The Library

We are sad to report that Richard C. (“Dick”) Rakes passed away on December 12, 2017 at the age of 90. Dick was born in Roanoke, Virginia. After moving with his family several times, he landed in Norfolk and graduated from Granby High School in 1944. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry from 1945 to 1947, and was commissioned a First Lieutenant, Judge Advocate General’s Corps in 1951. After graduating from college, Dick attended the University of Richmond Law School.  He served as VP of the Student Bar Association and was elected to the McNeil Law Society. Having graduated from […]

ROANOKE, Va. (December 8, 2017) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that 11 firm attorneys have been named to Virginia Business magazine’s “2017 Virginia Legal Elite” list: J. Rudy Austin: Construction Law Thomas J. Bondurant, Jr.: Criminal Law Michael J. Finney: Civil Litigation W. William Gust: Taxes/Estates/Trusts Law Todd A. Leeson: Labor/Employment Law K. Brett Marston: Construction Law Monica Taylor Monday: Appellate Law Bruce C. Stockburger: Corporate Counsel/Tax Law Maxwell H. Wiegard: Environmental Law Charles L. Williams: Environmental Law Clark H. Worthy: Real Estate/Land Use Law The annual Legal Elite list recognizes lawyers across […]

ROANOKE, Va. (November 13, 2017) – Two Roanoke partners in the Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke have earned recognition from Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Gregory D. Habeeb was named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s 2017 class of “Leaders in the Law” and Lindsey A. Coley was named to the publication’s 2017 class of “Up & Coming Lawyers.” All 2017 recipients were formally honored during an awards ceremony on October 26. According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly editor-in-chief Paul Fletcher, the Leaders in the Law program was established to recognize attorneys who are setting the standard for other practitioners – “those who changed […]

ROANOKE, Va. (November 1, 2017) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is included in the 2018 “Best Law Firms” rankings published by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers®. In its 24th edition, Best Lawyers in America highlights the top 5 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. The firm secured rankings in 25 practice areas, including Metropolitan Tier 1 rankings – the highest regional honor – in 18 practice areas: Metropolitan Tier 1 – Roanoke Antitrust Law Appellate Practice Banking and Finance Law Commercial Litigation Construction Law Corporate Law Employment Law – Individuals Employment Law – Management […]

ROANOKE, Va. (October 20, 2017) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that Daniel R. Sullivan, an associate on the firm’s Business Litigation team, has been admitted to practice law in West Virginia. “We congratulate Dan for receiving this additional admittance. Being licensed in West Virginia will allow Dan to more effectively represent our clients who are based in the state,” said Guy M. Harbert III, chair of the firm’s Insurance practice group. “It will also enable the firm to continue to expand its footprint, and attract and retain clients in West Virginia.” Sullivan’s work […]

Alicha M. Grubb joins Commercial Litigation group and Ariel S. Wossene joins Plaintiff’s group ROANOKE, Va. (October 4, 2017) – Two lawyers have joined the Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke as associates in the Roanoke office. Alicha M. Grubb will work in the Commercial Litigation group helping clients resolve their business disputes, and Ariel S. Wossene will handle Qui Tam/Whistleblower matters while providing support to the firm’s Plaintiff, Employment, and Litigation practices. Both Alicha and Ariel join Gentry Locke after serving as law clerks at the 23rd Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia.  While at the 23rd Judicial Circuit Court of […]

ROANOKE, Va. (September 29, 2017) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke and two of its attorneys have been selected for recognition in the 2018 edition of Benchmark Litigation, which ranks leading local firms and star attorneys in the U.S. commercial litigation and plaintiff markets. Gentry Locke has been ranked as a “Recommended” firm for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and Gentry Locke partners J. Rudy Austin and W. David Paxton have been named 2018 “Local Litigation Stars.” Both Austin and Paxton have been recognized by Benchmark consecutively since 2012. Austin, who was recognized in the realms of General Commercial and Insurance, […]

ROANOKE, Va. (August 15, 2017) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that 21 of the firm’s attorneys were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® (2018 edition), a national legal ranking. Attorneys were nominated by their peers and recognized for their outstanding professional achievement in several legal practice areas, including appellate practice, banking and finance law, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, criminal defense, employment law, insurance law, medical malpractice law, tax law, trusts and estates, and more. Of the firm attorneys listed in the Best Lawyers in America, six have been on the […]

Gentry Locke partner Christen Church, who handles health care regulation and compliance, and data privacy and security, was recently quoted in a Dan Casey article in The Roanoke Times regarding on an ongoing, inadvertent medical data breach. A local CPA has been receiving faxes with private medical information for four years. Christen is quoted as follows: Christen Church, an attorney at Gentry Locke whose practice areas include intellectual property, health care regulation compliance and data privacy and security, said what I described seemed to clearly fall under the category of “inadvertent” breaches, rather than “malicious” ones. But either way, under the law it sounds […]