George's practice focuses on appellate litigation, in state and federal courts, and on water use permitting and litigation in state and federal administrative agencies and courts.  He has represented clients on appeal in a wide variety of cases, with issues ranging from state and federal constitutional law to commercial fraud and from maritime salvage to criminal defense.  He is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal and other professional education programs in the areas of appellate litigation, water resource development, and related issues of environmental law.

Representative Experience
Appellate Litigation
Appellate counsel for Marex Titanic, Inc., in litigation related to competing efforts to salvage artifacts from the R.M.S. Titanic

Litigation counsel for a coalition of churches in the successful defense of a constitutional challenge to a Virginia state law exempting church-affiliated child care centers from mandatory licensing

Amicus counsel for the Virginia Manufacturers Association in appellate litigation under the federal Clean Air Act

Successfully defended the constitutionality of Virginia's division fence law against a "special legislation" challenge in the Supreme Court of Virginia, obtaining reversal of a Circuit Court decision striking down the statute as unconstitutional

Water Resources
Counsel to the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the successful development of the Lake Gaston Pipeline Project, to provide public water supplies to South Hampton Roads, Virginia

Counsel to the City of Newport News, Virginia, in the effort to develop the King William Reservoir Project, to provide public water supplies to North Hampton Roads, Virginia

Representation of and advice to public and investor-owned utilities, including Augusta/Richmond County, Georgia, in hydroelectric licensing and relicensing cases

Published Decisions
Appellate Litigation
The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia v. Truro Church, Record No. 090682, 2010 Va. LEXIS 62 (Va. June 10, 2010)

Burns v. Commonwealth, 279 Va. 243, 688 S.E.2d 263 (2010) (amicus curiae)

Lynchburg Division of Social Services v. Cook, 276 Va. 465, 666 S.E. 2d 361 (2008)

Carpitcher v. Commonwealth, 273 Va. 335, 641 S.E.2d 486 (2007)

Monroe v. Angelone, 323 F.3d 286 (4th Cir. 2003)

Dixon v. Edwards, 290 F.3d 699 (4th Cir. 2002) (amicus curiae)

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Browner, 80 F.3d 869 (4th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1090 (1997) (amicus curiae)

Hopewell Cogeneration Ltd. Partnership v. State Corporation Commission, 249 Va. 107, 453 S.E.2d 277 (1995)

Marex Titanic, Inc. v. Wrecked & Abandoned Vessel, 2 F.3d 544 (4th Cir. 1993)

Holly Hill Farm Corp. v. Rowe, 241 Va. 425, 404 S.E.2d 48 (1991)

Jones v. Poindexter, 903 F.2d 1006 (4th Cir. 1990)

Forest Hills Early Learning Center, Inc. v. Grace Baptist Church, 846 F.2d 260 (4th Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1029 (1989)

Water Resources and Environmental
Alliance to Save the Mattaponi v. Commonwealth, 270 Va. 423, 621 S.E.2d 78 (2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1192 (2006)

Mattaponi Indian Tribe v. Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 45 Va. App. 208, 609 S.E.2d 619 (2005)

Alliance to Save the Mattaponi v. Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 43 Va. App. 724, 601 S.E.2d 684 (2004)

Mattaponi Indian Tribe v. Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 43 Va. App. 728, 601 S.E.2d 686 (2004)

Crutchfield v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 230 F. Supp. 2d 687 (E.D. Va. 2002)

Mattaponi Indian Tribe v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 366, 541 S.E.2d 920 (2001)

State of North Carolina v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 112 F.3d 1175 (D.C. Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1108 (1998)

In re City of Virginia Beach, 42 F.3d 881 (4th Cir. 1994)

City of Virginia Beach v. Board of Supervisors, 246 Va. 233, 435 S.E.2d 382 (1993)

Roanoke River Basin Association v. Hudson, 940 F.2d 58 (4th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1092 (1992)

State of North Carolina v. City of Virginia Beach, 951 F.2d 596 (4th Cir. 1991)

Publications and Presentations
Appellate Litigation
"Court clarifies preservation and endorsement of orders", Virginia Lawyers Weekly, June 8, 2009

"Standards and "Secrets" of Appellate Review", Virginia CLE, April 2, 2009

“Appellate Practice in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals of Virginia: Tips on Getting a Writ,” Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc., Fall Conference 2007

“Some Rules, Comments and Observations on the Art of Appellate Oral Advocacy,” CLE Handout, May 2006

“Building Better Briefs,” with M. Scott Hart, Appellate Practice & Procedure in Virginia, The Bar Association of the City of Richmond, December 3, 1998

Faculty member, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Seminars on Appellate Advocacy 1992-1994

“Standards of Appellate Review,” Litigation, Spring 1989, reprinted in the Litigation Manual, Third Edition (ABA 1999)

Lecturer in numerous Continuing Legal Education programs regarding appellate litigation

Judge in numerous student Moot Court competitions

Speaker on United States Constitution before civic, church, school and other community groups

Water Resources
Speaker, HalfMoon Seminar for Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors on Water Issues and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), July 2008

Co-Author, Virginia Environmental Law Handbook (2008, 4th Ed.), Government Institutes, Inc., Rockville, MD, 400 pps

"Building New Water Supply Capacity:  What Works and What Doesn't," with James E. Ryan, Jr. and M. Scott Hart, January 1, 2006

“The Rise of Environmental Regulation and the Decline of the Common Law Riparian Doctrine,” American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 11th Section Fall Meeting, October 2003

“Issues in Developing Municipal Water Supplies: Federal Authorities Governing Municipal and Industrial Water Resource Development,” Annual ABA Water Law Conference, San Diego, CA, February 1999

“Developing Water Supplies: Navigating Federal Regulatory Requirements,” in Water Law: Trends, Policies and Practice (ABA, 1995)

Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Year in Review, “Eastern Water Law” (ABA, 1992-present)

Lecturer in numerous Continuing Legal Education programs regarding water resouce development permitting and litigation