James Gilbert | Roanoke Real Estate Lawyer | Virginia

I represented a widow who was the second wife of the deceased husband. They had been married almost 30 years. Before he died, the deceased husband thought that he had made arrangements for the future financial security of my client. Unfortunately, all of his plans had not been implemented as he had thought. After his death, the children from his first marriage attempted to enforce a pre-marital agreement that said that the widow would receive nothing upon their divorce, but remained silent about what would happen if he died while they were married. Not only were we able to successfully argue that the pre-marital agreement did not apply, but we were also able to help the widow claim a substantial portion of the estate pursuant to claims that can be made pursuant to the Virginia Code.

I built a successful practice with hard work and determination to solve problems for my clients.

Not only should clients look for a lawyer who is approachable and accessible, but they should also look for a lawyer who is resourceful and creative.

While local knowledge might not be the end-all, be-all of successful resolution to cases, it does very much help to know the judges who you are going to appear in front of and their personal preferences.

We can tell the potential client if their case is one we handle, if it is a case that we can help to advance their position, and approximately the fees that they can expect for helping them.

At the point of the free phone consultation, the basics we need are the issues that concern the client and the people that are involved.

What differentiates myself and the lawyers in my firm from other lawyers in the community, and from any other lawyers for that matter, is that we are extremely resourceful and creative. We do not take no for an answer. While no lawyer will ever 100% win every issue of every case, we make sure that our clients are better off in some way than before they got to our firm. In very difficult cases, this might simply mean that they have a better understanding of their legal position.

Believe it or not, the most rewarding part of my job is the appreciation we get from a client ... even if we don't win the case. Don't get me wrong … I very much like to win. I love winning way more than losing. But even on cases that don't turn out so well, the most rewarding part is when the client says "thank you" because they know we went to war for them and did everything that we could do.

• Member | Virginia State Bar Association

• Notable | Martindale-Hubbell | 2021

• Scott v. Walker 274 Va. 209 (2007)
  Successful Appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court.

 Saturday and Sunday: By Appointment Only

• James Gilbert | About
• James Gilbert | Avvo