Roger Ritchie, Sr., is the founder and a senior partner of Ritchie Law Firm practicing primarily in the area of automobile/tractor trailer collisions, traumatic brain injuries, products liability, nursing home abuse, and complex litigation.
Roger grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and attended Broadway High School. His family lives throughout the Shenandoah Valley and is actively involved in the construction industry. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, cum laude, and was a member of Pi Theta Kappa Honorary Fraternity and a member of Pi Kappa Alpha.
After graduating from college, Roger began his teaching career at Elkton Elementary School and Elkton High School in Rockingham County from 1969-1971. He also coached JV football during those years.
In 1971, Roger shifted his career focus to law. He attended the University of Maryland School of Law and received his law degree in 1975.
Roger began his law career as a sole practitioner in Harrisonburg in the general practice of law. His practice evolved into personal injury, employment and civil rights litigation. He has also been involved in First Amendment cases involving the right of free speech, age discrimination, discrimination based upon handicap and race. Roger’s concentration has evolved into specialized areas of the law, in particular serious personal injury cases involving wrongful death, auto/tractor trailer collision, and products liability.
Roger has concentrated his practice in civil litigation involving trial work. He is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist with the National Board of Trial Advocacy, a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (2002-2006).
Roger was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1975, and the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia in 1992. Roger practices before the U.S. District Courts of the Western and Eastern Districts of Virginia and the U.S. Districts of the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia. He has been admitted and practices before the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the West Virginia State Bar, the American Bar Association and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Bar.
Recently, Roger was invited to speak at the American Trial Lawyer’s Association’s 2006 Conference in Seattle, Washington, on the topic of Business Continuation and Planning Agreements.
In addition to Roger’s involvement in the legal community, he is also highly involved in the local community. He has served as a board member of the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) for many years and as treasurer of the organization as well. Recently, he was elected chairman of the Pro-Bono Committee of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.
Education:
- B.A., History, University of Maryland (1969)
- J.D., University of Maryland School of Law (1975)
Bar Admissions:
- Virginia (1975)
- Supreme Court of Virginia (1975)
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia (1975)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (1981)
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (1985)
- U.S. Court of Claims (1985)
- West Virginia (1992)
- Supreme Court of Appeals (1992)
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of West Virginia (1994)
Professional Memberships:
- Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Virginia State Bar
- Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
- Chair, Pro-Bono Committee, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
- West Virginia State Bar
- West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
- The Association of Trial Lawyers of America