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First Name:  Joseph
   
 
Last Name:  Davis
Title:  Associate
Company or Organization:  DLA Piper LLP (US)
Birthdate:  5/31/1981
Public Name:  JoeDavis
Time Lived and/or Worked in Loudoun:  My wife and I have lived here since Summer 2012
   
 
Work Experience:  A jpeg of my resume is attached. Please let me know if you would prefer a pdf copy.
Community Involvement:  I have an active pro bono legal practice at DLA Piper. Currently, I'm representing a Somali man, Farhan Warfaa, in a lawsuit against a former Colonel of Somalia’s Barre regime. Farhan, who still lives in Somaliland, alleges that in the late 1980s, the Colonel tortured Farhan and then shot him five times at point blank range, all simply on the basis of Farhan’s ethnicity. In the 1990s, the Colonel moved to the United States and settled in Virginia. This civil lawsuit against the Colonel is our attempt to obatin justice for Farhan and others against whom the Colonel committed human rights abuses.

Separately, I am one of only several associate members of DLA Piper's Firm-wide Pro Bono Committee. Planning and managing our firm's pro bono activities across our more than 18 offices in the North America, service on this committee has allowed me to have more input on the help that our lawyers provide to those who desperately need it.

Locally, I am a member of the Leesburg Daybreak Rotary Club. The Club gives back to our community here in Leesburg and Loudoun in real and tangible ways. Through our fundraising efforts, we're able to provide scholarships to local students and grants to local organizations. And through our sweat equity, we built a new walking and nature trail for the committee at Morven Park, and make hundreds of lunches once a month for the homeless in conjunction with St. James' Episcopal Church.

This year, I'm the Co-Captain of our Club's annual Pig Roast. Held in September at the Fairgrounds, the Pig Roast is our largest fundraising event (last year bringing in over $20,000). All proceeds from the event go to fund local scholarships and grants.

I'm also an associate member of the Loudoun Bar Association, and through it, have been honored to serve on the Clerk-Bar Committee. In that role, I've worked with other members of the bar and Clerk of Court Gary Clemens to help modernize our Circuit Court. In doing so, I hope our local judicial system will become just a little more accessible to everyone in our committee that needs it.
Proudest Accomplishment:  I’ve had quite a bit of success as a lawyer to this point. But, while it may seem like such a small thing, my proudest professional accomplishment came when I was just a summer associate at DLA Piper. I was given a pro bono assignment to help Matilda, a Louisiana resident whose home was damaged by a national contractor during the clean-up after Hurricane Katrina. Matilda’s daughter had lost her apartment and FEMA had tasked the contractor with installing a trailer for the daughter on the woman’s property. The contractor performed some seriously faulty work connecting the trailer to the home’s plumbing, which ended up costing Matilda about $2000 to fix. That was a lot of money for Matilda and her family.

Matilda tried to get the contractor to reimburse her for her costs but hit dead-end after dead-end. I was put on the case. After several months of cajoling that turned in to threats of a lawsuit, the contractor finally agreed to cut Matilda a check. I called Matilda to tell her the good news. She was appreciative, but cautious. She thanked me, and then asked how much she owed me for my fee. When I told her that I had done the work for free, that I represented her pro bono, I can still remember he almost immediate burst of laughter that quickly turned to tears. I could practice law for the next fifty years, and I’ll never forget that phone call. Again, while it seems like a small matter, this was a huge thing for Matilda and her family. What I was able to do for Matilda remains one of the proudest moments of my legal career.

On the personal front, my proudest accomplishment – if you can call it that – was the birth of our son, Gresham, in June of last year. My wife, Erin, and I love Gresham to the moon and back. And, like most parents, his birth has helped us better understand what’s truly important in life. We love Leesburg and plan on staying in our old farmhouse at least as long as some of our neighbors, at least three of whom have lived on Fort Johnston Road for over fifty years. Gresham’s birth has solidified our recognition of the importance of community and, accordingly, our interest in giving back to Leesburg and Loudoun County. I grew up in St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands. One of the best things about my childhood was the small-town atmosphere, and the feeling that all of us were looking out for each other. Erin and I think we’ve found something similar in Leesburg, and hope to help strengthen that sense of community here for decades to come.
Additional Information:  It would be a true honor to be selected. Thank you for considering me.
 
 
 
 
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