Why Elliot's right for your case
Construction and Construction Law
- Licensed West Virginia Contractor #WV057302.
- Majority owner, Ellerbee Construction, Inc. offering dump truck services for building and highway construction.
- Best Lawyers in America® Commercial litigation and Dispute Resolution.
- Trial experience in Construction: Tried at least twelve construction lawsuits to verdicts before juries.
Higher Education
- West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission 2000 to 2007, Rising to Vice-Chairman of the state commission overseeing policy for all colleges and universities in West Virginia.
- Concord University, Athens, West Virginia: Chairman of the Board from 2013 to 2017; Board member 2009 to 2017
- Counsel to four universities: Retained to offer legal counsel to four different universities and colleges on issues of construction and financing dormitories and campus buildings, student discipline. Also brought in as a dispute resolution professional to assist in resolving disputes between staff and administrators and on issues of student discipline.
- Higher Education trusted adviser: Called upon to offer guidance on campus governance issues.
Religious Institution governance
- Chairman, Board of Trustees, First Baptist Church 1992 through 2007
- Chairman, Board of Trustees, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston 2011 through 2016
- Regularly called upon to mediate disputes between clergy and congregation, or clergy and church officials.
Premises Liability
- Represented Walmart Stores from 1994 to 1999, and from 2007 through 2013.
- Tried 47 cases to verdict for Walmart, 38 of which were premises liability cases.
- Represented other retail stores, medical centers, and other places of public accommodation, often through insurance companies, in lawsuits and trials over alleged premises negligence.
- Tried another 14 premises liability cases to verdict in circuit courts in West Virginia.
Business Disputes and Regulatory Issues
- Best Lawyers in America® in Commercial litigation and Dispute Resolution
- Consumer finance: Represented creditors and sometimes debtors in business litigation, most of which was resolved short of trial, and represented parties in business workout negotiations
- All noted trial experience is in the role of first chair in the litigation.
Other areas of Experience
- Medical professional negligence: Represented physicians and medical care facilities in litigation and at trial in professional negligence cases.
- Lawyer professional negligence: Represented the second defendant, a New York law firm, in the largest legal professional liability case in West Virginia history, concerning advice related to the Federal Trade Commission. Also negotiated settlements in at least seven other legal malpractice claims.
- Represented automobile manufacturers in product liability and Lemon Law cases, both in court-litigated cases and in arbitration.
Education
Washington and Lee University, 1974 – 1976
West Virginia University, B.A., Political Science, 1978
West Virginia University College of Law, J.D., 1981
Representative Experience
- Has taken more than 120 civil jury trials to verdict in state circuit courts and federal district courts, as well as numerous bench trials in circuit and magistrate courts
- Mediated cases in all of West Virginia and parts of western Virginia
- Presented lectures on mediation tactics and ethics, trial tactics and legal ethics throughout West Virginia and in several seminars outside of the state before a national audience
- Licensed West Virginia general contractor, with extensive experience in construction, both operations and litigation
- Appeared as a regular panelist 26 times on The Law Works West Virginia Public Television show on legal issues of interest to the public
Distinctions
- Received the Justicia Officium Award by the West Virginia University College of Law. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the law faculty in recognition of outstanding contributions and service to the legal profession. https://www.law.wvu.edu/news/2021/05/17/hicks-awarded-wvu-college-of-law-justitia-officium
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for the areas of Commercial Litigation, Mediation
- AV® Preeminent Peer-Review Rated™ by Martindale-Hubbell
- Recognized as a West Virginia Super Lawyer in mediation and commercial litigation
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals charter West Virginia member
- 2019 Martin Luther King Holiday Commission "Governor's Living the Dream Award" recipient, given to the "person who best exemplifies all of the characteristics of justice, scholarship, sharing of self, human and civil rights, and advocacy of peace; with a recognizable sense of civic awareness and public service."
- Honored by the West Virginia Executive magazine in its "Lawyers and Leaders" issue, July 2019
Professional Affiliations
- West Virginia State Bar, President, 1998 – 1999
- Representative, West Virginia State Bar Board of Governors, 1993 – 1996
- Appointed by two State Bar Presidents in 1999 and 2006 as Chairman of Lawyer Advertising Commission to examine and develop rules governing lawyer advertising
- American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 1998 – 1999
- Inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow, 2007
- West Virginia Bar Foundation, Fellow, 2005
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow 2011
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Member
- American Inns of Court, Judge John A. Field, Jr. Chapter, Charter Member as Master of the Bench, 2002.
- Appointed by the Honorable Elliott E. Maynard, then-Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, to serve on a commission to devise standard jury instructions for West Virginia cases, 2000
- Kanawha County Bar Association, President, 1988 – 1989
Community Service
- Vice-Chairman, West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, appointed by former Governor Cecil Underwood (R) and reappointed by former Governor Bob Wise (D), 1999 – 2006, Rising to Vice-Chairman
- Chairman, Concord University Board of Governors, 2013 to 2017, Board Member 2009-2017
- Chairman, Friends of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 2023 to 2025.
- Member, West Virginia Humanities Council, 2015 to 2021. Treasurer, 2019 to 2022. Reappointed to the Council for 2025 to 2031, again serving as Treasurer
- Legal Aid Society of Charleston Board of Directors, 1992 – 1998
- Former Chairman, Kanawha County Housing and Redevelopment Authority
- Former Member, West Virginia Bar Foundation Board of Directors; Chairman, IOLTA Advisory Committee
- Member, Charleston Jazz Series Board of Directors