As we prepare to welcome 2022, we revisit five memorable McCandlish Holton moments from 2021 worth sharing, celebrating and commemorating during a globally challenging year, complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a list of inclusion, not order, featuring our firm’s top five from 2021:
Successfully defended the Commonwealth’s ban on uranium mining and defeating a claim of constitutional taking
In a 4-day trial in Wise County Circuit Court during summer 2021, trial team Cameron Beck and Michael Gladstone prevailed in defending the Commonwealth against a constitutional takings challenge to its moratorium on uranium mining by meeting the court’s strict scrutiny standard, likely preventing significant future environmental damage. The decision became final on September 30, 2021, when the Supreme Court of Virginia announced their refusal to hear an appeal from Virginia Uranium Incorporated. Read more about these proceedings.
See Virginia Uranium Inc., et al, v. Commonwealth of Virginia, et al
Jennifer Minear completes tenure as President of the world’s largest association of immigration attorneys
Immigration Attorney, Jennifer Minear completed her one-year term as the 74th president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the largest association of immigration attorneys in the world, completing her sixth year as an elected member of AILA’s Executive Committee. Jennifer reflected on her term during an extended interview on the podcast Rational Middle (Episode 83), where she spoke about the particular challenges of leading AILA and their almost 16,000 members during a historically anti-immigration administration that made innumerable policy and legal changes to immigration law in the U.S. Listen to The Rational Middle, Episode 83.
The 20th Annual McCandlish Holton Workers’ Compensation Seminar went hybrid
The 20th Annual McCandlish Holton Workers’ Compensation Seminar, already a milestone year for this annual educational program, was delivered as a hybrid event for the first time in October 2021 so it would safely reach the greatest number of adjusters, nurse case managers, risk managers, and employers during this pandemic year. The workers’ compensation practice group is already planning the program for 2022.
Civil litigation attorney Joe Moore and family are featured in ‘‘Heroes Among Us’’ for their full-family involvement in non-profit that supports families affected by childhood cancers
‘‘Heroes Among Us’’ by WTVR and CBS 6 News Richmond featured civil litigation attorney Joe Moore and his family in an article titled, Why This Family Spends Vacation Helping Children with Cancer and Their Parents (Apr. 15, 2021), about the entire family’s long-running dedication to the Lighthouse Family Retreat Organization, which they first encountered when they were a family dealing with pediatric cancer. The 2021 retreats were different due to the pandemic and the Moore family led the local event in Chesterfield County. See WTVR’s segment about the Moore family and why Lighthouse Family Retreat is central in their lives today.
Cam Beck is recognized by Defense Research Institute for establishing the Diversity Scholarship Program while President of VADA
In 2018, while President of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, civil litigation attorney, Cam Beck, initiated and launched The VADA Diversity Scholarship Program which offers a stipend for a diverse law student who pursues summer employment or an internship with a Virginia firm or legal organization involved in civil defense litigation. This year, the Defense Research Institute (DRI) recognized Cam at their 2021 Annual meeting as recipient of the Fred H. Sievert Award, presented annually to a current or past president of a state bar association who made a significant contribution to the defense bar. Read more about VADA’s Diversity Scholarship Program.
In Remembrance
In 2021, we remember the lives of our respected colleagues Governor Linwood Holton, Jr. (1923-2021), former governor of Virginia and firm namesake, and immigration attorney Michael A. Villacrés (1989-2021).
