ABOUT JOSEPH T. WALDO – PARTNER AND PRESIDENT

One of Joe’s most fulfilling accomplishments came on the high seas, not inside the walls of the courtroom. A lifelong goal was to step foot on every continent, to sail on every ocean and to cross the Arctic and Antarctic circles. It took a long time, but Joe finally checked that item off his bucket list. Even better, he did it with his daughter and son. Closer to home, Joe devotes his spare time and talents to the defense of animal welfare causes, to The William & Mary Law School, and to the Chrysler Museum of Art.

Education:

• University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law

Practice Areas:

Attorney and Founder of, The Law Firm of Waldo & Lyle
Joe’s practice is limited to representing property owners in eminent domain proceedings and defending private property rights throughout Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Professional Activities:

• Rated “AV” by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. Listed as Preeminent in the field of Eminent Domain
• American Law Institute, Elected to membership, 2017
• Licensed in Virginia and the District of Columbia
• Practice limited to the representation of property owners in eminent domain and property rights matters.
• Lecturer and author on eminent domain and property rights matters.
• Selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America, Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law 2007 – present
• Virginia Super Lawyers 2007 to present
• Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Leaders in the Law” 2006
• Planning Co-Chair and Faculty, American Law Institute-Continuing Legal Education (ALI-CLE) Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation National Seminar, Planning Co-Chair 2004 – 2022
• Planning Chair, Virginia Eminent Domain Seminar, CLE International: 2007 – 2016
• Founder, Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, Willian & Mary Law School
• Planning Committee, William & Mary Law School, Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference: 2004 – 2017
• Member, Virginia Housing Study Commission of the Virginia General Assembly Studying Eminent Domain: 2001-2006
• Member , Virginia General Assembly Joint Subcommittee Examining Compensation by Eminent Domain: 1999, 2000; Appointed by the Speaker of the House
• Member, Virginia Housing Study Commission Subcommittee on House Bill 2453 of the Virginia General Assembly: 1997. As a result of this subcommittee’s recommendations, new legislation was enacted in 1998 that gave property owners in condemnation matters initiated by public housing authorities rights to which they had not been previously entitled.
• Adviser on the Restatement of the Law Fourth, Property project for the American Law Institute: 2015 – present

Professional Memberships:

• Virginia and American Bar Associations
• Member, American Law Institute
• Member, Owners’ Counsel of America

Civic Involvement:

• Trustee, The Chrysler Museum of Art, 2012 – 2020
• Trustee, William & Mary Law School Foundation Board, 2005 – 2012
• Director, Norfolk State University Foundation Board 1999-2004
• School Board Member, City of Norfolk, 1992 – 1999
• Past President and Director, Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1986 – 1992
• Past Secretary, Treasurer, and Director, William and Mary Law School Association, 1984 – 1988