Biography
Willard J. Moody, Jr. is the President and senior attorney in The Moody Law Firm. The Moody Law Firm, Inc. is a Virginia law firm headquartered in Portsmouth, VA. Mr. Moody has been representing railroad workers and handling Federal Employers’ Liability Act claims since 1983 when he graduated from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, Virginia. Since that time, he has been licensed to practice law in Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Florida. He is also admitted to practice in numerous Federal courts throughout the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a past President of the Portsmouth Bar Association, a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice (formerly The American Trial Lawyers Association), as well as a past President of the Academy of Railway Labor Attorneys (ARLA). He also has served on the Committee for Occupational Diseases for ARLA in the past. He has achieved the highest rating available to an attorney with the Martindale Hubble Peer Review ratings for preeminent legal ability and overall professional excellence.
Mr. Moody’s practice includes Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) claims on behalf of railroad workers, which include traumatic injury claims, occupational disease claims, asbestos claims, cancer claims, and mesothelioma claims. In addition to railroad cases, Mr. Moody and his firm handle all types of product liability cases, trucking liability cases, medical malpractice cases, and auto negligence cases. Mr. Moody heads up the Mass Tort division of the law firm, which handles pharmaceutical cases against drug companies for bad drugs and medical devices, including Vioxx, Reglan, Levoquin, Ziacam, Accutane, Avandia, Fosamax, and other pharmaceutical claims, and defective Hip/Shoulder/Knee/Hernia Mesh/Vaginal Mesh Implant cases.
Mr. Moody was selected by the American Trial Lawyers to co-author the chapter on FELA claims in the ATLA publication “ATLA’s Litigating Tort Cases.” He is a member of the AAJ Litigation groups regarding Avandia, Reglan, and DePuy Hip Implants.
Willard J. Moody, Jr. was also selected for membership to the prestigious Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Established in 1993, the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum is one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Its qualifying members have litigated and won million, multi-million, and billion-dollar cases.
Mr. Moody was most recently selected as a 2017 recipient of the TOP 10 Personal Injury Attorneys in the State of Virginia by The National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys.
Practice Areas
- Personal Injury
- Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA)
- Asbestos Litigation
- Products Liability
- Pharmaceutical Litigation
- Mesothelioma Litigation
Education
- University of Richmond, J.D., 1983
- Elon College, B.A., 1979
Admitted
- 1983, Virginia, U.S. District Court;
- 1984, Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia
- 1987, U.S. Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit
- 1989, U.S. Supreme Court
- 1997, North Carolina Bar, West Virginia Bar, and Florida Bar
Memberships
- Norfolk/Portsmouth Bar Association
- Portsmouth Bar Association
- Virginia State Bar Association
- West Virginia State Bar
- North Carolina State Bar
- The Florida Bar
- Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA)
- American Association for Justice (AAJ)
- Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA)
- Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys (NAOPIA)
Professional Achievements and Recognitions
- Past President, Portsmouth Bar Association – (President, 1996 – 1997)
- Past-President, Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys (ARLA) – (President, 2015 – 2016)
- TOP 10 Personal Injury Attorneys in the State of Virginia – 2017
- Best Lawyers in America – Consecutive Multi-Year Recipient thru 2023 by U.S. News
- Super Lawyers – 2011 – 2022
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 – 2023
Mr. Moody, Jr. has also achieved the highest Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating for preeminent legal ability and overall professional excellence.
