You could describe Jim Sanderlin as an accidental lawyer.
When he was earning a bachelor's degree at Randolph-Macon
College, he did not intend to have a law career.
"But there wasn't much you could do with an English
degree except teach, write or go into some profession
that requires you to articulate. I thought a career in
law might be the answer," says Sanderlin, 65, now
senior vice president-law for Richmond-based utility
giant Dominion Resources Inc.
He opted to pursue a law degree at the University of
Virginia, graduating in 1966. Now 40 years and thousands
of cases later, Sanderlin is known as one of the keenest
analytical minds among Virginia's legal community - even
though he is no longer an active trial lawyer.
Sanderlin spent more than 30 years in civil litigation
with McGuireWoods in Richmond before joining Dominion
in 2000. During that time, he burnished his reputation
as a lawyer.
"Jim is an outstanding lawyer with one of the very
best legal minds I have worked with," says Robert
Burrus, a partner and chairman at McGuireWoods. "He
has a unique ability to review a case or transaction
and pinpoint the winning issues."
As a McGuireWoods lawyer, Sanderlin represented Dominion
in its 1994 dispute with Virginia Power, its principal
subsidiary. The friction stemmed from a power struggle
between the management of the two companies, with the
State Corporation Commission eventually intervening to
bring about a settlement.
Sanderlin was pried away from McGuireWoods to head Dominion's
law department after the company acquired Pittsburgh-based
Consolidated Natural Gas in 2000.
A corporate headquarters is a different world compared
with the hurly burly of the courtroom. Sanderlin's biggest
adjustment centers on the bevy of government regulations
with which Dominion and other utilities must comply,
especially those that pertain to the environment.
"We are a highly regulated company with so many
government [laws] to deal with," says Sanderlin. "My
first three years here I spent dealing with the EPA over
environmental issues - it's just a totally different
perspective" than being a courtroom lawyer.
The ability to make sound judgments,
a skill developed in his trial work, has been his biggest
asset. "The
position I have requires me to exercise judgment on a
lot of things. You have experts who can clue you in to
the specifics, but my job is to intuit and reason and
figure out what to do," says Sanderlin.
Aside from representing Dominion, Sanderlin's time at
McGuireWoods included handling cases for other high-profile
companies. Sanderlin represented CSX Corp. in federal
court in 1997 in its unsuccessful suit against the U.S.
government involving overpayment of taxes. That suit
centered on a $3.9 million tax burden that CSX argued
it was not liable for under federal alternative minimum
tax laws.
Jim Roberts, a lawyer with the
Richmond office of Atlanta-based law firm Troutman
Sanders, praises Sanderlin's grasp of complex legal
matters. "Jim has a good analytical
mind for determining the strengths and weaknesses of
a case. He is a very intelligent lawyer and a man of
the highest integrity," says Roberts.
Although Sanderlin was the first member of his family
to become a lawyer, the profession is now in his bloodlines.
One daughter, Meredith, is following in her father's
footsteps, practicing corporate finance and securities
law at McGuireWoods. She joined the firm just as her
father was leaving. Sanderlin's other daughter, Elaine,
recently started law school at the University of Richmond.
His son Barry, on the other hand, is a second-year medical
student at the Virginia Commonwealth University School
of Medicine.
Sanderlin and his wife, Ginger, live in Goochland County,
along with a contingent of six dogs.
When not working, Sanderlin is
either reading a good book or working on one. "I've been working on a
novel for 20-some years, and when I retire I'm going
to finish it," Sanderlin vows, revealing that the
work features "humor and mystery" surrounding
his main character - a lawyer.
