Jessiah practices with the firm’s Criminal and Government Investigations practice group where his primary focus is working with clients on federal grand jury investigations and white-collar criminal defense matters. He also assists the Employment, Civil Defense Litigation, and Commercial Litigation practice groups with critical and dispositive motions and appeals.
Prior to joining the firm, Jessiah clerked for the Honorable Mary Grace O’Brien of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.
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Unpublished short stories written
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Movies watched at least twice
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Lego minifigures collected
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People would be surprised to know:
During law school, I worked as an auxiliary janitor and housekeeper at the hotel my wife managed in Lexington, Virginia. I enjoyed it. I like the inherent satisfaction of leaving a place in better condition than I find it.
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Five songs everyone should listen to:
“Vitamin C” by German experimental rock band Can; “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by American gospel blues artist Blind Willie Johnson; “Djougou Toro” by Burkinabe Yéyé group Volta Jazz; “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel; and “Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78-II: Song About Alexander Nevsky” by Russian-Soviet classical composer Sergei Prokofiev.
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In an alternate universe…
I would be an astrophysicist. My father, a brilliant high school physics teacher, instilled a deep appreciation of physics and astronomy in me during my childhood. In this universe, however, I lack the raw mathematical skills required to work as a scientist in either field.
Education
- Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D. magna cum laude
- University of Valley Forge, B.A. summa cum laude
Experience
- Assist with conducting internal investigations and defending clients in the life sciences, healthcare, insurance, and hospitality industries against prosecutions, grand jury investigations, and civil enforcement actions.
- Research complex issues involving the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (FDCA), Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), False Claims Act (FCA), Social Security Act (SSA), and the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act.
- Coordinate, plan, and execute large-scale document review projects on e-discovery platforms such as Relativity and Logikcull.
- Draft critical and dispositive motions in multimillion-dollar employment law, contract, and tort litigation.
- Won pre-discovery dismissal of case alleging civil RICO, business conspiracy, breach of contract, conversion, and other torts filed against healthcare company and its owner.
- Won summary judgment for an employer on four issues of first impression in a case alleging whistleblower retaliation.
- As a law clerk to the Honorable Mary Grace O’Brien, researched issues of state criminal law and federal Constitutional law on appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia.
- As a student attorney for a Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, tried cases, drafted motions, negotiated plea deals, and argued at bond hearings.
- As an intern at a United States Attorney’s Office, assisted in defending against civil suits and prosecuting a variety of federal crimes including narcotics trafficking, deprivation of civil rights under color of law, and bank, wire, and securities fraud.
Affiliations
- Member, Virginia State Bar (2020-present)
- Member, Roanoke Bar Association (2022-present)
- Member, Federal Bar Association, Western District of Virginia Chapter (2021-present)
- Judge, American Bar Association Client Counseling Competition (2022)
- Judge, National Black Law Students Association Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition (2021, 2022)
- Volunteer, Virginia Model Judiciary Program (2021, 2022)
- Judge, National Moot Court Competition, Region 3 (2020), Region 4 (2021)
- Appellate Advocacy Chair, Moot Court Executive Board, Washington and Lee University School of Law (2019-2020)
- Member, National Black Law Students Association (2018-2020)
- Member, American Bar Association, Law Students Division (2018-2020)
Admissions
- Virginia Bar
- United States District Court, Western District of Virginia
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
Awards
- 40 Under 40, the Roanoker Magazine (2024)
- Pro Bono Honor Roll, Virginia Access to Justice Commission (2023)
- President’s Volunteer Service Award: Bronze, AmeriCorps (presented by the Roanoke Bar Association) (2023)
- Best Petitioner Brief Award and Runner-Up Team, National Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition (2020)
Published Work
- Author, AI Standing Orders Proliferate as Federal Courts Forge Own Paths, Bloomberg Law, 2023
- Author, Artificial Intelligence, Real Discrimination, University of Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, 2023
