This program will focus on the nuts and bolts and do’s and don’ts of practice before the Alexandria Circuit Court. Attendees will get an opportunity to peer behind the curtain and learn the most effective strategies for seamless appearances before our court and interactions with our Clerk’s office. Learn how things look from the bench, what you can do to help our Judicial Law Clerks and how they can help you. The Panel will include the Hon. Greg Parks, Clerk of the Circuit Court, who will answer all of your questions about new filing and other procedures, and what that office expects from attorneys and litigants. An insider’s look at the expectations and pet peeves of the 3^rd and 4^th floors.

Hon. Kathleen M. Uston 
Judge
Alexandria Circuit Court

Hon. Kathleen M. Uston began her service on the Circuit Court for the 18^th Circuit in the City of Alexandria in April 2021. She received her juris doctorate from George Mason University School of Law in 1991 and, after passing the bar, went into private practice focusing in the areas of attorney ethical defense work, GAL representation, and civil litigation. Judge Uston served as Commissioner in Chancery for the Circuit Court for the City of Alexandria, as Assistant Bar Counsel with the Virginia State Bar for thirteen years and was an adjunct professor of law at American University Washington College of Law teaching Ethics for Trial Lawyers. She is past President of the VSB Young Lawyers Conference, served as vice-chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Solo and Small Firm Committee, and is former President of the Alexandria Bar Association. Judge Uston also served as President of the National Organization of Bar Counsel and as NOBC's Delegate to the American Bar Association House of Delegates. Judge Uston was a member of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, the Presidential Committee on Wellness of the Virginia State Bar, and a member of the Virginia Committee on Lawyer Wellness formed by Chief Justice Donald Lemons of the Virginia Supreme Court. Judge Uston is currently a member of the Supreme Court Wellness Advisory Committee. Over her career, Judge Uston has lectured extensively on the subject of attorney ethics and had the great honor of co-authoring the updated edition of Lawyers and Other People's Money with Frank Thomas, Esquire. 

Hon. J. Greg Parks
Clerk of Court
Alexandria Circuit Court

J. Greg Parks was born and raised in Nebraska and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later earned a Juris Doctor degree from the American University and a Master of Laws degree from the George Washington University. After graduating from law school, Greg served as an attorney for the U.S. Coast Guard, Office of the Judge Advocate General. After the attacks of September 11^th, Greg served on the White House team that created the Department of Homeland Security. He went on to serve in senior legal and management positions with the Coast Guard, the Department of Transportation, the General Services Administration, and as Chief Counsel of a federal administrative tribunal, where he directed the full range of legal and operational functions and served as ethics officer for 15 judges. Greg was elected to an eight-year term as Alexandria Clerk of the Circuit Court on November 5^th, 2019, and took office as Clerk on January 1, 2020.

Dana Leinbach
Judicial Law Clerk
Alexandria Circuit Court

Dana Leinbach is the Senior Judicial Law Clerk for the Alexandria Circuit Court serving Hon. Judges Lisa B. Kemler, James C. Clark, and Kathleen M. Uston. She received her J.D. cum laude from William & Mary Law School in 2020 and her B. A. in Political Science and History from Northwestern University in 2015. Before beginning law school, she worked as a Legislative Assistant for the American Psychological Association.