Macia
Vella Kirby
Stewart
Eckley
CHARLESTON -– The law firm of Spilman Thomas & Battle is pleased to announce that Leah P. Macia, Joanne M. Vella Kirby, Jeff D. Stewart and Travis H. Eckley have joined the firm's Charleston office.
Macia, a senior attorney, joined the firm's Morgantown office in the fall of 2007. She primarily practices in the areas of general litigation, appellate litigation and corporate and business law.
Macia clerked for the Honorable Joseph Robert Goodwin, District Court Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia; served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Appellate Division of the West Virginia Attorney General's Office; practiced general litigation and criminal defense with a local law firm; and has served as Counsel for the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee and the West Virginia Senate Majority Leader. She received her J.D. in 1998 from West Virginia University.
Vella Kirby, an associate, primarily practices in the areas of general litigation and appellate litigation.
Vella Kirby served as a criminal Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2005 - 2008. Also, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Elizabeth V. Hallanan, Senior United States District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia. Vella Kirby attended the American University Center of Provence in 1995, received her B.A., cum laude, in 1996 from Villanova University and her J.D. in 2001 from The George Washington University Law School.
Stewart, an associate, primarily practices in the areas of general litigation and insurance coverage and bad faith. He is a former Assistant Public Defender for the Kanawha County Office of the Public Defender. Stewart received his B.A. in 1995 from Marshall University and his J.D. in 2000 from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law.
Eckley, an associate, primarily practices in the areas of mineral, commercial and residential real estate law. He received his B.A. from Rhodes College in 2004, his J.D. in 2007 from West Virginia University and his LL.M. in real estate law in 2008 from The John Marshall Law School.
As one of the region's largest law firms, Spilman Thomas & Battle offers a full-service legal practice with locations in Charleston, Morgantown and Wheeling in West Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Roanoke, Va.