Lawyers / Professionals

Focusing on civil litigation, Mr. McFarland concentrates his practice on commercial litigation (including business and contract disputes, commercial lease and real estate matters, construction, insurance coverage and intellectual property disputes), products liability defense, municipal liability, tort and personal injury, transportation litigation and representation of employers in all facets of employment litigation.

Since joining the firm in 1985 following the completion of a federal judicial clerkship, Mr. McFarland has tried more than 115 cases to juries, as well as dozens of non-jury trials. He has appeared in every federal and state court in southeastern Virginia, and has successfully argued appeals before the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia.

A representative sampling of Mr. McFarland's recent cases include the representation of the board of directors of a publicly traded corporation in a shareholders' derivative action; trial and appeal of an easement dispute affecting an upscale residential development; covenant not to compete and business trade secret litigation; construction litigation involving the tile floor of a downtown Norfolk shopping mall; and victory for the nation's largest automobile manufacturer on a sales tax issue with national implications.

His work has also included trial victories in cases involving the Family Medical Leave Act, cigarette lighters, electric ranges, physical fitness equipment, roofing construction, premises liability and computer software programs; as well as successful defenses for businesses and municipalities in Title VII racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits, First Amendment cases and ERISA employee benefits actions. He also regularly represents members of the transportation industry in litigation involving tractor-trailer accidents and multiple vehicle collisions and has tried these cases to juries and judges in Virginia and other states.

A majority of Mr. McFarland's practice is in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia's Norfolk and Newport News divisions. Because of his experience and familiarity with these federal forums, he regularly represents non-Virginia based employers and corporations in federal litigation.

He is a past president of the Tidewater Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He has authored several articles on federal practice, discovery, expert witnesses and damages, and regularly lectures on federal and state practice and procedure, discovery, expert witnesses and municipal liability.