Daniel, Medley & Kirby, P.C. is the outgrowth of a law firm which was formed in 1920 when Edwin B. Meade joined his father, Julian Meade, in the practice of law. James A. L. Daniel joined the firm which was then known as Meade, Tate & Meade in 1970 with Martha White Medley joining the firm in1981. In 1989 the firm became known as Daniel, Vaughan, Medley & Smitherman.
In keeping with its commitment to historic preservation and downtown revitalization, the firm moved its Danville office in 2000 to 110 North Union Street in Downtown Danville. The firm undertook the renovation and remodeling of three buildings which had been constructed in the 1880’s. The unique design of the office space has drawn the attention of planners and architects throughout the region and has played a dramatic role in the revitalization of Downtown Danville.
In 1999 the firm expanded and opened an office in Downtown Martinsville located in the Keesee Building at 106 East Main Street. In 2006 the firm merged with the practice of William L. Kirby, III. Mr. Kirby had formerly been a partner in the firm of Gendron and Kirby, a firm established in Martinsville in 1972. When Mr. Gendron ascended to the bench the two firms merged their practices March 1, 2006.
The firm provides legal advice to businesses, individuals and governmental entities on a regular basis in ten counties and three cities in Southside Virginia and actively practices in both the state and federal court systems throughout the region. Lawyers with the firm are proficient in a variety of legal specialties with emphasis on business organization and practice, estate planning and administration, civil litigation, creditor’s rights, commercial real estate development, employment law, workers’ compensation defense and criminal defense.
The firm’s mission is to provide clients with the very highest quality of legal representation by continually striving to develop and refine innovative methods for meeting clients’ objectives. The firm is committed to employing the finest personnel, to fostering an atmosphere where employees work together to accomplish common goals, and to provide training and support to enable each employee to achieve his or her fullest potential and career objectives. The firm makes extensive use of paralegals and legal assistants who specialize in particular areas of the firm’s practice in order to deliver the highest quality legal advice to clients at reasonable legal expense.
The members of the firm are involved in a variety of community and professional activities as community involvement is encouraged. Members of the firm have served on the Danville School Board, as Chair of the Board of a private elementary and high school in Martinsville, Chair of the Young Lawyers Section of the Virginia Bar Association, member of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the Virginia Bar Association, Subcommittee chair within the American Bar Association, the current Vice President and Secretary of the Danville Bar Association, on various local government boards and committees, on the board of directors of several area non-profit organizations, as leader of an area youth service group, as a Middle Border Forward fellow, as President of the Danville YMCA—and as coaches for local T-ball and Jr. High basketball teams!
The firm represents on an ongoing basis in all areas of defense litigation numerous insurance companies, servicing companies or corporations, including Liberty Mutual Insurance Companies, North Carolina Farm Bureau, Travelers, Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Risk Sharing Association (fka VML Insurance Programs), Trexis Insurance (fka Alfa Vision), Donegal Mutual Insurance Company, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The Lester Group, Commonwealth Home Healthcare, Inc., Henry County Public Service Authority and Eastman Chemical Company.
The firm has served as general counsel for Averett University, a four year liberal arts institution located in Danville, for the past twenty-five years. The firm has organized and provides ongoing legal advice to numerous medical practices, corporations and businesses in Southside Virginia. The firm serves as local Right-of-Way Counsel for the Virginia Department of Transportation, in addition to handling civil litigation and workers' compensation defense for the Virginia Attorney General’s Office on a local basis. The firm members engage in extensive practice before various administrative agencies, including the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Virginia Employment Commission, and the Social Security Administration. The firm also serves as general counsel for numerous other professional corporations and local corporations, in addition to providing counsel to many non-profit organizations, including the The Womack Foundation, Langhorne House, God's Storehouse, The Arc of Southside Virginia, Danville Science Center, The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, The River Region, Inc., The Danville-Pittsylvania Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, The Danville Historical Society,and The New College Institute.