Richmond, VA

Joel D. Bieber

Joel Bieber, Esq. is the founder of The Joel Bieber Firm, a personal injury and pharmaceutical law firm based in Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia; with additional offices in Maryland, South Carolina, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Mr. Bieber notes that one side of his family are farmers and the other side is filled with preachers. That is why he describes his upbringing as, “I know how to milk a cow and am comfortable in a church or a barn. Joel also notes that he enjoys playing ping pong outside on windy days. During college he served both as a Congressional aide and a legislative aide in the Virginia General Assembly. He then received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Old Dominion University, his Law degree from Oklahoma City University. He is admitted to practice in Virginia and South Carolina, the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, South US District Court of South Carolina, the 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals, and has waived into several other states to handle cases across the United States. Charity work is near and dear to Mr. Bieber’s heart. He has served as Advisory Board member for Crossover Ministries and has been a Spokesman for United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and Richmond Hero, an animal protection organization. He is also active with Caritas, the National Kidney Foundation of the Virginia’s, and the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. He also is a member of the North American Brain Injury Society (NABIS) and received the organization’s Founders Award (now known as the Robert Voogt Founders Award) for his dedication to advancement in the field of brain injury. He has been appointed by the Governor of Virginia to serve on the VCU Health System Authority Board of Directors. The Authority operates hospitals and related health care facilities including five Health Sciences Schools of Virginia Commonwealth University.

William B. Kilduff

A partner and attorney at Emroch & Kilduff since 1979, Mr. Kilduff has more than 37 years of experience representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Among his many accomplishments is having been named a Virginia Super Lawyers fourteen years in a row (2006-2020) and listed in Best Lawyers 2010-2022. Mr. Kilduff has handled many cases resulting in multi-million and million dollar verdicts or settlements in medical malpractice, products liability, and auto cases. He has frequently lectured in the area of personal injury law, and has recently served as an arbitrator and mediator in alternative dispute resolution matters.

Jonathan E. Halperin

Jonathan Halperin is a personal injury attorney with over three decades of experience in state and federal courts. He has been recognized as a Virginia Super Lawyer, included in the Top 100 Attorneys in Virginia and Top 50 Attorneys in Richmond by Super Lawyers, and named one of the Best Lawyers in America since 2015. He is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has served as Former Chairman of the Civil Rights Section of the American Association for Justice and Current Chair of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association’s Civil Rights Section.

Jonathan Petty

For his first decade in practice, Jonathan represented doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies involved in complex medical malpractice litigation. He also worked with large corporations to defend wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases involving tractor-trailer accidents and product liability. During that time, Jonathan gained valuable insight into how corporate entities and their legal teams defend these complicated cases. Since 2004, Jonathan has applied the deep knowledge and experience he gained working on the defense side of litigation to represent ordinary people injured by car accidents and truck accidents, medical malpractice, and defective products in Virginia. He has successfully tried medical malpractice and personal injury cases to verdict in courts throughout Virginia, and he has handled cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts across the country. The results he obtains for his clients are regularly listed among the annual “Largest Verdicts” reported in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly publication.

Jonathan N. Portner

Mr. Portner is the President and Managing Partner of Portner & Shure, P.A. He is licensed to practice in MD, VA, and D.C. and represents clients in criminal defense, personal injury (motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, drug and medical device injuries). He supervises seven offices and ten lawyers, securing millions in settlements and trial awards, with over $400 million recovered. He is known for his aggressive yet fair approach, focusing on client satisfaction and results. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Lawyers of Distinction, recognized as a top trial lawyer in America. He has been featured in Time Magazine and The National Law Journal, and recognized by the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers for personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense. Other accolades include American Top 100 Attorneys, Million Dollar, Best Attorneys of America, and Lawyer of the Year for Criminal Defense. State-level recognition includes "Top 10" in Maryland by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys, One of Maryland’s Top 10 Attorneys, and "10 Best" for Criminal Law. He was also named Personal Injury Litigator of the Year by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers and a Top Rated Attorney by AVVO. He has dedicated firm resources to non-English speaking clients, providing services in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Jonathan N. Portner

Mr. Portner is the President and Managing Partner of Portner & Shure, P.A. He is licensed to practice in MD, VA, and D.C. and represents clients in criminal defense, personal injury (motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, workers' compensation, drug and medical device injuries). He supervises seven offices and ten lawyers, securing millions in settlements and trial awards, with over $400 million recovered. He is known for his aggressive yet fair approach, focusing on client satisfaction and results. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Lawyers of Distinction, recognized as a top trial lawyer in America. He has been featured in Time Magazine and The National Law Journal, and recognized by the National Top 100 Trial Lawyers for personal injury, workers’ compensation, and criminal defense. Other accolades include American Top 100 Attorneys, Million Dollar, Best Attorneys of America, and Lawyer of the Year for Criminal Defense. State-level recognition includes "Top 10" in Maryland by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys, One of Maryland’s Top 10 Attorneys, and "10 Best" for Criminal Law. He was also named Personal Injury Litigator of the Year by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers and a Top Rated Attorney by AVVO. He has dedicated firm resources to non-English speaking clients, providing services in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.

Michael Phelan

Michael Phelan is a Virginia trial attorney who focuses on complex catastrophic injury and death cases caused by defective products, tractor-trailer truck and other vehicle crashes, explosions, dangerous drugs, defective medical devices and other negligent acts. He has a special focus on traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases. Michael’s peers have consistently recognized him for his excellence as a trial lawyer, and his clients have praised him for his commitment to deep research, his outstanding communication skills, and his sincerity and dedication. Michael’s tenacity on behalf of his clients resulted in one of the largest settlements in the country in a benzene exposure case, and he has been twice recognized for achieving some of the highest settlements in Virginia in traumatic brain injury cases. His daughter has intellectual disabilities due to a birth-related traumatic brain injury, and Michael credits her for inspiring him to work tirelessly and to fight for the victims of brain injuries.