Claire has nearly 30 years at KPM LAW developing strong personal connections with her clients which allows her to better understand their needs and more effectively represent their legal interests. Claire’s loyal client following and high client retention rate are evidence of the priority she places on those relationships – and the tremendous impact it has in producing outstanding results and exceptionally satisfied clients.
Claire began her legal career in 1990 after graduating from the University of Richmond School of Law, followed by a two-year clerkship at the Supreme Court of Virginia where she served as law clerk to Senior Justice Richard H. Poff and the court’s Chief Staff Attorney’s office. In 1992, Claire became KPM’s first associate attorney, and in 1998 became the first associate promoted to partner. Claire established the firm’s Work Comp department in 1999 and has successfully managed it since that time, building a dedicated team of skilled attorneys among the firm’s statewide offices. Under Claire’s guidance, the team’s philosophy has been to provide more than just representation on a given claim, but to help carriers improve their claims handling process and results as a whole, and to help employers reduce safety risks which lead to injuries and claims. By providing claims adjusters and supervisors, safety managers and risk managers with full-access to all attorneys, legal training, the ability to ask questions and get answers, and a defense approach tailored to each client, Claire and her team have effectively redefined the traditional attorney/client relationship into a mutually beneficial attorney-client partnership.
Martindale Rating
AV PREEMINENT
Education
- Virgnia Tech, BS in Business/Marketing Management, 1987
- University of Richmond School of Law, JD, 1990
Bar Admissions
- Virginia State Bar
- 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
Awards And Honors
- AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
- Virginia Super Lawyers 2016, 2017, 2018
- America's Top 100 Attorneys® in Virginia 2019, 2020
- America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators, 2021
- Virginia Business Magazine Legal Elite, 2017, 2020
- Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law by ALM & M-H, 2019, 2020
- Best Lawyers in America, 2020, 2021, 2022
- Woman Leader in The Law - The American Lawyer & Corporate Counsel 2020
- Best Lawyers “Women in the Law,” 2021
Personal/Civil Memberships
- Virginia Bar Association
- Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
- College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Fellow, inducted in 2017
- National Retail & Restaurant Defense Association, Workers' Compensation Committee; Committee Chair 2013-2014 and 2016-2017
- Virginia Workers' Compensation American Inn of Court, Executive Committee 2014 - 2021; Served as Programs co-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and President for 2021- 2022
- Virginia Workers’ Compensable Advisory Counsel, founding member
- Counsel for Litigation Management
- The Gavel