Biography

Phil Griffin started practicing law in 1992 and started his own law firm in the historic Old Fort George building at 102 South Kent Street in Winchester in August 1998 practicing there continuously to date.  Mr. Griffin has a general law practice including civil and commercial litigation, advising small businesses, drafting and reviewing contracts, debt collection, employment related issues, and other areas such as estate planning, wills, trusts, powers-of-attorney and estate administration, and contract drafting and modification for residential and commercial real estate closings and landlord/tenant relations.  His clients include local health care providers, homeowner’s associations, small businesses, property owners, general contractors and subcontractors.  He regularly serves as local counsel for law firms from Virginia Beach, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Baltimore, Bethesda, Pittsburg, and Charleston.  He has clients all over the country. He has appeared in more than 40 different state courts, the Court of Appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court, three Federal courts, and the 4th Circuit (covering several southern states).

Griffin has practiced pro haec in the states of Vermont and Maryland and served as a legal counsel in South Dakota to John Thune’s Senate Campaign in 2004.  Griffin served as Counsel for the 2008 re-count for Saxby Chambliss in the Georgia Senate Race in 2008 as well as for the Congressman Virgil Goode re-count in Virginia in 2008.  Griffin also served as counsel to Senator John McCain in Florida in 2008.

Griffin served as legal counsel to former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, former Senator George Allen, and Attorney General Robert McDonnell.

Griffin has practiced primarily in Winchester and Frederick County, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, and Loudoun Counties since 1992 and has no record of discipline from the Virginia State Bar.

Griffin is a founding member of Virginia Bar Association’s Blue Ridge Advisory Committee in 2004 and has served as the Virginia State Bar Association’s liaison representing the 26th Judicial Circuit from Winchester to Rockingham County since 2004.  He served as Secretary of the Winchester-Frederick County Bar Association from 1999-2000.

Griffin has attended numerous Virginia Bar Association conferences and been a sponsor of the last four.  He was recognized as a Leadership Patron for the last 2 years and is 1 of fewer than 40 such Patrons out of more than 38, 000 lawyers in Virginia.

Locally, Griffin has served as General Counsel for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival since 1997 and is a member of the Board of Directors and Risk Management Committee.  He also has served as a Celebrity Escort.

Griffin has served on Belle Grove Plantation’s Board of Directors since 2005, and on the Nominating Committee since 2006.  In 2008, he was elected First Vice President and served as Nominating Committee Chairman.  He was elected for  a two year term as Belle Grove’s Board President beginning in 2009.

Griffin has served as member of the First Bank Advisory Counsel since 2001 and served Shenandoah University in various capacities including as a substitute Professor of Business Law, member of the President’s Round Table since 1998 and the Estate Planning Advisory Council since 1996.

Griffin attended the University of Virginia where he graduated with honors in History with a minor in Government and Economics.  He attended the University of Richmond and Cambridge University for law school winning several awards including being selected a member of the Moot Court Board.  He took a course at the Medical College of Virginia and received a certificate in 1992.

Griffin previously worked in Washington D.C. for Congressman Slaughter (VA) and Senator John Warner (VA) twice and worked in the State Senate in Richmond.  

Griffin previously served as the 10th Congressional District Vice Chairman for the Western District.

He has given various lectures involving estate planning, advising small businesses, election law, constitutional amendments, and taught Continuing Legal Education classes for the Virginia State Bar (2004 – 2009) on preventing legal malpractice and ethical complaints.

In 2003 and 2006, Griffin was named a Business Man of the Year honoree by the National Republican Congressional Committee.  In 2004 he was included in America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals.  In 2004 he was on the cover of VA Lawyer’s Weekly and appeared on ABC News in one of the largest and most closely watched same sex custody disputes between VA and VT.  In 2006, Griffin was named one of America’s Best Lawyers by both Forbes Business and Newsweek.  Griffin also serves as a volunteer for Lawyers for Heroes.

An avid runner, Phil enjoys running in local road races, was named SVR runner of the year for 2006 (ages 35 – 39), and has run four marathons.  He also plays tennis, skis and coaches little league baseball.  Griffin has four (4) children ages 6 to 12, and resides in downtown Winchester, VA.