News

Featured
Seth Ragosta Elected to The Virginia Bar Association Board of Governors
Seth Ragosta Elected to The Virginia Bar Association Board of Governors

At the 138th Annual Meeting of the Virginia Bar Association (“VBA”), Seth J. Ragosta was elected to a three-year term to the VBA Board of Governors where he will be representing the Blue Ridge Region.  The VBA is a voluntary bar association founded in 1888 and it “is the independent voice of the Virginia lawyer, advancing the highest ideals of the profession through advocacy and volunteer service.”  The VBA's Board of Governors oversees and manages the statewide organization, which assists the legal profession and the community by facilitating information sharing and best practices among lawyers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia and by proposing statutory changes which improve the law.

Thirteen Flora Pettit Lawyers Named “Legal Elite”
Thirteen Flora Pettit Lawyers Named “Legal Elite”

Flora Pettit proudly announces that thirteen of its attorneys have been named to Virginia Business magazine’s 2025 “Legal Elite,” an honor given to only 4.9 percent of the approximately 32,631 active Virginia State Bar members. The recognized attorneys represent a wide range of practice areas, including Intellectual Property, Civil Litigation, Family Law, Real Estate, Appellate Law, Labor and Employment, Cybersecurity and Technology, Construction Law, and Taxes, Estates, and Trusts.

Lesley A.Z. Rigney Joins Flora Pettit in its Charlottesville Office
Lesley A.Z. Rigney Joins Flora Pettit in its Charlottesville Office

Flora Pettit announced that Lesley A.Z. Rigney has joined the firm as an attorney in its Charlottesville office. Rigney brings more than a decade of legal experience in real estate, land use, community association, corporate, and business law. She previously served as Director of Legal & Policy Services at the Virginia School Boards Association and has taught law as an adjunct professor.

Jennifer E. Shirkey, President of Flora Pettit, noted that Rigney’s “breadth of real estate knowledge will have an immediate beneficial impact on our clients.”

Stephen N. Shashy Joins Flora Pettit in its Charlottesville Office
Stephen N. Shashy Joins Flora Pettit in its Charlottesville Office

Flora Pettit welcomes Stephen N. Shashy to its Charlottesville office, where he will focus on tax planning, compliance, and controversies for individuals, businesses, trusts and estates, and nonprofits. Shashy brings experience from a global law firm and as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division, litigating matters in U.S. Tax Court, District Courts, and state courts. A graduate of Amherst College and the University of Virginia School of Law, he led the Virginia Tax Review and received the Edwin S. Cohen Tax Prize. Named a Virginia Rising Star by Super Lawyers, he strengthens Flora Pettit’s established tax practice serving clients across Virginia.

John Flora Recognized as “Virginia Go To Lawyer” in Tax Law 
John Flora Recognized as “Virginia Go To Lawyer” in Tax Law 

John Flora was recently recognized by Virginia Lawyers Weekly in its “Virginia’s Go To Lawyers for Tax Law 2025” list published on August 25, 2025. Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s “Go To Lawyers” lists are intended to recognize leading lawyers in a particular field who are: “(a) a senior expert in his or her field, well-versed in case law, statutes and regulations; (b) experienced, with a record of success; (c) a lawyer to whom other lawyers make referrals because of his or her expertise and accomplishments; and (d) a lawyer who can think creatively and identify all options for a client.” The featured attorneys were nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from Virginia Lawyers Weekly.