Attorneys

Tara M. McCarthy *

Tara is a founding member of the firm. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Virginia in 1978, and her Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America in 1982. Ms. McCarthy practiced exclusively in the areas of medical malpractice defense and health care law. She was an instructor for continuing legal education in the fields of health care and medical malpractice litigation. She has extensive trial experience. She was licensed to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and the state courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ms. McCarthy was a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, for which she had served as a member of the Board of Directors, and the Fairfax Bar Association. Her reported cases include Gaalaas v. Morrison, 233 Va. 148 (1987), and Harris v. D'Mattina, 150 Va. 360 (1995). *retired

Joyce A.N. Massey

Jan is a founding member of the firm. She practices in the area of civil litigation, including the areas of employment and municipal law; business and real estate disputes; and wills and estate administration. Ms. Massey graduated from the University of Virginia in 1978. In 1981, she received her Juris Doctor from the University of Richmond, where she was elected to the McNeill Law Society for academic achievement, served as a member and executive editor of the Law Review, and received the Corpus Juris Secundum Award for scholarship. She is a member of the National Register's Who's Who in Executives and Professionals for the year 2000-2001. Ms. Massey is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and the state courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is a member of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys and the Prince William County Bar Association. Her reported cases include Taylor v. Roeder, 234 Va. 99 (1987) and Dwyer v. Smith, 867 F.2d 184 (4th Cir. 1989).

Susan L. Mitchell

Susan received her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from The Pennsylvania State University in 1991, where she was selected as a four-year Renaissance Scholar. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1994. Ms. Mitchell is licensed to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, and the state courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is a member of the Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, the Virginia Women's Attorney Association, the Fairfax Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. Ms. Mitchell has served as member of the Board of Directors of the Health Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and as chairperson of the Medical Malpractice Section of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys. She was invited by the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court to serve a three-year faculty term for the Harry L. Carrico VSB Professionalism Course. Ms. Mitchell has extensive trial and appellate experience and has been an instructor for continuing legal education in the area of birth-related neurological injury compensation claims. Ms. Mitchell's practice focuses on the defense of health care providers in state and federal courts and the litigation of birth-related neurological injury compensation claims before the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. Her reported cases include Bakke v. Rattner, 46 Va. App. 508, 620 S.E.2d 107 (2005); Cooper v. Adler, 44 Va. App. 268, 604 S.E.2d 747 (2004); Vick v. Schulman, 58 Va. Cir. 125 (Fairfax 2001); Bennett v. Clark, 69 F.Supp. 809 (E.D. Va. 1999).

Lisa D. Barnett

Lisa graduated from the University of Virginia with a double major in English and Rhetoric and Communication Studies (RCS) in 1989. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Ms. Barnett was a member of Heritage House, a charity organization that served the Charlottesville community. She was chosen to be a Teaching Assistant during her 4th year at UVA. While in law school at the University of Richmond, Ms. Barnett was selected to serve as a member of the Moot Court Board and a member of the Negotiation/Client Counseling Board, both of which are honorary organizations whose members have competed and won places on the Boards by exhibiting advanced skills in appellate advocacy and negotiation. She was a finalist in the 1994 National Environmental Negotiation Competition. Ms. Barnett also was selected to serve as a student law clerk for The Honorable James W. Benton, Jr., of the Court of Appeals for the Commonwealth of Virginia during his 1992-1993 term. During the summer of her second year of law school, Ms. Barnett studied at Cambridge University in England. After obtaining her J.D. degree in 1994, Ms. Barnett served as judicial clerk to The Honorable J. Howe Brown, Jr., Circuit Court for Fairfax County, Virginia. In her first two years of private practice following her clerkship, Ms. Barnett argued and won two cases before the Supreme Court of Virginia. Thereafter, Ms. Barnett was chosen to serve as one of the Virginia trial attorneys for State Farm Insurance Company, the largest automobile insurer in the country. While she was there, Ms. Barnett was asked to submit an article to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association's Journal, which was published in the Spring, 2000. Ms. Barnett is a member of American Bar Association, Virginia Bar Association, District of Columbia Bar Association, United States District Court for the District of Columbia Bar, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Bar, Fairfax County Bar Association, Arlington County Bar Association, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, District of Columbia Trial Lawyers Association, and American Association for Justice. She is very active in the numerous groups and for several years, has served as Coach for local high school teams competing in trial competition sponsored by the Virginia State Bar. Ms. Barnett is asked frequently to serve as a judge for Moot Court competitions at the area law schools. Articles - "Remittitur: The Remedy to an Unfair Jury Trial?" The Journal -- The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Spring 2000. Representative cases include Supinger v. Stakes, 255 Va. 198, 495 S.E.2d 913 (1998); Kelly v. Carrico, 256 Va. 282, 504 S.E.2d 368 (1998). Languages - French.