James Cales III

Ashley E. Nimitz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Ashley E., who practices law in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ashley E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Avery T. Waterman, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Avery T., who practices law in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Avery T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jim is Chairman of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group. His primary practice areas include admiralty, business, cybersecurity, data privacy, railroad/transit, and unmanned systems. Jim has tried over 100 cases to jury verdicts for clients involving a broad range of legal disputes. Jim advises governing boards and senior leadership regarding risks and resolution strategies in high-profile cases. His service as general counsel to companies, and as a director and officer of several non-pr...

Stephanie C. Smith is a Shareholder in the law firm of Midgett Preti Olansen. Her practice areas include estate planning, estate and trust administration, and business matters. Additionally, Ms. Smith serves as a Commissioner of Accounts for Virginia Beach Circuit Court. In her role as Commissioner of Accounts, Ms. Smith supervises fiduciaries and audits accountings and other filings by administrators and executors of estates, trustees of trusts, guardians and conservators for minor children ...

Ann H. Larkin is a Shareholder at Midgett Preti Olansen. She focuses her practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, special needs planning and guardianship and conservatorship matters. Ms. Larkin is certified by the Virginia Supreme Court as a guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults. Ms. Larkin has extensive experience designing estate plans ranging from basic to complex. She works closely with individuals to ensure that they and their loved ones are cared for properly a...

Vanessa Macias Stillman serves as guardian ad litem for incapacitated adults and has experience litigating in several areas of fiduciary law, including contested guardianship and conservatorship actions, will contests, partitions of property, suits for breach of fiduciary duty, and a variety of complex trust and estate matters. Ms. Stillman graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish. She earned her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law...

Willard J. Moody, Jr. is the President of The Moody Law Firm, Inc ., a Virginia law firm headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia. Since graduating from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1983, Mr. Moody has focused his practice on representing injured individuals and railroad workers in claims arising under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) . He is licensed to practice law in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Florida, and is admitted to p...

Georgina Montgomery is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Georgina, who practices law in Norfolk, Virginia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Georgina is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area. Ms. Montgomery has been practicing law for over 14 years. Her previous position at an insurance c...

Carlton Bennett is recognized as an expert in traumatic brain damage litigation, nursing home malpractice and wrongful death caes. Mr. bennett was co-counsel in the largest mild-traumatic brain injury jury verdict, $10.2 million, ever awarded in Norfolk Circuit Court. He specializes in mild brain damage cases, but also handles moderate and severe cases. He has obtained numerous multi-million dollar jury verdicts and settlements for traumatic brain injury survivors, and other cases involving s...

“…You can’t get good settlements unless you have good trial results” Working with a Federal Court Judge in New Orleans while he was in college fueled Jeffrey Breit's interest in the law. A native of the Tidewater area, his father, brothers and even his wife have all been attorneys at one time or another. In 1988, he left the firm where his father had practiced and together with Jack Drescher started Breit, Drescher & Imprevento specializing in representing injured...