Jessiah S. Hulle

In his white-collar practice, Jessiah represents clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 500 companies in government investigations, criminal prosecutions, and civil enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud, public corruption, conspiracy, false claims, regulatory violations, and other misconduct. He frequently works alongside Am Law 200 firms as local or pool counsel in high-profile investigations conducted by the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia. He has been recognized as a “Rising Star” for Criminal Defense: White Collar in the 2026 edition of Super Lawyers.

In his civil litigation practice, Jessiah represents corporate and municipal clients in commercial disputes involving contracts, land use, insurance coverage, and employment discrimination, as well as business torts like fraud, tortious interference, conspiracy, civil RICO, and conversion.

A former law clerk to the Honorable Mary Grace O’Brien of the Court of Appeals of Virginia, Jessiah also maintains an active appellate practice, representing clients in criminal and civil appeals before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Virginia.

Outside of work, Jessiah writes and speaks on civil procedure, evidentiary privileges, and the intersection of artificial intelligence with litigation and legal ethics, including as a guest analyst for Bloomberg Law.

Experience

White Collar Defense & Investigations

•Represented businessman in high-profile investigation and prosecution of public corruption conspiracy; secured favorable plea deal and nearly unprecedented sentence of probation.
•Represented business consultant in high-profile investigation and prosecution for obstruction of justice; secured favorable sentence.
•Secured Non-Prosecution Agreement without admissions for large healthcare company in joint federal-state criminal investigation into alleged healthcare fraud.
•Briefed motion securing new trial for public official in politically charged criminal prosecution; charge later dismissed with prejudice.
•Secured dismissal of student misconduct charges against students at Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia

Civil Litigation

•Won dismissal with prejudice of federal civil RICO action against medical practice management consulting business and its executive.
•Won summary judgment for national food producer on federal sex discrimination claims brought by an ex-employee.
•Won summary judgment, on sovereign immunity grounds, for Virginia city on state whistleblower retaliation action brought by an employee.
•Favorably settled complex insurance coverage dispute involving fifteen parties, eight insurance companies, and over $100 million in claimed compensatory damages

Appeals

•Represented clients appealing state criminal convictions as court-appointed appellate counsel.
•Assisted appellate team in Pegasystems Inc. v. Appian Corporation, 81 Va. App. 433 (2024), aff’d _ Va. _ (2026) with reversing the largest jury verdict ($2 billion) in Virginia history.
•Assisted court-appointed amicus curiae counsel in Commonwealth v. Messenger, 86 Va. App. 460 (2026) with researching and drafting amicus brief on novel standing and ripeness issues

Awards

•Pro Bono Honor Roll, Virginia Access to Justice Commission (2023, 2024, 2025)
•President’s Volunteer Service Award - Bronze, AmeriCorps (presented by the Roanoke Bar Association) (2023, 2024, 2025)
•40 Under 40, The Roanoker Magazine (2024)
•Best Petitioner Brief Award and Runner-Up Team, National Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition (2020)
•Finalist, John W. Davis Appellate Advocacy Competition (2018)

Published Work

•Lunch Orders, The Green Bag (2025)
•Litigators Must Do Court-by-Court Homework as AI Rules Flourish, Bloomberg Law (2024)
•Dual-Purpose Communications and the Attorney-Client Privilege in the Fourth Circuit, Wake Forest Journal of Law & Policy (2024)
•More Adjudication in the New Uncanny Valley, Roanoke Bar Review (2024)
•Adjudication in the New Uncanny Valley, Roanoke Bar Review (2023) (with Megan Worley)
•AI Standing Orders Proliferate as Federal Courts Forge Own Paths, Bloomberg Law (2023)
•Artificial Intelligence, Real Discrimination, Richmond Journal of Law and Technology Blog (2023)
•Renters with Criminal History as Quasi-Protected Class, The Fee Simple (The Journal of the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section) (2023)

Presentations

•AI in Civil Litigation Practice, VADA Annual Meeting (2025) (with Donna Baird, Ashley Davoli, and Daniel Shin)
•AI and Legal Ethics, VBA Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law (2025) (with L. Leigh Rhoades, Brittany Haddox, and Harrison Richards)
•Beyond Schadenfreude: AI and Legal Ethics, Gentry Locke Seminar (2025)
•Preserving the Attorney-Client Privilege, Gentry Locke Webinar (2025)
•growing pAIns, Vanderbilt University Law School (2025)
•Generative AI in the Courtroom: The Legal Battles and Ethical Dilemmas Shaping Its Future, Bloomberg Law (2025) (with Joshua Fairfield, Golriz Chrostowski, and Jason Wilson)
•How to Avoid Misusing AI-When Not Using AI, Gentry Locke CLE (2025)
•How to Ethically Summon the Demon (AI and Legal Ethics), Richmond Bar Association (2024) (with Harrison Richards and Ryan Starks)
•How to Ethically Summon the Demon (AI and Legal Ethics), Roanoke Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference (2024) (with Harrison Richards)
•Demystifying AI, Gentry Locke Lecture Series at Ferrum College (2024) (with Joshua Fairfield, Laura Sprouse, and Katherine Martin)
•Privacy and Cybersecurity Compliance in the New Era of AI, Gentry Locke Seminar (2024) (with John Danyluk)
•Schrodinger’s CatDog: Dual-Purpose Communications in the Fourth Circuit, Gentry Locke CLE (2023)
•Ethics in Internal Investigations, Gentry Locke Seminar (2022) (with Thomas Bondurant, Erin Harrigan, and Jennifer DeGraw

Library

•Gentry Locke Announces Lecture Series Hosted at Ferrum College
News
Mar 2024
•AI Standing Orders Proliferate as Federal Courts Forge Own Paths
Articles
Nov 2023
•Renters with Criminal History as Quasi-Protected Class: Guidance for Virginia Attorneys
Articles
Jul 2023