C. Thea Pitzen

Thea Pitzen joined the firm’s Norfolk office in 2016, and maintains a busy general civil litigation defense practice with a focus on defending hospitals, physicians, dentists, nurses, and other health care providers in malpractice cases and regulatory investigations. She also regularly provides risk management advice and counsel to health care providers and assists practitioners with licensing questions. She has experience representing clients in both state and federal courts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Prior to joining the firm, Thea practiced law in Jacksonville, Florida, where her practice focused on complex business litigation and included the representation of several large financial institutions. She was also previously a lecturer with The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., and served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable William C. O’Kelley, Senior Judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Prior to attending law school at Emory University School of Law, Thea spent two years working as an educator through Teach For America. In addition to being a lawyer, Thea is also an active duty military spouse, an avid writer, and a mother of two. She is an active member of the Military Spouse JD Network and served on its Board of Directors from 2014 to 2016. She currently serves as an Associate Editor with the ABA Section of Litigation’s Litigation News publication and publishes frequently on a wide variety of litigation topics each year. In addition to Litigation News, Thea has published articles for Hampton Roads Physician, the ABA Law Student Division’s Before the Bar, and the Military Spouse JD Network.

• Medical Malpractice Defense
• Health Care
• State Board Licensing & Credentialing
• Risk Prevention
• Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, and Long-Term Care Facilities
• Commercial and Business Litigation

• Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA (J.D., with honors, 2009)
• New York University, New York, NY (B.A. magna cum laude, 2004)

• Commonwealth of Virginia
• The District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia
• U.S. District Court,
  Eastern District of Virginia and Southern District of Florida

• Virginia State Bar
• Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association
• Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
• American Bar Association
• State Bar of Florida
• District of Columbia Bar
• State Bar of Georgia
• Military Spouse JD Network
  Secretary, Board of Directors, 2014 – 2016
  Communications Committee 2013 – present

• Immigration Decision Holds Ethical Lessons for Lawyers, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, Oct. 2020
• Attorney Immunity Bars Claims for Fraud and Conversion, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, Sept. 2020
• Supreme Court Strikes “Immoral or Scandalous” Trademark Bar, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, Dec. 2019
• Employers May Be Liable for Harassment by Nonemployees, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, Sept. 2019
• Attorneys Must Self-Report Errors to Current Clients, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, Nov. 2018
  
• Appellate Review Allowed Despite Failure to Preserve Issue Below, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, May 2018.
• Trend in Medical Marijuana Suits Favors Employees, ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, March 2018
• SEC Issues Warning on Token and Digital Currency Use,  ABA, Section of Litigation: Litigation News, January 2018
• Defense Costs May Erode Insurance Policy Limits, ABA, Section of Litigation, Litigation News, Fall 2017
• Responding to requests for records and/or testimony, Hampton Roads Physician, April 17, 2017
• Diving back in: 4 tips for restarting a legal career, blog post for the ABA Law Student Division’s Before the Bar, March 30, 2017
• Top 5 things I learned in my first year of practice that I didn’t learn in law school, blog post for the ABA Law Student Division’s Before the Bar, December 15, 2015
• Statutes of Limitations, with Michael Cavendish, Florida Civil Practice Before Trial 10th ed., (Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education), 2012
• Protecting the Innocent: Children’s Act 38 of 2005 and Customary Law in South Africa – Conflicts, Consequences, and Possible Solutions, 22 Emory Int’l L. Rev. 891 (2008) (published as Christa Theodora van der Zalm)
• Numerous blog posts for the Military Spouse JD Network