Frank West Morrison, Lynchburg Attorney

Frank West Morrison

PARTNER

Phone:  (434) 384-0946
  • Member of the Virginia State Bar, Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Mediation Network, IACP (International Academy of Collaborative Professionals) and VACP (Virginia Collaborative Professionals)
  • Former Chair of the Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution; former President of the Lynchburg Bar Association; former Chair of the family Law Section of Lynchburg, Virginia; former Chair of the Board of Governors of the Family Law Section of Virginia State Bar; former Chair of Domestic Relations Council of the Virginia Bar Association
  • Current member of the VACP Board and Chair of its Program Committee; Founding and current member of the CPTI (Collaborative Practice Training Institute); Chair of the 24th Judicial District Arbitration of Fee Disputes of the Virginia State Bar program since its’ inception, serving frequently as a mediator of such disputes
  • Frequent lecturer, trainer and author on family law, mediation and collaborative practice topics, to include being a co-lead trainer for numerous basic and advanced team collaborative practice trainings and for the 30-hour interest-based negotiation and mediation skills trainings for collaborative professionals during the last several years
  • Adjunct professor at Washington & Lee University School of Law teaching negotiation and mediation and advanced negotiation and collaborative practice from August, 2004, to present
  • Recipient of Founder ADR in Virginia Award, June, 2004
  • Recipient of Gardner G. DeMallie, Jr. Continuing Legal Education award, June, 2005
  • Recipient of Life Time achievement award presented by the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section, June, 2006
  • Conducted a number of basic and family circuit court mediations trainings certified by the Virginia Supreme Court
  • Recognized in the publications Virginia Super Lawyer & Virginia Legal Elite for a number of years
  • Frank West Morrison is an attorney, mediator and a collaborative professional. He is a frequent lecturer, trainer and author on family law mediation and collaboration topics as well as an adjunct professor at Washington & Lee University School of Law where he teaches negotiation, mediation, advanced negotiation, and collaborative practice.
  • Mr. Morrison is the former Chair of the Board of Governors of the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar, former Chair of the Domestic Relations Counsel of the Virginia Bar Association, recipient of the Founder ADR in Virginia Award, June 2004, recipient of the Gardner G. DeMallie, Jr. Continuing Legal Education Award, June 2005, recipient of the Life Time achievement award presented by the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section, June 2006 and has been regularly recognized by publications including The Best Lawyers in America, Virginia Super Lawyer & Virginia Legal Elite for a number of years.
  • Mr. Morrison is an effective and successful trial attorney with decades of practice focused exclusively on divorce, family, mediation, and collaboration. His philosophy, which he practices and espouses to the legal community, is that court is a last resort and that lawyers are first counselors at law and should attempt to facilitate and empower people to resolve their own disputes before resorting to litigation. He firmly believes that in order to be an effective negotiator, in all settings other than the collaborative process, an attorney must be an effective trial lawyer. Negotiation is a tool for dispute resolution that both the attorney and client must believe in as the most appropriate process for dispute resolution. Negotiation is never to be used as a refuge due to weakness or fear of trial. He also believes that the cornerstone of any effective attorney/client relationship or negotiation is the attorney’s ability to effectively communicate with clients and colleagues. Central to this idea is the development and facilitation of skills geared toward connecting with clients in order to work together as a team.