In addition to being an author, Randy is both a pastor and lawyer. He calls it his “Jekyll and Hyde thing.” You can guess which is which.
The Mr. Hyde part of his personality got its start when he graduated second in his class from William and Mary Law School in 1986 and began his legal career at Willcox and Savage, a 60-person firm in Norfolk, Virginia. He eventually became head of the firm’s litigation section, trying numerous cases in state and federal court, including some that took several months (and some think his preaching is long-winded). He served as lead counsel in Farley v. Guns Unlimited, the first jury trial that received gavel-to-gavel live television coverage in Virginia. He also served as lead counsel in Miller v. Donna Somerville, a case arising out of the suspected poisoning of Hamilton Somerville by his wife. The Lifetime movie Widow on the Hill was inspired by the circumstances underlying that case.
After thirteen years at Willcox and Savage, followed by several years as an executive at a national mission board and CEO of a cable television network, Randy started his own firm. He has developed a specialty in counter-terrorism cases. He was recently voted by his peers to be one of the top 100 lawyers in Virginia. However, he is hearing footsteps from his own associates at Singer Davis. Among them is Randy’s daughter Rosalyn, who is on track to surpass her dad in the not-too-distant future.
As for Dr. Jekyll, he started in 2007 when the founding elders of Trinity Church asked Randy to serve as Teaching Pastor. In ten years, the church has grown to over 1,000 in attendance on three campuses. In 2018, Trinity will be adding another local campus and its first international campus in Stuttgart, Germany. Randy has assured the church that he is willing to continue serving as Teaching Pastor until they find somebody who actually knows what he is doing. In the meantime, he is a preaching lawyer: proof that God can use anybody to do anything.
About sixteen years ago, Randy began pursuing a passion to write. Tapping into his courtroom and ministry experience, Randy now pens legal thrillers designed to entertain readers while confronting them with biblical truths on controversial issues. His first novel, Directed Verdict, won the Christy award for the best Christian suspense novel. Randy was also named a finalist, along with John Grisham and Michael Connelly, for the inaugural Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction sponsored by the American Bar Association for the novel that best exemplified the role of lawyers in our society. His most recent release, The Advocate, won the ECPA award for best Christian novel in 2015.
Randy is married to Rhonda and together they have two grown children. Rosalyn graduated from South Carolina Law School, clerked at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and moved back to Virginia Beach to complete her hostile takeover of Singer Davis. Joshua is a veterinarian practicing in Tennessee. Rhonda teaches high school English and wonders how she ended up with two lawyers and a vet in the family. Fortunately Lambeau, the family’s black lab, keeps everyone sane.