VSB Corporate Panel Visits ASL
GRUNDY, VA (OCTOBER 1, 2019) — Appalachian School of Law’s Office of Career Services hosted a panel discussion focused on careers in corporate law on Friday, as the law school welcomed four panelists from the Virginia State Bar’s Corporate Counsel Division to its Grundy campus.
“ASL was pleased to welcome these distinguished panelists representing the Virginia State Bar to our campus on Friday,” said ASL Dean, Justice (ret.) Elizabeth McClanahan. “We appreciate the time they gave to our students in helping our students to understand a little about corporate law and the path to get there in the future as our students begin their own careers after law school and passing the bar exam.
The panelists were Charles W. Durant, Adam Hark, Merideth N. (Nikki) Stiltner, and Lisa Crocket White.
Their combined experience as in-house counsel for different companies, as well as their diverse career paths, facilitated a robust discussion. Through both the panel discussion and questions from students attending the event, the panelists shared background on their career paths. They also discussed typical in-house work and how it contrasts with their previous career experiences.
Durant is a vice president and assistant general counsel for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Located in SAIC’s Reston, Va.-headquarters, he provides legal support and coordinates the legal affairs for the Defense Systems Group of SAIC, the largest customer group in the company, performing a variety of commercial and government contracting activities.
A native of Wilmington, N.C., Durant received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University in 1982. He later received a master of arts degree in business administration and a second master of arts degree in management from Webster University in 1986. He earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991.
Adam Hark serves as in-house legal counsel for Maxient LLC, a Charlottesville, Va.-based provider of student conduct record management software to institutions of higher education. His practice is largely focused on transactional work, including the drafting and negotiation of software licensing agreements, non¬disclosure agreements and other contracts. Outside of the company, Hark provides pro bono assistance to entrepreneurs in and around Charlottesville through the non-profit Community Investment Collaborative, is an active member of the Virginia State Bar’s Corporate Counsel Section’s Board of Governors, and serves on the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albermarle (LVCA).
A native of Charleston, WV, he earned his undergraduate degree in history from the University of South Carolina in 2005 and his law degree from the American University Washington College of Law in 2008.
Nikki Stiltner is general counsel for Virginia Explosives & Drilling Company, Inc. (VEDCO), Virginia Drilling Company, LLC., and Austin Sales, LLC. VEDCO and its subsidiaries, headquartered in Grundy, are family-owned and operated businesses, providing contract drilling and explosives services to coal and rock mines throughout the central Appalachian region. She joined VEDCO in November 2018 as general counsel and she performs a wide range of duties ranging from contract work, human resources matters and management of outside counsel and litigation.
A native of Grundy, where she still currently resides, Stiltner earned a bachelor’s degree in politics from the University of Virginia in 2003. She earned her juris doctor degree from the Appalachian School of Law in 2006.
Lisa Crockett White is general counsel for Electro-Mechanical Corporation, a global provider of products used in the generation, transmission, distribution and control of electricity. She is also chief commercial officer and chief legal counsel for Merj, a limited liability company specializing in the cultivation, extraction, processing and sale of industrial hemp products. She also acts as legal counsel for The Reserve at Leonard Farms, a residential real estate development located in Tennessee. Electro-Mechanical Corporation, Merj and The Reserve are all privately-held entities owned by the Leonard family, a second generation of entrepreneurs.
White received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Virginia and her juris doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Virginia and Tennessee and is a former member of the hearing panel for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility.
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October 1, 2019
Media Contact: Cathy St. Clair – 276.202.0383 or cstclair@asl.edu