MH SUB I - Key Persons
Adam Bacon focuses his practice on wealth preservation, wills, trusts and estates, including estate administration. He is also involved as a transactional attorney assisting clients with a wide range of business, real estate, and commercial contracts. In addition, his practice includes business litigation, business formation and best entity structure for various client industries.
As a third-year law student, Adam served as a law clerk to the Honorable John M. Tran of the Fairfax County Circuit Court of Virginia. His clerkship experience in the state's busiest trial court provided Adam with insight into numerous cases and legal strategies. He has been able to draw on this experience to develop favorable business strategies that best protect clients when litigation is unavoidable. While in law school, Adam also participated in the "Rising for Justice" D.C. court practice, a nationally ranked trial clinical program.
Job Titles:
- Certified Paralegal
- Paralegal
Bonnie is a certified paralegal in the litigation group, and works principally for Ken Curtis. After college (GMU), raising a family and enjoying a successful career in the title insurance, settlement and finance industry, Bonnie earned her advanced paralegal credentials from George Mason University and became nationally certified in trial practice and legal research and writing. Her responsibilities include preparing personal injury, professional negligence and contract matters for trial in both the state and federal courts in Virginia, DC and Maryland. Bonnie is experienced in trial practice, preparation of pleadings, settlement brochures, document review, legal research and writing, discovery issues, and pretrial preparation.
Mr. Weiss was a partner at Sale, Quinn, Deese& Weiss, P.C., a law firm handling diverse litigation prior to the formation of Charapp& Weiss, LLP.Prior to that, Mr. Weiss served as assistant General Counsel at Geneva Management, Inc. for approximately five years. At Geneva Management, Inc. and alongside Michael Charapp, Mr. Weiss handled matters involving risk management, corporate and commercial matters, employment issues, financial transactions, and litigation.Prior to Geneva Management, Inc., Mr. Weiss worked as General Counsel for two years at Rehau Incorporated, an international manufacturer in Switzerland with offices and manufacturing facilities throughout Europe, North America, Canada and Mexico. The company manufactured plastic products for the housing, automotive, medical and boating industries. Mr. Weiss was general counsel for the North America operations and was responsible for all corporate, commercial and employment matters in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Mr. Weiss regularly dealt with large scale litigation and regulatory issues relating to the product itself, factory operations and employees. Prior to Rehau Incorporated, Mr. Weiss worked as an associate attorney at Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, LLP for approximately four years.
Bret Giaimo is a recent graduate of Georgetown University Law School, and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Franklin and Marshall College. Bret was born in Mclean, Virginia and outside of his college years, has lived in the area for all his life. During law school Bret worked for the Spotsylvania County Commonwealth Attorney's Office and a prominent DC civil litigation law firm.
Bret comes to Mahdavi, Bacon, Halfhill & Young P.L.L.C. after serving as the judicial law clerk for the Honorable Angela L. Horan of the 31 st Judicial Circuit of Virginia in Prince William County, Virginia. In this role, Bret was responsible for researching and recommending appropriate outcomes on all motions before Judge Horan, as well as drafting opinions and orders for the judge's review. As a consequence of this position, Bret has observed and reviewed nearly every aspect of civil litigation across a wide variety of subject areas.
Cindy is a graduate of Northern Virginia Community College and has been in the legal profession for over 30 years. Her experience includes civil litigation, trial preparation, personal injury and domestic law. She works assisting the other lawyers at our firm.
Daniel Rene Hernandez focuses his practice of law on civil litigation and employment law. Daniel primarily assists small and medium businesses across many industries along with non-profit organizations. Daniel advises clients in drafting and reviewing legal documents and contracts, as well as policies and procedures. He advocates for clients in real estate, commercial, and employment disputes.
Prior to joining the firm, Daniel worked for the legal department of a large international non-profit organization, a personal injury, property damage and insurance defense firm in New York City, the Hon. George D. Varoutsos of Arlington Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, and a quasi-judicial federal agency.
Daniel is licensed to practice in Virginia. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Daniel graduated from George Mason University's Law School, where he was a research assistant for Professor Bruce Johnsen. He also has an undergraduate degree in Economics from the College of William and Mary
Ms. Masin has been admitted to the Virginia Bar, District of Columbia Bar, Colorado Bar, and Eastern District of Virginia.
Geoffrey C. Dodson, Counsel to the firm, has over 30 years' experience as a business counselor advising new and established companies and individuals in the areas of business entity formation, management, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, and strategic issues. He also has experience in the fields of landlord/tenant representation, state and local tax practice and wills/trusts/estates. Mr. Dodson is admitted to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia. He holds a BS degree in Finance from Boston College (School of Management) and earned his J.D. at Catholic University where he graduated first in his class.
George Doumar has 30 years of experience litigating and trying commercial cases in Virginia and District of Columbia courts, including in areas of contract disputes, employment matters, breach of duty and non-competes, as well as other areas. George Doumar's practice is based in northern Virginia, but he takes substantial commercial matters in other parts of the state as well, with clients from Tidewater to the I-81 corridor. George also provides advice and contract drafting for corporate transactions, employment agreements and other corporate documents.
Founder and Principal of Doumar Law Group; graduated in 1986 from the University of Virginia Law School. Member of the Virginia Law Review Editorial Board and Articles Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law. Graduated as a member of Order of the Coif, the law school honor society.
George graduated with a B.S.F.S. degree in International Economics from Georgetown University, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude.
George is licensed to practice law in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and in various federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. George is a Permanent Member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.
George has run 8 marathons and approximately 90 half-marathons since 2006, most recently the Berlin Marathon in September 2021.
James 'Jim' Bacon has represented corporations, limited liability companies, municipalities, banks, other business organizations, and individuals for over 35 years in complex commercial and business matters by helping them navigate disputes and difficulties. Mr. Bacon provides his clients aggressive and innovative business strategies designed to fully capitalize on the particular strengths of each client. Always willing to advocate a unique or troublesome case, he is very experienced going 'all in' on 'bet the business' high stakes litigation if no reasonable alternative is available to his clients. He enjoys serving as local counsel for out-of-state firms in all State and Federal court systems. He received his law degree from the American University School of Law, has a varied trial and appellate practice, and has served as a lecturer at trial advocacy seminars. His areas of concentration include complex commercial matters, business planning, bankruptcy and bankruptcy protection, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, corporate structure and governance, employment issues and disputes, restrictive covenants and HR issues, complex arbitrations, civil and criminal forfeiture law, franchising law, technology matters, real estate law and transactions, real estate planning, and anti-money laundering, OFAC Compliance and FinCEN regulations. He is licensed in all State and Federal courts of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Mr. Bacon has achieved a peer review of 'AV' in Martindale-Hubbell, meaning he possesses a 'preeminent rating,' achievable only after admission to the Bar for at least ten years, indicating the highest level of legal ability and ethics - the pinnacle of professional excellence. He has also been selected as a 'Super Lawyer,' an exclusive listing of outstanding attorneys who have attained preeminent peer recognition, limited to no more than 5 percent of the practicing attorneys in Virginia and Washington, DC. Mr. Bacon has also been featured in 'The Leading Lawyers Association' and selected to the Top Attorneys of North America, which has been recognized and distinguished as an identifier of the best lawyers that the North American legal community has to offer. He has been named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by City of Richmond Magazine. Mr. Bacon has been chosen as a recommended adviser in Virginia by The Business Lawyers, and was selected to become a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America ("LCA"). The LCA is a trial lawyer honorary society whose membership is limited to less than one-half of one percent of North American lawyers, judges and scholars. Mr. Bacon has been invited to 'Best Attorneys of America,' one of the most celebrated and respected groups of attorneys in the country. Less than one percent (1%) of the attorneys in America have been invited to join this organization. He has been recognized as a leading expert for 'Business Law Advice,' in Virginia by Advisory Excellence, an international network. In addition, the professional honorary organization of the "Leaders in Law 2021 Global Awards" chose Mr. Bacon "Business Law Expert of the Year in Virginia". This award is an international recognition of excellence in legal achievements assessed by the Leaders in Law voting membership. He has also been recognized as a LEGAL LEADER by The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Baltimore Sun.
Jessica earned a bachelor's degree and paralegal certificate from California Polytechnic State University. She has over 17 years of paralegal experience, specializing in estate and trust administration and domestic relations. Jessica has served as the administrator for estate clients. She works primarily remotely from home in Aldie, VA, where she resides with her husband and two daughters.
John D. Pellegrin, Of Counsel to the firm, specializes in business matters, advising new and established companies, entrepreneurs and consultants on transactional issues. This includes business succession planning, employment, franchising, and multi-faceted business strategy issues. He also has an extensive practice and experience in the fields of Intellectual Property (trademark, copyright, patent coordination/referral, computer/Internet, entertainment, media, literary & agency) project management & coordination, consulting, communications, government contracting, international, non-profit organizations, litigation, and wills/trusts/estates. Formerly a member of the Federal Communications Commission's legal staff, Mr. Pellegrin is admitted to practice in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and New York. He holds degrees from Georgetown University (Management), and Fordham University (J.D.). He holds an AV (highest) rating from Martindale Hubbell, the international directory of practicing attorneys. He has written numerous articles on telecommunications and new technology issues, appeared before many industry groups, and represents multifaceted entities (some international in scope), associations, and non-profit/educational entities, assisting with the planning and implementation of their projects and lines of business/service.Mr. Pellegrin is also active in the community, as a Board member serving on several non-profit entities, the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce (former President), and former President of the Springfield Golf & Country Club. He also serves on the Fairfax County Small Business Commission.
Mr. Pellegrin is currently serving on the Fairfax County Small Business Commission, Chairman of the SBC, and on the Board of MVLE, Inc. (serving adults with different abilities/disabilities) and has been honored with various awards by The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, is a recipient of the Volunteer Fairfax Benchmark 500 Award, several Rotary International awards, as well as recipient of the Community Champion Award.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Virginia State Bar
Mr. Childers is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Brain Injury Association of America, the American Association for Justice, and the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. Mr. Childers has been voted the #1 Attorney in Prince William County 7 times by InsideNoVa voters. He was also recognized by Northern Virginia Magazine as Top Personal Injury Lawyers in 2017. Kevin Childers is a Five Star lawyer with Yelp reviewers.
Melissa graduated from South Lakes High School in Reston in 2019, with seals in Advanced Studies, Excellence in Civics Education, Career and Technical Education. She is currently attending Northern Virginia Community College and is majoring in Criminology. She is planning on transferring to a four-year school and in the future, attend Law school. She assists our attorneys with Estate planning and other administrative legal matters. Melissa is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Michelle has over 15 years' experience assisting law firms in providing excellent services to their clients. She has assisted in the practice areas of litigation, business, estate planning and family law. Michelle volunteers regularly in her local church, enjoys gardening, hiking and spending time with her family.
Raj H. Patel is an associate whose practice focuses on civil litigation. Raj primarily provides counsel on issues involving real estate development, commercial contract disputes, employer/employee relations, and non-profit compliance. He is licensed to practice in Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Prior to joining the firm, Raj clerked for the Office of United States Attorneys and the Honorable Judge Charles E. Poston (retired) of the Norfolk Circuit Court. He also worked as a summer associate and academic extern for two large Virginia law firms.
Raj earned his law degree from William & Mary Law School, where he enjoyed representing individuals against the IRS as a member of the Tax Clinic. He earned his undergraduate economics degree from the University of Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Paralegal to 'of Counsel' Kenneth W. Curtis
Regina joins our firm as Office Administrator with an extensive 20+ years administrative and accounting background including prior legal experience. She takes pride in her Spanish Heritage and is raising a son and daughter while working full time. She is also fluent in Spanish as well.
Sefton Smyth focuses on civil litigation, collections, landlord/tenant matters, contracts, and estate planning. He has extensive experience in complex discovery matters, depositions, and dispositive motions practice. Mr. Smyth received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Virginia.
Mr. Smyth is admitted to practice in the state courts of Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., as well as the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western District of Virginia, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
Steve Halfhill concentrates in business, security, commodity and regulatory law, as well as domestic relations, traffic/criminal matters and general litigation. After receiving his J.D. Degree from West Virginia University in 1974, Mr. Halfhill entered the United States Army where he served as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. Upon completion of his military service, Mr. Halfhill became an Assistant Director in the Commodity Future Trading Commission's Division of Enforcement and later was Special Counsel to the Director of the Commodity Future Trading Commission's Division of Trading & Markets. He has been in private practice since 1981, and is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and West Virginia. In addition, he is experienced in major federal litigation nationally, and is an experienced appellate practice as well as domestic relations, criminal, traffic, business and homeowners'/condominium association law.
TRAVIS SALISBURY was born June 1, 1991 in Baltimore, Maryland; graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2013 with a B.S. in Political Communications and obtained a Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in May of 2016, where he was a member of the Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology and the National Mock Trial Team. Member: Virginia (2016), US District Court Eastern District of Virginia (2019), United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (2017), United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia (2017).
Warner Young is an experienced trial lawyer. He represents business and corporations in complex business disputes, often offering success fee based services. He represents the seriously injured in professional negligence (medical and legal), products liability (aviation, medical devices and pharmacological), and other personal injury cases. Mr. Young has particular expertise in representing people who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. He has obtained for his clients million dollar verdicts and settlements in Virginia and nationally. As a result of obtaining large recoveries for his clients, Mr. Young has developed expertise in wealth preservation, including estate planning, drafting of wills and trusts and administration of estates and trusts. He also has extensive experience in trust and estate litigation. Mr. Young represents diverse clients such as national clinical laboratories and small technology and service businesses in commercial litigation matters ranging from business torts to contract disputes. Since graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1984, Mr. Young has been a frequent lecturer on evidence, medical/legal issues, and trial techniques. He also serves as a private mediator/arbitrator and is a judicially appointed case evaluator.