Bowles Rice Partner Elected President of Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
Attorney Charles F. "Chazz" Printz Jr. was elected president of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia at the organization's 32nd annual meeting held May 14-16.
Mr. Printz, a partner in the regional law firm's Martinsburg office, accepted the position after previously serving as vice president to the DTCWV, an association of West Virginia attorneys who defend individuals and businesses in civil litigation. Mr. Printz also serves on the counsel's Employment Law Committee.
"The challenge of leadership of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia is to ensure that the organization continues to be an active voice for both clients and the civil defense bar, and that it provides value for its nearly 600 members," Mr. Printz said. "We will strive for balance and fairness in our court system, the legislature, and the administration of justice."
A member of the firm's Litigation Department, Mr. Printz practices in all aspects of civil litigation, including business and commercial disputes, employer liability, employment law, financial services litigation, condemnation and construction litigation. He is also a member of the firm's executive committee.
Mr. Printz was named Best Lawyers' Lawyer of the Year in the northern West Virginia region for Bet-the-Company Litigation (2013) and Construction Litigation (2014). He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management, Construction Litigation and Labor and Employment Litigation. He also has been listed among "Leaders in their Field" by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in Commercial Litigation.
In 2008, he was named a West Virginia Bar Foundation Fellow. In 2006, he served as a member of the United States Magistrate Judge Selection Panel for the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia and on the Governor's Advisory Committee on Judicial Nominations for the 23rd Judicial Circuit.
He is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, and serves on the Law and Medicine Committee of the West Virginia State Bar. He was a member of the American Inns of Court (Master of the Bench) and the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (member of the Board of Governors 1980-1985), and is currently a member of the Defense Research Institute's Commercial Litigation Section.
Mr. Printz earned his bachelor of arts degree in 1972 from the University of Virginia and his law degree in 1975 from West Virginia University College of Law.
Fellow Bowles Rice attorney Robert J. Kent, of the firm's Parkersburg, West Virginia office, serves as a member of DTCWV's Board of Governors.
Bowles Rice has 140 attorneys serving clients from eight regional offices located in Charleston, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville and Parkersburg, West Virginia; Southpointe, Pennsylvania; Lexington, Kentucky; and Winchester, Virginia.