Leonard C. Heath, Jr.

Len is a partner in the firm of Heath & Verser, P.L.C., located in Newport News, Virginia. In 2018-19 he served as the 80^th President of the Virginia State Bar, the state agency that regulates and governs the approximately 32,000 lawyers who are in good standing across the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was the first attorney from the Virginia Peninsula to serve in that capacity in over 50 years.

Len has extensive experience in trying cases across Virginia, in both state and federal courts. He has handled a wide variety of legal matters, ranging from personal injury, will and estate litigation, business disputes, and real estate litigation.

Len and his wife, Kimberly, have three adult children, Jordan, Caitlin, and Kyle.

Bar Admissions

• Virginia, 1986
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of VirginiaU.S. District Court Western District of Virginia
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia
• U.S. Court of Appeals 4^th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

Education

• The College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Juris Doctorate - 1986
  • William and Mary Law Review, Editor, 1985-1986

• The College of William and Mary, The Raymond A. Mason School of Business
  • Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Business Management - 1982

Classes, Seminars and Presentations

• Presenter, The Intersection of Ethics and Professionalism: How to Navigate Murky Areas Related to Reporting While Elevating Wellness in the Legal Profession, Newport News Bar Association, 2023
• Presenter, The Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law, 2023 West Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Retreat, May 20, 2023, Roanoke, W.Va.
• Facilitator, West Virginia Lawyer Well-Being Taks Force, May 19, 2023, Roanoke, W.Va.
• Presenter, Maximizing Performance and Avoiding Pitfalls in the Practice of Law, 2022 VSB Annual Meeting
• Presenter, The Anatomy of a Real Estate Lawsuit, Chicago Title Insurance Company CLE, 2022
• Panelist, Identifying and Managing the Occupational Risks of Practicing Law, VJLAP CLE, 2021
• Presenter, Remarks Regarding how the Report of the Virginia State Bar President’s Special Committee on Lawyer Well-being is Being Used, VBA COVID-19 Law Practice Chat, 2020
• Virginia State Bar – Designee for Zoom call with the NYSBA Attorney Well-being Task Force, discussing origins, use, and impact of “The Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law,” Report of the VSB President’s Special Committee on Lawyer Well-being, 2020
• Presenter, Creative Wellness Initiatives for Your Bar Association: The Virginia Lawyer Well-being Initiative, National Association of Bar Executives, Austin, TX, 2020
• Welcome and Opening Remarks, Harry Carrico Professionalism Course, Virginia State Bar, presented in Roanoke, Alexandria, Richmond, and Norfolk, VA, 2018-2019
• Welcome and Opening Remarks, Solo and Small Firm Practitioner Forum, presented in Wytheville, Suffolk, and Fredericksburg, VA, 2018-2019
• Presenter, How to Use the Report of the Virginia State Bar President’s Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being to Pursue Wellness in Your Career, Prince William County Bar Association, 2019
• Panelist, Mentorship for Virginia Attorneys, Virginia CLE, Fairfax, VA, 2019
• Co-Presenter, Addressing Suicide in the Legal Profession, Virginia CLE, 2019
• Welcome and Opening Remarks, Virginia State Bar Techshow, Richmond, VA, 2019
• Panelist, Lawyer Well-Being, Local Government Attorneys Association of Virginia Spring Conference, Norfolk, VA, 2019
• Panelist, Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School, Highlights of the Wellness Initiative in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Miami, FL, 2019
• Presenter, What is the Virginia State Bar, Peninsula Business Leaders’ Breakfast, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, Nov. 20, 2018
• Faculty, Law Student Wellness Summit, University of Virginia School of Law, 2019
• Panelist, Mental Health Within the Legal Profession, Regent University Law Review Symposium, Regent University School of Law, 2018
• Presenter, 2018 Hot Topics and Legal Ethics, Virginia State Bar, Newport News, VA, 2018
• Lecturer, Professionalism, Inaugural Lecture for Professionalism Series at Liberty University School of Law, 2018
• Faculty, Professionalism for Law Students Program, Virginia State Bar, presented at University of Richmond School of Law, Liberty University School of Law, and Regent University School of Law, 2012-2018
• Presenter, Right of Way Litigation Communications, International Right of Way Association, Richmond, VA, 2015
• Presenter, Right of Way Preservation, Protection, Risk Management, and Other Issues, Southeastern Electric Exchange Real Estate Group, Williamsburg, VA, 2015
• Presenter, Easements and the Changing Environment of Electric Transmission Corridors, Chicago Title, Farmville, VA, 2014
• Presenter, Protecting Access Rights, Southeastern Electric Exchange, Orlando, FL, 2014
• Faculty, Harry Carrico Professionalism Course, Virginia State Bar, presented in Richmond and Newport News, VA, 2009-2011
• Presenter, Practicing Law in the 21^st Century, ALPS, 2010
• Presenter, Preventing Legal Malpractice Claims and Ethics Complaints in your Law Practice, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual, 2008
• Presenter, Personal Injury Practice on the Virginia Peninsula, Newport News, VA, 1996
• Teaching Assistant, Legal Writing Program, Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary, 1985-1986

Podcasts

• Podcast for Legal Talk Network’s Digital Edge with Sharon Nelson and Jim Galloway. Addressing Lawyer Mental Wellness at the Virginia Bar, July 31, 2018

Publications

• Why Lawyer Well-Being is Important to Society, 31 Regent University Law Review 1 (2018)
• A Hospital’s Dilemma: The Legal Implication of Promulgating Guideline Concerning Human Immunodeficiency Virus, 23 University of Richmond Law Review 30 (1988) President’s Message
• Virginia Lawyer Well-Being: “We keep moving forward...,” Virginia Lawyer Magazine, April, 2019 President’s Message
• Forthcoming Report on the Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, February, 2019
• Lawyer Independence: Atticus Finch, Emerging Technology, and the American Lawyer, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, December, 2018 President’s Message
• Coming Soon: Virginia’s New JLAP, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, December, 2018 President’s Message
• A Shout Out to Virginia’s Voluntary Bar Associations, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, October, 2018 President’s Message
• The Power of Words, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, August, 2018

Collaborative Publication

• The Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law, Report of the Virginia State Bar President’s Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, 2019
• ‘A Constant Burden’: Law School Debt Affects Well-being, Life Plans, Access to Justice Quoted in (americanbar.org), ABA Bar Leader, January and February, 2021

Cited

• Cited as national expert on Lawyer Well-Being in New York State Bar Association Attorney Well-Being Task Force Report entitled This is US: From Striving Alone to Thriving Together, 2021

• Why Lawyer Well-Being is Important to Society, 31 Regent University Law Review 1 (2018) -https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58ebcb941b10e3a416521b1f/t/5c55e95cec212d2d5a99dbe2/1549134177074/2018_Fall+Final+Vol_31_1.pdf
• A Hospital’s Dilemma: The Legal Implication of Promulgating Guideline Concerning Human Immunodeficiency Virus, 23 University of Richmond Law Review 30 (1988) - https://scholarship.richmond.edu/lawreview/vol23/iss1/
• President’s Message, Virginia Lawyer Well-Being: “We keep moving forward…,” Virginia Lawyer Magazine, April, 2019 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=582864&p=12&ver=html5
• President’s Message, Forthcoming Report on the Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, February, 2019 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=568538&p=8&ver=html5
• Lawyer Independence: Atticus Finch, Emerging Technology, and the American Lawyer, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, December, 2018 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=551398&p=26&ver=html5
• President’s Message, Coming Soon: Virginia’s New JLAP, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, December, 2018 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=551398&p=10&ver=html5
• President’s Message, A Shout Out to Virginia’s Voluntary Bar Associations, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, October, 2018 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=533485&p=10&ver=html5
• President’s Message, The Power of Words, Virginia Lawyer Magazine, August, 2018 - http://virginialawyer.vsb.org/publication/?m=53176&i=520281&p=12&ver=html5

Collaborative Publication

• The Occupational Risks of the Practice of Law, Report of the Virginia State Bar President’s Special Committee on Lawyer Well-Being, 2019 - https://www.vsb.org/docs/VSB_wellness_report.pdf
• 'A Constant Burden': Law School Debt Affects Well-being, Life Plans, Access to Justice Quoted in (americanbar.org), ABA Bar Leader, January and February, 2021 - https://www.americanbar.org/groups/bar_services/publications/bar_leader/2020_21/january-february/a-constant-burden-law-school-debt-affects-well-being-life-plans-access-to-justice/

Presentations

• Regent University Law Review Symposium: "Mental Health Within the Law," Panelist, 2018 -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydotLgCHvxA

Podcasts

• Podcast for Legal Talk Network’s Digital Edge with Sharon Nelson and Jim Galloway. Addressing Lawyer Mental Wellness at the Virginia Bar, July 31, 2018

Cited

• Cited as national expert on Lawyer Well-Being in New York State Bar Association Attorney Well-Being Task Force Report entitled This is Us: From Striving Alone to Thriving Together, 2021 -https://nysba.org/app/uploads/2021/10/Report-on-Task-Force-on-WellBeing-APPROVED-HOD-no-comments-or-staff-memo.pdf