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Areas of Practice


Nathan Miller welcomes you to
Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC
Administrative Law
Business Law
Civil Litigation
Criminal Law
Environmental Law
Family Law
Personal Injury Law
Real Estate & Finance
Wills & Estate Administration






Administrative Law

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC's attorneys have extensive regulatory and governmental relations capabilities to offer to businesses and individuals who are required to operate under the jurisdiction of local, state and federal bodies politic.

One of our partners is a former member of the Virginia General Assembly's House of Delegates and Senate and we have attorneys who have practiced before various state and federal regulatory agencies and commissions. In addition, the group has experience ranging from legislation lobbying to agency hearings on complex federal, state and local issues.

Members of the Firm have represented clients on matters before most boards and agencies of state and local governments including: the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the Delaware Public Service Commission, the Maryland Public Service Commission, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board, the Virginia Water Control Board, the Virginia Industrial Development Authority, County Boards of Supervisors and the Industrial Commission of Virginia. Our practice before agencies of the federal government includes: the Rural Electrification Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Sample cases include: obtaining state and federal permits for a coal fired power plant in Virginia; lobbying before the Virginia General Assembly for clients on tax, financing and regulatory matters; negotiating with state and federal agencies for water and air permits and handling rezoning matters.

Business Law

Our Business Law practice provides the legal services necessary for the formation, financing, operation, and maintenance of your business. We provide professional advice and counsel to sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint ventures, and corporations. As business professionals understand, business challenges cover a wide array of disciplines. Consequently, the Firm has evolved naturally into the following areas:

General Business Law
The Firm is equipped to handle our corporate clients' day to day concerns. This includes preparing corporate documents, negotiating contracts, and employing and managing special expert counsel. Today's corporate climate demands that business executives receive legal service which protects the company's rights and its bottom line. We strive to provide this service without delay or excuses.

Technology and Internet Law
Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC is able to provide an experienced attorney who understands the needs of the entrepreneur who invents the new product or business product. The clients' business goals and structures are based on new legal concepts and practices that surround technology and bringing it to market. This background and experience includes assisting clients with angel, mezzanine, venture, and initial public offerings (IPO's) financing support.

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC further understands that the dynamics of the business community have significantly changed since the World Wide Web provides immediate access to a broader customer and business base than ever before possible. Many businesses have been formed or expanded to target this market. In marketing its legal support, Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC is aware of and prepared to deal with the changes required in the law relative to the internet.

Civil Litigation

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLCC has litigators capable of addressing all types of civil matters in state and federal court. Our attorneys routinely litigate and resolve cases from simple, but personal, conflicts to complex business disputes involving multiple issues. In addition to trial practice, we recognize the growing needs expressed by our clients for alternative dispute resolution and have developed experience in arbitration as one way of addressing those concerns.

Our goal is to provide our clients with well-reasoned, cost effective advice on the broad range of civil matters encountered by the business professional on a daily basis.

Criminal Defense Law

Whether you have been charged with speeding or a violent felony, Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC provides personalized and professional representation to help meet all of your needs. When you come in for a consultation, we will sit down with you to help explain and protect your rights, help you understand the process and work hard to expand all of your options.

We offer professional advice and counsel on a wide range of offenses, including:

With over 50 years of combined experience representing individuals when they have been charged with committing a criminal offense, Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC knows what it takes to get results.

Environmental Law

In recent years, concern for the environment has heightened interest in finding practical and economical methods to protect and preserve our natural resources. This in turn has led to the enactment of increasingly complex and far reaching environmental statutes and regulations.

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC offers experience in practical, technical, and legal aspects of complying with the myriad of federal and state laws and regulatory programs relating to the quality of our air, land and water resources.

Whether the task be commenting on the findings made in an environmental impact statement, obtaining an air or water quality certificate through the state or federal permitting process or providing guidance on the Clean Air Act, our attorneys stand ready to provide clients with thorough, accurate and timely advice on all of their environmental concerns.

Family Law

J. Burns Earle, III heads the Firm's Family Law Section. Mr. Earle is both passionate and compassionate in his representation of his clients. He understands the concept that there is little more precious in the world than one's family. At the same time, in today's society, divorce and resolution of family disputes is a cultural requirement. Mr. Earle and the Firm's team of practitioners provide knowledgeable counsel on such domestic relations issues including:

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC provides aggressive, experienced and professional legal services in today's emotionally-driven family law matters throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

Personal Injury Law

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC provides professional advice and representation when you have been injured due to the negligence of another. With over 50 years of combined experience representing individuals in Virginia, we have the experience to ensure that you will be fully and fairly compensated.

We offer personalized and professional advice to help you protect and pursue your claim. The stress and difficulty of recovery is hard enough, so we will work hard to protect your rights and deal with the insurance company when you have been involved in situations such as:

Real Estate & Finanace

Our real estate attorneys provide counseling in all areas of real estate law. We represent developers, construction companies and private investors in industrial, commercial and residential real estate projects.

Although our attorneys handle transactions which range from complex, multiple lender projects to ordinary acquisition loans for unimproved real estate, we also represent home purchasers and home sellers cost-effectively through the use of paralegal assistance. In the development and syndication area, we have been actively involved in site assembly, construction and development, purchase and sale, ground and space leasing, joint venture formation, and environmental and zoning matters.

The Members of the Firm have assisted clients in developing office buildings, hotels, golf courses, restaurants, electric generating stations, light and heavy industrial warehouse complexes, apartment buildings, condominiums and residential subdivisions.

Some specific examples of our real estate development and financing experience are: a 200 room hotel at BWI airport, development and construction loans for more than one million square feet of industrial warehouse space, apartment complexes in Northern Virginia, the acquisition of a large manufacturing facility in Southside, Virginia, industrial revenue bonds for solid waste disposal facilities, and construction financing for a large Virginia utility project.

Wills & Estate Administration

Our Estate Planning practice includes trust and estate attorneys who are experienced in all sections of estate planning, trusts, and estate administration, with particular emphasis in working with business owners who need succession planning.

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC offers its clients counsel in estate planning matters which focus on the personal and individual needs of each estate plan. Tax consequences, positive or negative, can be a factor in most personal financial decisions. We explore the alternative options available to our clients with the objective of maximizing the tax consequence while transferring wealth pursuant to the personal desires of the client. Our attorneys bring a wide range of education and experience to this practice area. We routinely advise clients on matters of estate and gift tax.




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