Gentry Locke’s Monica T. Monday Presented with “Silver Tongue Award” for Appellate Advocacy by William & Mary Law School
ROANOKE, Va. (October 18, 2023) – The Virginia law firm Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that Monica T. Monday, head of Gentry Locke’s Appeals and Critical Issues team, has received the 2023 Edmund Randolph Award for Excellence in Oral Advocacy (the “Silver Tongue Award”) by the William & Mary Law School’s Student Division of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law.
The annual award is presented to an appellate advocate who has not only demonstrated excellence in his or her craft, but who has dedicated his or her career to improving the standards of appellate practice, the administration of justice, and ethics in the profession. Monday received the award on October 10, 2023 at William & Mary Law School in conjunction with the final round of the law school’s Bushrod Moot Court Tournament, over which she presided as chief justice as part of her recognition. Monday is an alumna of the William & Mary Law School, as well as the College of William & Mary, and was a participant in the final round of the moot court competition in 1989.
“Monica’s exceptional track record of success and leadership in the appellate field throughout Virginia is truly admirable,” said K. Brett Marston, Managing Partner of Gentry Locke. “We are immensely proud to see her join the distinguished list of recipients of this prestigious award.” Past award recipients include Walter Dellinger and Carter Phillips.
For 30 years, Monday has represented her clients in Virginia’s state and federal appellate courts across a variety of cases, including commercial and business disputes, healthcare, property, personal injury, local government matters, domestic relations, and more. Monday has devoted hundreds of hours to the improvement of appellate practice in Virginia. She has lectured and written on appellate topics, helped to draft new rules for the expanded jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, and testified before the General Assembly on statutory changes to Virginia appellate laws.
An active member of the Virginia Bar Association, Monday serves on the Appellate Practice Section Council and was its chair from 2019-2021. She also served as chair of the Appellate Committee of the Virginia State Bar Litigation Section from 2009-2019, where she organized and led educational programming on Virginia appellate practice and chaired the Fourth Circuit Rules Advisory Committee from 2017-2018. Since 2019, she has been a speaker at the annual Judicial Conference of Virginia, discussing recent Supreme Court of Virginia civil decisions. She is also a member and Secretary of the Boyd-Graves Conference, a group of Virginia attorneys and judges devoted to improving the quality of civil justice in Virginia. Monday served as Managing Partner of Gentry Locke from 2013-2022 and now leads the firm’s recruiting, diversity, and pro bono efforts as chair of the firm’s Executive Board.
Monday is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and was named a “Go To Lawyer for Appellate” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. She is recognized in Chambers USA in Band 1 of the Virginia Litigation: Appellate section, and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America® since 2009, and in Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010. In 2023, she was named to the Virginia Power 500 List by Virginia Business Magazine.
About Gentry Locke
With 79 lawyers practicing across a range of disciplines, Gentry Locke brings uncommon thinking and deep experience to the legal and business challenges of companies, institutions, organizations, and individuals — a commitment the firm has met since 1923. Operating from offices in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Richmond, and Norfolk, Virginia, Gentry Locke serves clients in Virginia and across the United States. Meet the firm’s dynamic attorneys and learn more about its fierce drive to achieve success for its clients by exploring our website.
