Jeffrey Partington
Jeffrey Partington was born in New Haven and raised in Virginia Beach, and he practices in the courts of all seven cities — Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Portsmouth, Hampton and Suffolk. He read law at the University of Richmond after William & Mary, graduated cum laude, and was inducted into the Order of Barristers, a national honor given for excellence in courtroom advocacy. He was admitted in 2008.
He represents people who have been hurt — car accidents, head-on collisions, workers’ compensation claims — and businesses with disputes to resolve. He has also worked both sides of the aisle, which is a quiet advantage and an underrated one. An attorney who has argued a file from the defense side knows which arguments actually move an adjuster, which ones get discounted before anyone reads them, and roughly where a case is going to settle long before the other room admits it.
His own summary of the job is the tagline at the top of this page, and his clients describe him in exactly those terms: someone who has read the file closely and pursues the detail other people skimmed.
“In the courtroom, most cases are made or broken by the details.”
JEFF’S HIGHLIGHTS
Personal injury and business law throughout Hampton Roads. Jeffrey has worked both sides of the aisle, and was inducted into the Order of Barristers for courtroom advocacy.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Personal Injury
- Business Law
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Virginia 2008
EDUCATION
- William & Mary (B.A.)
- Richmond Law (J.D., cum laude)
Outside the office, Jeff is happiest with his hands on something mechanical. A self-described technology enthusiast, he built his own computers long before it was fashionable, still handles the firm’s technology upgrades personally, and has become something of an evangelist for mini PCs among anyone who will listen. That same instinct for tinkering carries over to his 2008 Lexus GX470, which he has lifted, converted to coil suspension, and outfitted with custom wheels — not to show off, but because he genuinely enjoys the process of figuring out how something works and making it better. The payoff comes on regular trips to the Outer Banks, where he and his girlfriend drive the beaches of Buxton, Frisco, and Ocracoke.
Jeff is also a committed home cook and a self-proclaimed charcoal grilling purist, a habit that started with an old James Beard cookbook he found, fittingly, in a used bookstore. He brings the same attention to detail to whisky and cocktails: he’s been part of several barrel-pick groups that select and bottle single-barrel whiskies directly from distilleries, and during the pandemic he appointed himself bar manager of the firm’s office bar, a role he still enjoys on Friday afternoons. Years ago, a mentor once told him, “Jeff, if you devoted half as much brain power to being an attorney as you do to remembering every drink you’ve ever had, you’d be one hell of an attorney.” Jeff likes to think he’s managed to do both.
A Virginia Beach native, Jeff has been lifting weights since he was twelve, having grown up at Flex Gym under the tutelage of the late “Big Al,” a local fixture whose lessons stuck with him long after the gym itself changed. (Ask him sometime about the day he worked in on the pec-dec machine with a stranger who turned out to be Timbaland.) He carries a similarly deep well of knowledge about music — ask him about virtually any situation in life, and he’ll have a song lyric ready for it.
Jeff and his girlfriend, whom he met at a Norfolk wine class focused on the wines of Rioja, share a love of travel built around food and drink. Last year took them to Scotland, touring distilleries and hiking the Isle of Skye; this year’s trip includes visiting his parents in Valencia, along with stops in Madrid and the wine regions of Rioja and Ribera del Duero.
“I’ve never been the kind of person who’s satisfied not knowing how something works — whether that’s an engine, a cut of steak, or a whisky mash bill. I bring that same curiosity into the courtroom. I want to understand every angle of a case before anyone else does.”
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
- Lake Smith Terrace Civic League (2015 – 2021)
- Governor’s Square Civic League (2015 – 2021)
- Haygood Point Civic League (2015 – 2021)
- The Order of Barristers
IF YOU NEED HELP, TALK TO JEFF TODAY
The Decker Law Firm is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for free consultations. Fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch promptly — because when something important is on the line, waiting shouldn’t be part of the process.