Attorney Profiles

Scott A. Surovell graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1996 where he served as an Executive Editor for the Virginia Environmental Law Journal. He was a Summer Associate with the Surovell, Jackson, Colten & Dugan, P.C. in 1994, an Associate from 1996-2002, and is a founding Member of the Firm. Mr. Surovell graduated magna cum laude from James Madison University in 1993. He was also elected Administrative Vice-President of Student Government Association and served on eighteen University and City of Harrisonburg advisory committees while at JMU. Mr. Surovell received Martindale-Hubble's highest peer rating of AV in January, 2003.

Mr. Surovell's areas of practice include; Commercial and Civil Litigation, Creditors' Rights, Consumer Litigation, Criminal, DUI & Traffic, Family Law, Professional Negligence, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice, and Personal Injury and Wrongful Death. Mr. Surovell has tried scores of cases winning numerous judgments, negotiated settlements in simple and complex matters, obtained several summary dismissals, defense judgments, and criminal acquittals, and assisted clients in preserving the nondischargeability of substantial debts in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He has also briefed and argued appeals to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia, as well as Bankruptcy Appeals before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Mr. Surovell is admitted to practice in all Virginia State trial and appellate Courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Superior Court and Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Mr. Surovell has been a member of the Virginia Bar since October, 1996 and the District of Columbia Bar since 1999.

Mr. Surovell was appointed to a Governor's Fellowship by Gov. L. Douglas Wilder in 1993 where he interned with William Leighty who was then Deputy Director of the Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles. In 1999, he was appointed to the Arlington County Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board where he served until 2000. He was on the Board of Directors of the Fairfax Bar Association's Young Lawyer's Section from 1997-2001, serving as President from 1999-2000, and as an ex officio member of the Fairfax Bar Association Board of Directors from 1999-2000. Mr. Surovell has also served on Fairfax Bar Association Membership Committee and Motions Conciliation Committee and has served as Secretary of Treasurer of the Tauxemont Homeowner's Association since 2000, as an Alternate on the FBA Judicial Review Committee, as a Motion's Conciliator for the Fairfax County Circuit Court, and as President of the Alumni Chapter for the Epsilon Mu Chapter of Sigma Pi Fraternity, International. Mr. Surovell was elected as Chair of the Family Law Section of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 2007, and was named an "up and coming super lawyer" by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine.

He is a member of the Fairfax Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Northern Virginia Bankruptcy Bar Association. Mr. Surovell has served on the Virginia State Bar 5th District Lawyer Discipline Committee since 2005 where he reviews ethical complaints against Virginia lawyers. He was elected Secretary in 2006.

Mr. Surovell has given presentations at continuing legal education seminars for other attorneys on the following subjects:

• Young Lawyer Participation, Virginia State Bar's Bar Leadership Institute, 2000
• Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims, Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association, 2003
• Professional Responsibility, Minnesota-Mutual Ethics Seminar, 2006
• Rehabilitative Alimony, Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association Advanced Family Law CLE, 2006
• Practice Tips Regarding Field Test Foundation, Road Blocks, Intoxilyzer Records, Refusal and More, Fairfax Bar Association, DUICLE 2007

Mr. Surovell is a Fairfax County native who currently lives in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Practice Areas

Family Law
Personal Injury
Criminal Defense
Civil Litigation
Appeals  

Educational Background

J.D. , 1996
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia
Executive Editor, Virginia Journal of Environmental Law  

B.A., magna cum laude, 1993
Political Science, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA   

Court Admissions

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Virginia
U.S. District Court for Western District of Virginia
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia
District of Columbia  

Professional Associations/Memberships

Virginia State Bar
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Fairfax County Bar Association
American Bar Association
American Association for Justice
Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce  

Community Involvement/Honors/Elected Positioned Held

Member, Virginia House of Delegates, 2010-Current
Fifth District Attorney Discipline Committee, 2005-Current
Girls Soccer Coach, Mount Vernon-Lee Soccer Association, 2008-Current
Member, State Central Committee, Democratic Party of Virginia, 2003-Current
Chairman, Fairfax County Democratic Committee, 2008-2009
Co-Founder, Director, & President, Northern Virginia Democratic Business Council, 2002-2009
Member, Legislative Committee, Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce, 2005-2009
Chairman, Mount Vernon District Democratic Committee, 2003-2008
Secretary/Treasurer, Tauxemont Community Association, 2001-2008
Director, Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce Education Partnership, 2007-2008
Chairman, Family Law Section, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 2008
Community Leadership Council, Fairfax County Public Schools, 2008-2009
Member, Arlington County Historic Affairs and Landmarks Review Board, 1998-2000
President, Fairfax Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, 1998-1999
Ex Officio Member, Fairfax Bar Association Board of Directors, 1998-1999
Governor's Fellow, Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, 1993

Reported Decisions

AdvanceMe, Inc. v. Shaker Corp., 2009 Va. Cir. LEXIS 55 (City of Alexandria, 2009)
Brown-Fitzgerald v. Commonwealth 51 Va. App. 232, 656 S.E.2d 422 (2008)
Kopalchick v. Archdiocese of Richmond, 274 Va. 332; 645 S.E.2d 439 (2007)
United States v. Graham, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 17573 (4^th Cir. 2007)
Boston Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Ludwig, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34812 (E.D. Va. 2007)
Boston Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Ludwig, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12604 (E.D. Va. 2007)
United States v. Graham, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40622 (E.D. Va. 2006)
Hass v. Duncan, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13400 (E.D. Va. 2005) Neubrech v. American National Red Cross, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3587 (D.C. 2005)
In Re Haas, 2004 Bankr. LEXIS 2216 (Bankr. E.D.Va. 2004)
The Flooring Group v. Lewis, 2001 Va. Cir. LEXIS 55 (Fairfax County, 2001)
Cardozo v. Daleski, 2000 Va. App. LEXIS 708 (Ct. App. VA 2000) Holmes v. LG Marion Corp, 258 Va. 473, 521 S.E.2d 528 (1999)
In Re Bauer, 1997 Bankr. LEXIS 2090 (Bankr. E.D.Va. 1997)  

Continuing Legal Education Classes & Published Articles
Inspection of Breath Machines A Case Study on How to Challenge Flawed Scientific Evidence, Fairfax Bar Association Annual Criminal Law CLE, 2009
Program Chair, Annual Family Law CLE, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 2007
To Plead or Not to Plead: Domestic Assaults and Unforeseen Consequences, Journal of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 2008
Practice Tips Regarding Field Test Foundation, Road Blocks, Intoxilyzer Records, Refusal and More,   Fairfax Bar Association, DUICLE 2007
Professional Responsibility, Minnesota-Mutual Ethics Seminar, 2006
Whatever Happened to Rehabilitative Alimony?, Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association Advanced Family Law CLE, 2006
Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims, Virginia Trial Lawyer's Association, 2003
Recent Developments In Administrative Suspensions and Revocation of Driver's Licenses, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Journal, 2002
Young Lawyer Participation, Virginia State Bar's Bar Leadership Institute, 2000

Accomplishments

Rode Bike Across United States