Biography

Joseph Peter Drennan was born on the 15th of April 1956, in Albany, New York, as the eldest of four children of Irish-American parents, Richard Peter Drennan and Ann Marie Drennan (née Conlon), and was raised, primarily, in several communities in Upstate, New York, living in Buffalo, Utica, Rochester and Waterville, New York, as well as in Dauphin, Pennsylvania , and Enfield, Connecticut. At various points in his childhood, Mr. Drennan lived in urban areas and a suburban neighborhood, as well as in rural areas and a small town....
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Education

University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1978

Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law , Washington, D.C. Juris Doctor, 1981

 

Professional Experience

Solo practice of law in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area for over 35 years, before state and federal trial and appellate courts and administrative agencies. 

 

Teaching Experience

Germanna Community College, in Fredericksburg, Virginia; Adjunct Faculty, Department of Criminal Justice (1995 - 2000)

University of Baltimore, Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts, in Baltimore, Maryland, Adjunct Faculty (2007 - 2013)

 

Continuing Legal Education Seminar Presentations

"Trial Advocacy in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.) Fairfax, Virginia, 1996

"Bad Faith Litigation in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.) Fairfax, Virginia, 1997

"Trying the Automobile Injury Case in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.) Arlington, Virginia, 1997

"Bad Faith Litigation in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.) Arlington, Virginia, 1998

"Uninsured and Under-insured Motorist Law in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.) Arlington, Virginia, 2000

"How to Litigate Your First Civil Trial in Virginia" (under the aegis of National Business Institute, Inc.); Arlington, Virginia, 2001

"Police Liability in Virginia" (under the aegis of Lorman Education Services); Arlington, Virginia, 27 August 2002

"Police Liability in the District of Columbia" (under the aegis of Lorman Education Services); Washington, D.C., 10 December 2002

"Police Liability in Maryland" (under the aegis of Lorman Education Services); Baltimore, Maryland, 6 August 2003

"Applying the Rules of Evidence: What Every Attorney Needs to Know" (under the aegis of the National Business Institute), Fairfax, Virginia, 22 September 2011

"Medical Records and Experts" (under the aegis of the National Business Institute), Fairfax, Virginia, 20 March 2014

"Discovery Under the New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure" (under the aegis of the National Business Institute), Fairfax, Virginia, 30 September 2015

"Setting Appropriate Fees: Do Flat Fees Make Sense Anymore? Is There Such a Thing as an Excessive Fee? Is Hourly Billing Really That Bad?" ( American Immigration Lawyers Association, Bangkok District Chapter Conference and Webcast ), Bangkok, Thailand, 28 February 2019

 

Court Admissions

District of Columbia Bar (1981)
United States District Court for the District of Columbia (1983)
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1983)
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1984)
Virginia State Bar (1984)
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (1987)
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1987)
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (1990)
United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (2013)
Supreme Court of the United States (2016)

 

Miscellany

Guest speaker before the Trial Lawyers of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.; Topic: "Successful Litigation Against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority", 7 September 1995

Served on drafting committee for Standardized Civil Jury Instructions for the District of Columbia (Bar Association of the District of Columbia, Young Lawyers Section) (Rev. ed. 1998)

Member of the Board of Visitors for The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, Washington, D.C. (2018 - present)

Guest speaker before the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Bahgkok District Chapter Conference and Webcast, in situ, in Bangkok, Thailand; Topics: "Setting Appropriate Fees: Do Flat Fees Make Sense Anymore? Is There Such a Thing as an Excessive Fee? Is Hourly Billing Really That Bad?", 28 February 2019

 

Listed in

"Outstanding Young Men of America", 1984
Who's Who in the East, 22nd & 23rd ed.
Who's Who in Finance and Industry,  26 & 27th ed.
Who's Who in Emerging Leaders in America, 2nd & 3rd ed.
Who's Who in American Law, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th & 19th ed.
Who's Who in the World, 9th, 10th, 24th & 26th ed.
Who's Who in America, 56th, 61st, 62nd, 63rd, 64th, 66th, 67th, 70th & 71st ed.

 

Professional Memberships

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
American Bar Association
Alexandria Bar Association
American Association for Justice (formerly Association of Trial Lawyers of America) 
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Bar Association of the District of Columbia
Cleveland Club of Washington, D.C. 
Enfield (Connecticut) Historical Society 
Federal Bar Association
The Fort Schuyler Club (Utica, New York)
Fredericksburg Cyclists Club
Hawai'i Bicycling League 

Historic Fredericksburg Foundation (Fredericksburg, Virginia)
Landmarks Society of Greater Utica (New York)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Legal Aid & Defender Association 
Oneida County (New York) Historical Society
Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. 
Utica Public Library
Virginia Trial Lawyers' Association

Waterville, New York Historical Society (Life Member)

Nationality

United States of America
Ireland