DAVIS LAW - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Litigation Specialist
Chris Holinger is our firm's appellate litigation specialist, a skilled advocate with experience in both the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia Court of Appeals. Chris developed a passion for appellate advocacy while interning for Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn of the Virginia Supreme Court during his first summer of law school, and after graduation, he clerked for two years with Judge Glen Huff on the Virginia Court of Appeals. These two jobs gave Chris an inside look at Virginia's appellate law system, and he puts that experience to work crafting superior briefs and oral arguments.
Chris retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, after a 23-year aviation career that included combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. He graduated from Regent University School of Law, cum laude, in 2017. At Regent, he served on Law Review and as presiding officer of the Regent Law Honor Council. He published an article in the Regent University Law Review as a 3L, entitled "When Fundamental Rights Collide, Will We Tolerate Dissent?" After his clerkship, Chris worked at Troutman Pepper and Golightly, Mulligan, and Morgan working on appeals, civil litigation, and aviation-related law.
Chris is active in the Federalist Society and the James Kent American Inn of Court, where he is a member of the executive committee. He enjoys general aviation and is active in the Civil Air Patrol as both a Search and Rescue Mission Pilot and Cadet Orientation Pilot. Chris and his wife Deb, a Colonel in the Air Force, are the proud parents of three adult children.
Chris is an experienced litigator and business lawyer. He has handled hundreds of commercial lawsuits for clients in state and federal courts around the country in matters ranging from basic contract disputes to multi-million dollar "bet the company" lawsuits. Chris also defended an MDL claim with potential damages totaling over $1B. Chris frequently litigates in the Federal Court located in Norfolk, Virginia, known as part of the E.D.V.A. "Rocket Docket." Chris has particular experience handling franchise, government contract, commercial lease, business tort, and IP disputes. Chris also has substantial appellate experience, including cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit and Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court, and the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Transaction Practice Group Chair
Clem is a seasoned business lawyer with extensive experience advising clients in the area of commercial transactions, including, mergers and acquisitions, franchise transactions, corporate governance, company formations, equity transactions, and business succession plans. Clem has negotiated numerous transactions spanning from multimillion-dollar bank deals, partnering in the management of a billion-dollar bank facility for a Fortune 50 company, heading a team responsible for negotiating over $30 billion in creditor claims in one of the nation's largest Chapter 11 bankruptcies; and negotiating numerous equity and asset purchases represented by various industries. Clem has served in senior attorney capacities, positively impacting corporate efficiency for Fortune 100 companies and now regularly provides counsel to both mid-sized and closely held companies. In addition, he regularly provides counsel on general corporate and compliance matters and corporate governance matters as outsourced general counsel. Clem understands the needs of the business owner. Prior to becoming an attorney, he worked in the commercial banking division of a mid-sized bank assisting business owners with financial needs ranging from working capital to business expansion loans.
Contributing to the strength of the community is one of Clem's joys. He has the privilege of serving as a board member and tutor for the Life Enrichment Center of Norfolk which focuses on improving the literacy rates of underprivileged elementary students. He also serves as a member of the Kiwanis Club of Chesapeake working to support the establishment of opportunities for youth in the City of Chesapeake.
Clem enjoys time with his wife traveling to unique places around the world; he is a trained pianist, enjoys martial arts, chess, and spending time outdoors sprucing up the garden.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the Pro Bono Committee for the Young Lawyers Association of the Virginia State Bar
Destinee Byers joined Davis Law as an intern in 2017 and as an associate attorney in 2019. Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Destinee graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Law, Justice, and Society from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated cum laude with her law degree from Regent University School of Law.
Prior to joining Davis Law, Destinee worked as a legal intern for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and as a student worker for the Institute for Conflict Management. She also worked as the Marketing Manager for Pieology Pizzeria where she assisted in managing marketing for all of its southeastern franchises. At Regent University School of Law, she won awards in appellate advocacy and negotiation, worked for the Center for Global Justice assisting in legal research and writing for international nonprofits, spent a summer in Peru helping an organization that provided legal aid related to human trafficking and property dispute issues, and worked as a Managing Editor for the Journal of Global Justice and Public Policy. During that time, Destinee also wrote and published an article: https://jgjpp.regent.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CAN-YOU-HEAR-ME-NOW-DUE-PROCESS-AND-LANGUAGE-BARRIERS-TO-JUSTICE.pdf
Destinee is currently a member of the Pro Bono Committee for the Young Lawyers Association of the Virginia State Bar and a member of Thrive Young Professionals Group in Hampton Roads. She lives in Norfolk with her husband and beagle, Jessie. She enjoys home renovation projects, hiking, traveling, and visiting local coffee shops.
Erin McDaniel is a Hampton Roads native and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government from the College of William and Mary. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Secondary Education for Social Studies at Old Dominion University. She graduated cum laude from Regent University School of Law in 2019, where she was an officer and competitor for the nationally-ranked Moot Court Board.
During her time at Regent, Erin interned for the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Honorable Glen Huff on the Virginia Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Davis Law, PLC, Erin worked as a general litigator at a firm in Virginia Beach where her practice areas included business and commercial litigation, consumer protection, and cybersecurity law. Erin was recently named to Virginia Business: 2020 Legal Elite as a top attorney under the age of 40 and was also named Virginia Rising Star by Super Lawyer for 2021 and 2022. Erin formerly served as the Vice-Chair of the Virginia Beach Bar Association Young Lawyer's Committee.
Job Titles:
- a Paralegal
- Litigation Paralegal and Office Manager
Jordan Waddell joined Davis Law as a paralegal in 2020. In 2017, Jordan earned an Associate Degree in General Studies from Tidewater Community College. She then transferred to Old Dominion University where she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a minor in Sociology.
Jordan is a local to Chesapeake, Virginia. Prior to joining the firm, she worked as a legal assistant for 2 years. Her diverse work experience and dedication provide exceptional assistance to our attorneys and clients.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Litigation Practice Group Chair
Justin is a seasoned litigation attorney with experience at all levels of Virginia state and federal court. He primarily focuses on commercial litigation and has successfully taken on matters ranging from hotly contested corporate dissolutions to business disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, business conspiracy, misappropriation of trade secrets, and intellectual property infringement. Justin excels in the litigation setting, both in and out of court, demonstrating a zealous advocacy that is hard to rival.
Before becoming an attorney, Justin served eight years in the United States Marine Corps and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he served as a fire team leader in charge of a small team of Marines conducting anti-insurgent and anti-terrorist operations in the urban areas of Iraq. Justin now brings this experience from the Marine Corps into the courtroom, where he is relentless in his fight to get the outcome that his clients deserve. His clients often describe him as passionate and appreciate the way that he takes ownership of their issues as if they were his own. Justin was recently named a 2022 "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers Magazine.
Nathan Hernandez joined Davis Law as a Summer intern in 2019 and as an associate attorney in 2022. He is a civil litigation attorney at the trial and appellate level with a primary focus on commercial and employment law.
Prior to becoming an attorney at Davis Law, Nathan served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Glen A. Huff on the Virginia Court of Appeals. In that position, he assisted Judge Huff by researching the law, recommending outcomes for appellate disputes in civil and criminal matters, and drafting judicial opinions for the Court in panel and en banc proceedings.
Nathan earned his Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from Covenant College and his Law Degree from Regent University School of Law. During his time at Regent Law, Nathan not only excelled in his general course work and graduated with honors, but also actively participated in the Law School's nationally-ranked Moot Court Board. In addition to serving as Vice Chairman on the Executive Board, he won four moot court competitions: one national competition, one regional competition, and two intrascholastic competitions. For those accomplishments, Nathan received the Appellate Advocacy Award upon graduation - presented to the graduating student who demonstrated the highest degree of excellence in appellate advocacy.
Job Titles:
- Corporate and Business Venture Advisor
Peter has extensive and proven experience leading successful start-ups to running global divisions of Fortune 500 firms including mergers and acquisitions, turnaround, restructuring and private transactions. He has a solid track record of technology design, sales, marketing, P&L development and fund raising as well as the creation and management of intellectual property leading to high value sales. Dr. Natale helps clients identify, protect and commercialize valuable company assets including trade secrets, progressive technology products, establishing unified standards, protective documents, unique strategies and procedures within industries such as energy, software and service-based companies.
Dr. Natale's experience includes rapid growth of products and services from vision to market resulting in successful operational and financial results. He is experienced in Agile SDLC management of B2B, B2C, B2G, and G2C SaaS products. He has the proven ability to increase operational refinements and efficiency by developing multicultural teams that result in a healthy workplace culture that supports individual and organizational growth through engagement and behavior change. Dr. Natale has a history of problem solving and working in conjunction with cross functional teams to identify strategic actions that drive role based KSAs and awareness of inclusion benefits across service lines in order to design and implement a holistic, enterprise-wide climate of belonging and accountability with a foundation in tangible, long-term plans that fulfill business objectives.
Peter has helped clients establish long-term supply and distribution agreements with commercial companies and government contractors in North America, South America, Europe and APAC with projects ranging to $75 million. He has assisted small business entrepreneurs raise capital, manage their risks during start-up, build staffing, design service delivery, create trademark and branding, develop products and manage client SLA contracts.
* Dr. Natale is not an attorney and instead offers non-legal strategic and business assistance.
Peter is a patent attorney and has been helping individual inventors, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies secure, license, and enforce their patents, trademarks, and copyrights for the past 15 years.
Job Titles:
- Office Assistant
- Receptionist
- Transactional Paralegal
Rochelle Kizzee joined the firm in 2021 as the receptionist and office assistant. Rochelle has since been promoted to the position of Transactional Paralegal. She has several years of experience, including being a client intake specialist for law firms. Her customer service skills, motivation, and professionalism help provide the best client experience.
When Rochelle isn't managing the day-to-day operations of Davis Law, PLC, she is spending time with her husband and their three children. Being raised in Virginia, she enjoys going to the hidden gems of Virginia's beaches with her family and friends known mostly only to locals.
Thomas has substantial experience as a transactional attorney in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. His intellectual property experience includes patent, copyright, trademarks and unfair competition, and advising clients on intellectual property portfolio management and strategy. He is a licensed patent attorney.
Thomas served for a time in the U.S. Air Force, operationally attached to the NSA. Afterwards, he practiced law in Colorado and taught law at a number of law schools, including Regent University, where he was a Professor for 17 years. While at Regent University, Thomas enjoyed concentrating his teaching on Contract Law, Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Law, and a survey course in Intellectual Property Law. He has also taught Cyber Security Law, and several other courses.
When not at work, Thomas has enjoyed bicycling, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, surfing, and languages, including computer languages, international travel, and lecturing. He has been married for 34 years and has three sons and a daughter.
Thomas is not licensed to practice law in Virginia, but he is licensed to practice law in Colorado and he is a licensed patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Thomas regularly assists Davis Law clients with federal matters involving trademarks and patents.
Thomas is of counsel to Davis Law, PLC.