Attorneys Cassandra Chin, Andrew Taylor and Randell Scism, together with paralegals Renee Rogers, Donna Burger, Carrie Constable and Carly Ramey had fun walking to raise money for Action in Community Through Service (ACTS). This non-profit organization provides relief, fosters hope and promotes self-sufficiency for the greater Prince William County area.

Thanks to the generosity of the community, last year’s IWalk for ACTS raised more than $100,000 in support of ACTS programs, which include emergency assistance for utility bills, hunger prevention, thrift store, emergency shelter, permanent housing assistance and services for domestic violence and for sexual assault.

We are proud to support such a vital resource for the community where we work and many of us and our clients live!

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The group provided, prepared and served nutritious meals for shelter residents. “We enjoyed being a part of helping others in our community, meeting all of the families, and especially loved seeing the smiles on the children’s faces,” said Paralegal Renee Rogers.

Group photo, l to r: Paralegal Shannon Arsenault, Attorney Andrew Taylor, Attorney Cassandra Chin, Paralegal Renee Rogers and Attorney Randell Scism.

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Nichols Zauzig is pleased to congratulate Melissa Ray, a partner with the firm, for being named a 2021 Influential Women in Law by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.  This award honors 30 women attorneys and judges for their excellent work on behalf of the justice system and for their clients, their commitment to their communities, and their service to the profession.

Melissa joined Nichols Zauzig in 2004 and focuses her practice on medical malpractice, representing plaintiffs throughout Virginia and several other states.

Melissa is a leader in her profession and currently serves as a Vice President on the Executive Council of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. In May, she organized and chaired the two-day “2021 Non-Economic Damages Retreat: Going Below the Surface and Maximizing Your Client’s True Losses.” She spent more than a year planning the event, which included 15 presentations and —- speakers covering a wide range of subjects. Adding to the complexity, the retreat was conducted both in-person and virtually. One attendee commented it was the best CLE he had attended in his 40 years of practice!

Melissa is also a member of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, the American Association for Justice and the Virginia Bar Association’s Boyd-Graves Conference. She was recently honored by Washingtonian Magazine as a Best Lawyer for Medical Malpractice/Personal Injury-Plaintiff and has been named a Super Lawyer® in that practice area.

At Nichols Zauzig, Melissa, along with Managing Partner Charles J. Zauzig, has been recognized in Virginia Lawyers Weekly consistently for million-dollar settlements as well as for some of the largest verdicts in Virginia medical malpractice cases.

Melissa will join other 2021 Influential Women in Law honorees at the July 20 virtual awards ceremony being hosted by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.

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In 2020, he was among the Top 10 and featured as the cover story of Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine. Chuck has been a Super Lawyer since 2006. Super Lawyers® rates lawyers from 70 practice areas who have a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Chuck is a nationally recognized advocate for victims and their families whose lives are devastated because someone else was careless. He focuses on serious personal injury and medical malpractice cases and has been named Lawyer of the Year -Plaintiffs in the D.C. area five times by Best Lawyers®.

Many of Chuck’s cases have been among Virginia’s Annual Largest Million-Dollar Verdicts or Settlements listings published by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. A former President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, Chuck is a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers, which is limited to the top 1% of lawyers in any state or province of North America.

He was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 2017 and, for his commitment to legal teaching and training, the Southern Trial Lawyers awarded Chuck with the Professor W. McKinley Lighthouse award in 2013. Chuck has been included in the Washingtonian Top Lawyers listing annually since 2007.

The post Zauzig Ranked #3 Super Lawyer in Virginia appeared first on Nichols Zauzig.

Mike has been involved for more than a decade in criminal defense trial work, including seven years with Nichols Zauzig. He made the shift to apply his trial skills to protecting the rights of patients injured by the negligent acts of others.

“It may not be obvious at first, but victims of medical negligence can be overpowered and marginalized just like those facing criminal charges. Like the government, insurance companies and healthcare providers have immense resources and can often outspend their opponents,” Mike said. His goal is to use the skills he sharpened doing criminal litigation to help improve healthcare standards for all people by holding negligent doctors and other providers accountable.

The post Mike Hollingsworth joins Zauzig Trial Group appeared first on Nichols Zauzig.

Mr. Zauzig is named for Personal Injury Law, while Mr. Nichols is listed for Divorce and Family Law.

“We sent surveys to all Northern Virginia lawyers asking them to recommend other lawyers to whom they would refer friends and family. Those on the listing received the most nominations..lawyers cannot pay to be included on the list,” the magazine states.

Mr. Nichols and Mr. Zauzig have been consistently named to the Northern Virginia Top Lawyers listing since its inception, in addition to several other honors of distinction nationally and regionally.

The firm of Nichols Zauzig has 31 years of experience in providing legal representation in the personal injury/medical malpractice, criminal defense and family law. The firm has been consistently recognized as a Top Law Firm in the Washington D.C. region by U.S. News – Best Lawyer®, and the partners hold among the highest credentials in their fields, including Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® status and Super Lawyers®, as well as individual recognition for dedication and service in their respective areas of law.

The post Zauzig, Nichols Named Top Lawyers in Northern Virginia for 2020 appeared first on Nichols Zauzig.

“Chuck Zauzig and the Art of Zen Maintenance: The med-mal lawyer’s escape comes in waves” is a rare deep dive into how Chuck became one of the nation’s leading medical malpractice attorneys, despite considering leaving law school to become a ski instructor out West. The article also explores how surfing and the ocean inspire him.

Chuck ranked in the Top 10 of all 2020 Virginia Super Lawyers nominees, regardless of practice area. He’s previously been among the Top 100 and a Super Lawyer® since 2006.

Chuck has also been named Lawyer of the Year five times for the Washington, D.C. area by Best Lawyers®. He was named Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs in 2019 and 2014. He was named Lawyer of the Year, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs in 2018, 2016 and 2011.

A former President of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA), Chuck was honored in 2017 with their Distinguished Service Award. He is a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers, which is limited to the top 1% of lawyers in any state or province in North America. For his commitment to legal teaching and training, the Southern Trial Lawyers awarded Chuck with the Professor W. McKinley Smiley, Jr. Lighthouse award in 2013. He continues his involvement in law education as a frequent lecturer and teacher for trial lawyers throughout the country.

Super Lawyers® rates lawyers from 70 practice areas who have a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Chuck is included in the practice area Personal Injury-Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff.

Below: Photos by Bob Morecock

The post Chuck Zauzig is cover story of Virginia Super Lawyers magazine appeared first on Nichols Zauzig.

Like many other businesses, we are taking careful precautions to ensure your safety and wellbeing by closely following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Virginia Department of Health.

We intend to remain in the business of serving people in the midst of this outbreak, but it is also important to make some changes to be part of the COVID-19 solution. To that end, it is important we share with you the immediate steps we are taking to keep the health and safety of our team, our clients, and the community at large a top priority:

Taking Care of our Team:

• While continuing to operate at full-capacity, we are implementing our firm’s preparedness plan by encouraging our attorneys and staff to work remotely as this situation unfolds in the coming weeks. Our team is nimble and able to work remotely as needed. Many of us already do.
• This helps encourage “social distancing” while ensuring our team(s) have the capability to remain fully-functional and available to continue supporting our clients.
• Additionally, we are providing regular updates to our staff regarding the latest Coronavirus data and information so we can adjust our plan of action as needed.

Taking Care of our Clients:

• We will be increasing our levels of electronic and telecommunications with our employees and clients. For the next two+ weeks (March 16 – March 31, 2020), we will reconfigure all person-to-person consultations, client meetings and case-related proceedings to telephone and/or video conferencing.
• We have deployed our lawyers and assistants, who already work together, to combine their efforts to cover for one another, should someone become ill. If you have an active matter, you can expect to hear from an attorney, paralegal or legal assistant with any updates on your case.
• With limited exceptions, all Virginia court proceedings are suspended until at least April 6.  Many local jurisdictions have instituted their own varying policies on court procedures/closings (some exceed the April 6 mandate) and we anticipate that to be constantly evolving.  If you have a case set in the near future, we will be in contact promptly to discuss any scheduling issues.
• It is our goal to be a steady and reassuring force for our clients and team during these uncertain times.

Taking Care of our Office:

• We will increase our cleaning and sanitizing protocol in our office.
• We have instituted procedures for anyone in the office to regularly wipe and use disinfectants on surfaces (such as desks and tables), objects (telephones, keyboards, copy machines, etc.), and in all common areas.

Things You Should Do:

We encourage you to contact the lawyer and legal assistant for your assigned matter to get an update on how changes in the court and office procedures may impact your case.  We want to assure you that we will do everything in our power to work with you in a safe and considerate manner. Please let us know if you have any questions or special needs so we can do our best to accommodate.

We value and support you and greatly appreciate your business.  We are all part of our community and we are all in this together.  By these simple changes, we can all be part of beating COVID-19 and restoring the health of our community.

Take care of yourself and each other,
Your Nichols Zauzig Family

The post Nichols Zauzig Coronavirus Update appeared first on Nichols Zauzig.

Family Law Attorney Andrew Taylor and his wife together spent four hours cycling non-stop for a reason last Saturday.

It was to join in the fight against childhood cancer as part of the Gainesville Life Time Athletic’s Ride for a Reason fundraiser for St. Jude Hospital. Over 120 Life Time gyms nationwide participated in the March 7 event, held from 8:00 am-noon. The Gainesville, Virginia facility raised $45,000!  Since 2016, the event has raised $4.2 million nationally.

“We’re exhausted, but it was a great experience,” Andrew said shortly after the ride. He and his wife regularly take spin classes at the gym, and when they heard about the Ride for A Reason event, they knew right away they wanted to participate.

Parents of three young children, the Taylors are sensitive to childhood cancer victims and their parents. Friends and relatives supported their ride, as did Nichols Zauzig.

Treatments invented at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago. Life Time Athletic has partnered with St. Jude for this event for the past five years. 

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