Gentry Locke Elevates Five Lawyers to Partner
ROANOKE, Va. (January 7, 2020) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce the promotions of Andrew M. Bowman, Jennifer S. DeGraw, Evans G. Edwards, Andrew D. Finnicum and Amanda M. Morgan to the partnership, effective January 1, 2020.
“Each of them has unique talents that make us stronger as a firm,” said Gentry Locke Managing Partner Monica Monday. “We congratulate them on this important achievement.”
Bowman is a member of the firm’s litigation practice. He focuses on complex cases, including whistleblower and qui tam litigation, commercial disputes, catastrophic injury cases, and medical malpractice. In 2019, Bowman was a key member of the Gentry Locke trial team that secured a win in one of the largest False Claim Acts cases involving scientific research grant fraud in U.S. history. He joined the firm in 2015 after serving as Law Clerk to the Honorable Patrick R. Johnson. Bowman earned his B.S. degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Rochester in New York and his J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.
Before joining Gentry Locke’s criminal & government investigations practice, DeGraw served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia. Prior to that, she was an Assistant District Attorney in North Carolina. DeGraw has successfully tried eight federal criminal jury trials and hundreds of federal and state criminal bench trials. Currently, she focuses her practice on defending white-collar criminal matters in federal court. DeGraw earned her B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law.
Edwards is a member of Gentry Locke’s plaintiff’s and worker’s compensation practice groups. In his personal injury practice, he assists individuals who have been harmed due to the negligence or misconduct of others, particularly those injured through medical negligence, defective or unreasonably dangerous products, and in truck and motor vehicle collisions. In his workers’ compensation practice, he has handled hundreds of claims for both employers and injured workers. In both practices, Edwards has helped the Firm’s individual clients obtain judgments and awards in excess of $1 million. He was previously an attorney for the FBI and worked as a professional firefighter-medic for the City of Lexington and in Fairfax County for nearly a dozen years following 9/11. He has a particular interest in the representation of police, fire and EMS personnel. He graduated summa cum laude and salutatorian from Washington & Lee University with a B.A. degree in economics and was also a two-time Academic All-American in football. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School where he was a judicial intern for the Honorable Ralph K. Winter, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Finnicum, a member of the firm’s plaintiffs practice, helps people who have suffered personal injury due to negligence or workplace accidents. He has recovered millions of dollars for clients throughout Virginia who have been injured or lost their lives in boating, trucking, and motor vehicle crashes, are victims of medical malpractice, or have suffered workplace injuries that entitle them to workers’ compensation benefits. Finnicum has represented clients before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the General District Courts of Virginia, the Circuit Courts of Virginia, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, the Supreme Court of Virginia, the United States District Courts of the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He received his B.S. summa cum laude, from Liberty University Helms School of Government and his J.D. magna cum laude, from Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Morgan is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group where she represents government, corporate and individual clients in a variety of complex matters ranging from business disputes to product and premises liability to estate litigation. She also handles cases in the firm’s personal injury and employment law practice groups. Prior to joining the firm in 2015, Morgan’s practice was primarily dedicated to insurance defense litigation, real estate and local government matters with law firms in Danville and South Boston, Virginia. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her J.D, magna cum laude, from the University of Richmond.
About Gentry Locke
With more than 60 lawyers practicing across a range of disciplines, Gentry Locke brings uncommon thinking and deep experience to the legal and business challenges of companies, institutions, organizations and individuals—a commitment the firm has met since 1923. Operating from offices in Roanoke, Lynchburg, and Richmond, Virginia, Gentry Locke serves clients in Virginia and across the United States. Meet the firm’s dynamic attorneys and learn more about its fierce drive to achieve success for its clients by exploring www.gentrylocke.com.
