Culpeper, VA

Carl N. Lauer

Carl Lauer began his career as a military attorney in the U.S. Army, serving in the 101st Airborne Division. He now focuses on serious personal injury, wrongful death, auto accident, and worker's compensation cases in Virginia, managing the Front Royal office. He is an active member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association worker’s compensation section, the Virginia Workers’ Compensation American Inn of Court (Executive Committee), and a board member of the Workers Injury Law Group (WILG). He holds the highest rating ('AV Preeminent') from Martindale-Hubbell and 'Superb' from Avvo, and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has also been recognized as one of Virginia's 'Go To Lawyers, Workers' Comp Law' by Virginia Lawyers Weekly and a Top Personal Injury Lawyer by Northern Virginia Magazine.

Peter C. Burnett

Peter Burnett is a graduate of Hobart College and Antioch School of Law. He has practiced law in Leesburg since 1977. Peter limited his practice to personal injury law when he founded Burnett & Williams in 1988. In addition to building the firm into one of Virginia’s oldest and most experienced personal injury law firms, Peter has compiled an impressive array of legal achievements, including obtaining the highest wrongful death verdict in Virginia history, obtaining the highest personal injury verdict in Loudoun County, and other record results. Peter has guided the firm through a number of noteworthy cases including multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts for wrongful death, medical malpractice and automobile accident cases. He has earned a reputation as a relentless advocate who is always willing to negotiate carefully and creatively on behalf of his in pursuit of a fair outcome. In cases large and small, Peter works closely with clients to uncover every important detail and to convey a full understanding of their claims to the insurance adjustors and attorneys on the other side. For his dedicated service to his clients and the Virginia legal system, Peter has received numerous accolades and honors. Among them are Lawyer of the Year designated by U.S. News for Plaintiff’s personal injury in 2022 and induction into the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame. He has also served in leadership positions in the Virginia State Bar and locally having been President of the Loudoun County Bar Association, a member of the Virginia State Bar Council, Chairman of the VSB Diversity Conference, and Chairman of the VSB Judicial Nominations Committee. Currently, as the Chair of the VSB Senior Lawyers Conference, Peter assembled a team to produce a video on the importance of civility and professionalism for lawyers. It is intended to have multiple uses from presentations to 3rd year law students to continuing legal education seminars for practicing lawyers to law firm education for young associates. Peter has been committed to charitable activities in Loudoun County for many years. He is a founding director of the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter, a founding director and Chairman of Loudoun Cares, Co-Chairman of the Downtown Improvement Association, founder and Chairman of the Loudoun Law Foundation, and founding Chairman of the Virginia Diversity Foundation, the parent organization of the Ampersand Pantry Project. Whether salvaging a historic Leesburg structure, building a home for a valued member of the community, or planning for the future of downtown Leesburg, Peter is tirelessly devoted to the common good.

Andrew Thomas

Andrew Thomas started his career representing auto insurance companies in Northern Virginia before joining Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas. He specializes in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, litigation, and jury trials. He manages the Warrenton and Culpeper offices. He has handled thousands of cases within both state and federal court systems and obtained numerous multi-million dollar recoveries for clients. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, holds the highest rating (AV-Preeminent) from Martindale-Hubbell, and is annually recognized as a 'Top Lawyer' by Northern Virginia Magazine. He is also named to Virginia Super Lawyers. Andrew is known for his diligent, aggressive, and professional approach to the law.

Richard A. Dulaney

Richard Dulaney is a founding partner of the firm, joining in 1977, and currently serves in an Of Counsel status. He has over 40 years of experience in personal injury law, handling thousands of cases and establishing a reputation as a knowledgeable, aggressive, and ethical advocate. He has obtained several million and multi-million dollar case results and has been named as one of Virginia's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.

C. James Williams III

Jim Williams is a summa cum laude graduate of George Mason University School of Law who began his legal career with a prestigious assignment as a law clerk to United States District Court Judge Glen M. Williams in Roanoke, Virginia. He practiced at Gentry, Locke, Rakes, and Moore in Roanoke and at Morris & Morris in Richmond before becoming litigation counsel for Progressive Insurance Company. With Progressive, he gained extensive experience as a trial attorney, giving him wide-ranging expertise in the complexities of Virginia insurance law, and knowledge of how the defense side approaches litigation. In 1999, Jim left defense and coverage work and began representing injured plaintiffs. A veteran litigator, he has tried more than one hundred personal injury jury cases and was appellate counsel in Virginia’s leading scientific evidence case, Tittsworth v. Robinson. Jim Williams joined Burnett & Williams in 2006 as the lead partner in the Richmond area, with offices in Midlothian and Hopewell, Virginia. He is a regular contributor of law journal articles on personal injury law and litigation issues, and provides expert legal analysis and commentary as a contributor to leading media platforms including Yahoo and Hello Magazine. Jim’s wealth of experience in insurance coverage matters provides invaluable expertise in an insurance-driven legal environment that becomes more complex each year. Born in France and raised in Germany, Jim grew up speaking German, French, and English. He still speaks French with such a pure accent that native Frenchmen can’t tell he is American. He has recently taken up Spanish, delighting in discerning the differences linguistically between Spanish, French and English. Jim has passed his love of languages on to his five children. Ranging in age from mid-teens to mid- twenties, his children are his main focus and his primary source of joy. Over the years he has been an active participant in the Midlothian PTA and a leader of the Evergreen Athletic Association. In 2006, Jim founded The Beth Williams Field of Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit organization named after his late wife, whom he lost to cancer. The foundation is dedicated to bringing people together to make sure children have the best facilities possible to play the sports they love. Partnering with the community, the foundation recently helped transform a 3-acre tract adjacent to the Watkins Annex from an hideous into a multi-use athletic facility that will serve the entire Midlothian community. Jim enjoys being outdoors, whether he is running with his dogs, playing golf, skiing, camping, or fishing. His most relaxing diversion, however, is flying airplanes: like his father and uncle before him, Jim is a licensed pilot.

Stephen K. Lewellyn

Stephen K. Lewellyn handles business law, commercial law, and personal injury claims, including severe injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. He has been with the firm for over 30 years and is known for his litigation skills.

M. Andrew Gayheart

M. Andrew Gayheart was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in 1986. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary and Loyola University School of Law. He is a founding member of the Culpeper Housing and Shelter Services Board; Board Chairman for the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation and also provides counsel as a member of the Merchants Grocery Board. His practice areas include personal injury, wills and estate planning, criminal and traffic defense, real estate, and domestic relations.