Newington Lawyers

BA 1990 Villanova University
JD 1993 University of Dayton school of law ( member and then editor university of Dayton law review)

Named the 2007 Maryland trial lawyer of the year by the Maryland trial lawyers Association for groundbreaking litigation throughout the state of Maryland involving the safety of manufactured housing which reversed years of county building inspectors improper Interpretation of and inspection for footings to the frost line

Featured in “The Rules of the Road” by Patrick Malone a lawyer’s guide to complex civil litigation

John M. Coppola, Esq. has a Bachelor's Degree from Union College (NY), a MBA from Boston College, and a Juris Doctor from American University. Mr. Coppola is a native of Northern Virginia. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar Association. Mr. Coppola has over twenty years experience working in the Estate Planning Field. He has drafted over 1000 Revocable Living Trusts.

Brett Callahan is a Litigation Associate at Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian. Her focus in approaching any case is to identify and work toward the solution that is tailored to best serve her client’s needs. That means approaching problems from different angles to come up with the most practical and cost effective way to achieve her client’s goals, either through traditional negotiations and litigation or use of alternative dispute resolution options. Brett takes a client driven big picture approach to her representation, working with clients to not only address current concerns but identify future vulnerabilities and fix them...

Billy Ruhling, II, is an experienced litigator focusing on civil litigation matters. His experience in civil litigation has focused on complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy and business torts. Mr. Ruhling has represented clients in actions covering a broad spectrum, including insurance coverage, professional liability defense, antitrust claims, contract disputes, tort claims, breach of corporate duties, and fraud. Before joining Troutman Sanders LLP, Mr. Ruhling was on active duty as an Army Judge Advocate, where he served as a Branch Chief in the Army's Defense Appellate Division, U.S. Army Legal Services Agency. There, in addition to supervising seven appellate attorneys,...

Shirley Chim is an attorney with a solid foundation of professional experience in the areas of Family Law matters. Shirley has worked with families and individuals in Northern Virginia to help them understand the processes and complexities that are often presented in divorce, child custody, support, equitable distribution, adoption, and protective orders. Not only is Shirley a nationally ranked, skillful, and aggressive litigator, but she's also an effective negotiator and believes in empowering her clients in settlement and mediation where appropriate. Shirley is flexible and creative in her approach to law and works side by side with her clients...

Rick Nishanian is a highly respected real estate attorney. He is well known for his ability to craft legal documents for complex situations, ranging from complicated loan documents to multi-faceted business transactions. Clients appreciate his responsiveness and his attention to detail.

Martin Crim is a shareholder at Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, and has been practicing law for over twenty-five years, primarily for cities, towns, and other local governments. His practice areas include land use development, code enforcement, eminent domain, social services, tax valuation and collection, human resources, Freedom of Information Act, water and sewer, electric utilities, Virginia Public Procurement Act, and municipal franchises.

-Town Attorney, Culpeper, Occoquan, Haymarket, & Middleburg
-Assistant Town Attorney, Herndon
-City Attorney, Manassas 2011 – 2018
-Staff Attorney, Prince William County Schools, 1991 – 2007
-School Board Attorney, Manassas City, 1992 – 2009

Mr. Leahy is a former Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney for Fauquier County. As a former prosecutor, he brings to the firm knowledge and experience from one of the local Commonwealth Attorney’s Offices.

In January 2011, Donna opened Donna Dougherty Law within a few blocks of the Prince William County Courthouse. Her firm focuses on Family Law issues and she represents children in custody and abuse and neglect situations. She and her staff work as a team to advocate for their clientâs interests and in moving on to the next stage of their lives. In 2005, Donna began practicing law in Virginia focusing on civil litigation to include family and real estate litigation. Donna has fine-tuned her practice and focuses on family issues where marriages and/or relationships are dissolving and legal assistance...

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Experienced Federal legislative and regulatory attorney with over 20 years of Executive Agency, Congressional, and OMB experience.

Brenton D. Vincenzes, Virginia criminal lawyer and estate planning attorney, is founder of Vincenzes Law, PLLC, and leads the Vincenzes Law team. I serve to protect the rights of those facing the criminal justice system in Northern Virginia. Young, old, affluent, indigent, or somewhere in between. My firm also offers estate planning services, including wills, trusts, and unique planning solutions.

I have an accounting, business, marketing and tax background and concentrate in consumer bankruptcy, Ch's 7, 11 and 13.

Mr. Jones has lived in Fairfax most of life, graduating from Lake Braddock in 1987. He resides in the area with his wife and two children. Mr. Jones coaches Little League baseball and youth basketball. He is an avid UVA basketball fan.

David has more than 30 years of experience representing small and mid cap businesses in transactional and litigation matters in Virginia and the District of Columbia. He is regular outside counsel to one of largest locally based restaurant chains in Greater DC and one of the largest independent used automobile dealership groups in the Washington DC area.

Graduated with honors in 1987 from the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University where he was President of the Phi Delta Phi law society.

David graduated with a B.S. degree in Marketing from George Mason University.

David is licensed to practice...

Melinda provides holistic multi-generational income and wealth transfer tax planning advice and estate and trust services to individuals, families, and business owners. She also advises fiduciaries and beneficiaries on probate and estate and trust administration, and serves as a technical expert on estate and trust litigation matters. Melinda has over 25 years of experience in the estates and trusts area, and brings a unique and diverse perspective from her work in private law practice, Big Four accounting firms, and private banking/trust services. With her focus on advising clients in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, asset protection,...

Mr. Brennan’s law practice is dedicated to serving the needs of businesses, both large and small, and includes business sales and acquisitions, general civil litigation, business counseling, debtor/creditor law, business formation and receivables collection. Mr. Brennan's professional experience includes complex commercial litigation and intensive bankruptcy experience. Mr. Brennan was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but spent the major part of his youth in Dallas, Texas and Roanoke, Virginia. Mr. Brennan was drafted into the United States Army where he was trained as a medical corpsman with field units of the 25th Infantry Division. While serving in Vietnam, he was awarded the Purple...

I am a licensed divorce attorney and an advanced family certified mediator serving Northern Virginia and the DC Metro area. For over 20 years I have helped clients who are going through separation and divorce. My commitment is to help clients resolve issues without court intervention. My goal is to help my clients work though issues and arrive at solutions that are best for the client and their family.

Arash D. Zarei is a lifetime resident of Fairfax County. Mr. Zarei devotes his practice to representing clients with high-quality, personal, and cost-effective services. Mr. Zarei’s knowledge and experience in multiple areas of law has given him the edge required for resolving complex cases.

John represents closely-held business, their owners, individuals, and their families involving taxation, estate planning, probate and estate administration, wills and trusts, business planning, and corporate law. John has worked with clients to:

Prepare last wills and testaments, trust agreements, advance medical directives, and powers of attorney;

Administer estates;

Negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service;

Plan for optimal tax treatment; and

Form and manage businesses.

Prior to joining Rees Broome, John spent three years at an accounting firm in Washington, D.C., concentrating his practice on state and local, federal, and international tax compliance and consulting for individuals and businesses. He then joined Ritzert & Leyton,...

Mr. Curtis joined the firm in 2009 with more than 25 years experience as a respected trial lawyer. Since 1988, Mr. Curtis has devoted his practice to representing injured parties. His philosophy is reflected in the language of justice: fairness, integrity and respect. He began his legal career as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Virginia and gained valuable trial experience with a firm specializing in insurance defense litigation. As Plaintiff’s counsel, he has handled numerous general liability and wrongful death matters, complex medical malpractice cases, including birth injury, traumatic brain injury, obstetrical malpractice, psychiatric malpractice involving suicide, plastic and reconstructive surgery,...

Michael is an attorney practicing primarily within General Counsel, P.C.’s Corporate and Government Contracts Practice Groups. Michael joined GCPC after a successful career as a government employee and government contractor within the intelligence community.

Out of college, Michael spent his early career as a software engineer in the intelligence community. Following his government service, Michael founded and ran Incisive Technology, Inc., which provided technology services and business consulting to the federal government and large corporate clients.

After leading Incisive Technology for fifteen years, Michael decided to attend law school. He earned a Juris Doctorate and LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law...