Voted Top Lawyer in Virginia

"My experience at VMI was a great primer for real life," says Tom Williamson. The regulations outlined in his alma mater's Blue Book governed nearly every aspect of life, with some sanction or penalty for breaking every rule. "Every misstep in law carries its own consequence; there are not a lot of second chances," says Williamson. Spoken like Atticus Finch himself, Williamson's image of a lawyer was shaped by "To Kill a Mockingbird" and by the lawyers in his hometown of Harrisonburg.

Ever since he graduated from T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1976, Williamson has been a trial lawyer. His mentor, Emmanual Emroch, was a pioneer in personal injury litigation. At Williamson & Lavecchia, Williamson now represents a variety of clients in this field.  He has lectured and published extensively about product liability, expert testimony and medical malpractice.  This trial lawyer says that for top-notch practitioners, "It has to be a game.  It's really not the money that drives good lawyers."

Williamson, who describes himself as "curious and skeptical," enjoys delving into new material presented by each case.  He likes the variety of his job: One day he might be out with an engineer surveying twisted wreckage and the next he might be writing a brief.  If he were not a lawyer, Williamson says he would be a researcher/writer or maybe an archaeologist.  He loves history and is fascinated by the Middle Ages and the Renaissance periods.  An avid reader, Williamson has five or six books going.  He recently consumed John Julius Norwich's "History of Byzantium" and Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for a second time.

Travel is also a passion.  Williamson has hiked Colorado, Norway, Switzerland and Austria and sails on the Chesapeake Bay when he has the chance.   Stunning photographs from his voyages adorn his office walls.  For now, this amateur photographer will limit his adventures to vacation getaways.  Early departure from his profession is not in the plan.  After all, says Williamson, "Like Picasso says, retirement is death."