended clients state and federal investigations stemming from Fair housing, False Claims Act, and other whistleblower complaints. Ryan was recently named to Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation in 2026. Ryan has worked with a broad range of large and small domestic and international clients to achieve successful outcomes throughout the Commonwealth.
Tuesday, September 29th, 2020
Patrice Lewis is a Partner and Government Affairs Director at our firm. She has a diverse background in law, policy and communications, along with a strong ability to analyze data and provide strategic insights. Patrice is dedicated to helping our clients achieve their legal, legislative, and strategic goals focusing on issues such as technology, healthcare, education, and criminal justice reform. Before joining our firm, Patrice worked as a strategic marketing and communications consultant for SIR, Inc., in Richmond, VA. In that role, she led various initiatives focused on communications, outreach and engagement, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Additionally, Patrice served as an outreach representative for Senator Mark R. Warner, covering Central and South Central Virginia, and as the legislative assistant to the late Delegate (Judge) Onzlee Ware. A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Patrice earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from the University of Virginia and her law degree from Regent University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in both Virginia and Maryland.
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020
Jean is a partner in our General Commercial practice group. Her practice is focused on assisting clients with the acquisition, disposition, leasing, and financing of commercial real estate properties. Prior to joining Gentry Locke, Jean practiced for over 25 years in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area.
Monday, April 13th, 2020
Andrew Gay practices in and is the deputy chair of Gentry Locke’s Construction Industry Group and serves as outside general counsel to his many construction clients. Andrew has experience with contract drafting, contract negotiations, payment disputes, lien and bond claims, performance disputes, licensure compliance, internal investigations, design defects, construction defects, and delay claims. As an active member in the local, state, and national bars, as well as the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance, Andrew frequently writes and speaks on issues that impact the construction industry. Andrew has a bachelor’s degree in construction management, and also worked as an estimator, project manager, and in-house general counsel for real estate and construction businesses. His deep roots and first-hand experiences in the construction industry allow him to provide practical legal and business advice to all his clients.
In addition to his construction practice, Andrew also advises clients on an array of general business and real estate matters as well as residential and commercial landlord tenant issues. He is licensed to practice in Virginia and Florida.
Thursday, November 7th, 2019
Jeff Miller is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice group. Jeff represents his clients in Virginia’s state and federal courts across a wide variety of practice areas, including business disputes, transportation, hospitality, defamation, class actions, and constitutional claims, both at the trial and appellate level. Jeff has tried dozens of cases, defeated multiple claims at the motions stage, and served as second chair on multi-million-dollar brain injury trials before Virginia juries.
Jeff initially built his litigation skills by defending trucking companies, major retailers, and amusement parks in catastrophic injury, brain injury, and wrongful death cases. Over the ensuing years, Jeff has expanded and grown his litigation practice to encompass a wider breadth of practice areas, including entertainment litigation and land use disputes, making Jeff a true generalist in the arena of litigation. Jeff has extensive experience working with experts in a wide array of fields including accounting, engineering, biodynamics, medical providers from orthopedists to brain injury specialists, and other professionals with a range of specialties.
Prior to beginning his law career, Jeff studied music and put his talents to use as a professional piano player and entertainer.
Tuesday, November 5th, 2019
Scott Foster practices in Gentry Locke’s Richmond office, helping businesses with their land use, real estate and corporate law needs. Scott is a member of our Legislative Affairs and Solar and Renewable Energy teams, and handles solar and battery storage land use matters across the Commonwealth. Scott earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from William and Mary. In 2010, he became the first college student to be elected to the Williamsburg City Council, where he served as Vice-Mayor from 2016-2018. He was instrumental in the adoption of the 2013 City of Williamsburg Comprehensive Plan, advocating for additional residential density in Williamsburg’s downtown, which led to major reinvestment and development of that area. Scott currently serves on the William and Mary Real Estate Foundation Board of Directors and remains an active member of the community, always seeking to improve the local and state economies.
