Firm Profile
Practice Areas: Mr. Handford is committed to providing his clients personal, responsive, and economical legal services. He handles legal matters in the following practice areas: Corporate Law, Business Formation, Incorporations, Closely Held Business Law, Limited Liability Company Law, Buying and Selling of Businesses, Mergers and Acquisitions, Shareholder Agreements, Corporate Governance, Corporate Dissolution, Private Placements, Commercial Law, Contracts, Import and Export Law, Admiralty and Maritime, Maritime Regulation, Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Litigation and Trials, and Personal Injury. Please click on the "Practice Areas" heading at left for more details on Mr. Handford's practice areas or "Policies and Fees" for information on Mr. Handford general administrative policies and fees.
Attorney Background: Mr. Handford is a 1991 honors graduate of Tulane University School of Law who was brought to the Hampton Roads area by his active duty service in the United States Coast Guard. While in the Coast Guard, he served as the assistant United States delegate to the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). There, he drafted and negotiated positions on various maritime conventions, both among the interested government agencies and with the delegations from other nations at the IMO. In other assignments, he handled civil litigation involving the Coast Guard and was a criminal prosecutor for military crimes as a "JAG" at the Norfolk Navy Base and for civilian crimes as a Special Assistant United States Attorney at the Norfolk U.S. Attorney's Office. One of his most rewarding responsibilities on active duty was as a Legal Assistance Officer, helping military service members with various legal issues to include wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, and probate matters.
Upon leaving active duty, Mr. Handford practiced with the Norfolk office of McGuireWoods, LLP, a large international firm named as one of the top ten firms representing corporate America by the National Law Journal while he was there. He developed a firm grounding in business and corporate law and also drew on his Coast Guard experience to focus on admiralty, maritime, and international trade matters. He worked with businesses of all sizes and types, from small, local enterprises to Fortune 100 corporations, on matters of business entity formation and organization, securities and private placements, mergers and acquisitions, commercial disputes, and drafting, reviewing, and negotiating business contracts of all types. He also prepared wills and assisted in estate planning matters for individuals. Mr. Handford left McGuireWoods in 2004 in order to better focus on his individual and small business clients.
Mr. Handford is the author of award-winning articles on various legal topics, has presented at continuing legal education seminars, and since 1999 has been the co-author of an annual lawyer's treatise on Virginia business entities distributed by leading legal publisher Thomson/West.
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