Montagna Law Begins With the Client
Most people come to us because something in their life has changed, sometimes suddenly and sometimes painfully. Whatever brings you here, we start by listening, because we need to understand what happened to you and what you need from us.
Montagna Law is a family business, and the way we treat clients began long before the firm did. When Jon Montagna, our managing partner, became a lawyer, his father gave him this advice: "Remember, it's not about you. It's about the client. The case revolves around them." Jon has carried it through his career, and it is still how we work today.
Where It Started: Montagna's Shoes
The Montagna family has served Hampton Roads in one form or another for more than a century, and that service began long before the law firm. Giuseppe Montagna immigrated from Sicily in 1883. In 1900 he opened a shoe-repair shop on Main Street in Norfolk, and in 1922 the family opened its first retail shoe store on Granby Street. Jon's grandfather, Julius Montagna, was not among the family members who opened that store, but he later became one of the owners of Montagna's Shoes.
Montagna's Shoes was a family business, and the values behind the counter were plain ones: learn your trade, treat people honestly, keep your word, and earn whatever trust people are willing to give you.
A Lawyer Is Supposed to Be a Counselor
Charles "Chuck" Montagna, Jon's father, grew up in that shoe business. It is where he learned how people should be treated. He graduated from the University of Richmond law school in 1966 and practiced law for nearly six decades. He treated his clients the way the family had always treated its customers.
People came back to Chuck years after their cases had closed, with a question or a problem, because they trusted him. Often there was no new case, and there might be nothing in it for him. He helped them anyway, because he believed a lawyer is also a counselor, and that the job did not end when the settlement check cleared.
The product changed. The obligation did not.
Our Attorneys
Chuck was not the only Montagna of his generation to choose the law. In another branch of the family, Anthony Montagna Jr. became a Norfolk attorney, and his son Tony Montagna followed him. Tony graduated from law school in 1993 and joined his father at Montagna & Montagna, P.C. Jon Montagna began practicing in 2000. The two cousins came by different paths and arrived at remarkably similar ideas about what clients deserve. Today those branches come together at Montagna Law. Tony is a traffic attorney focused on reckless driving and DUI cases.
Lance Jackson, a Partner, has practiced in Virginia since 1986 and handles injury cases, including injuries on the job and at sea. He also handles Social Security Disability cases. Samantha Bull, our family law attorney, has lived in Hampton Roads her whole life.
Samantha Bull, Family Law Attorney
Tony Montagna, Traffic Attorney
Working Directly With Your Lawyer
Montagna Law is a boutique firm on purpose. We have no desire to build a personal injury factory, where clients move through a system and nobody knows who their lawyer is. People who hired larger firms before coming to us have told Jon they could never talk to their lawyer and felt they were not treated well. We do not want anyone meeting their lawyer for the first time at a deposition.
Here, you meet your lawyer, you talk to your lawyer, and you know who is handling your case. We return calls, we explain what to expect, and we tell you honestly what we think. Personal does not mean attorney-only. Our attorneys and staff work as a team, and our staff knows our clients and their stories, but the attorney-client relationship still means something. Your lawyer knows your name.
Montagna Law's Practice Areas
Our practice covers these areas of law:
- Personal injury, including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and wrongful death
- Maritime injuries, including Jones Act claims and offshore injuries
- Social Security Disability
- Family law, including divorce, custody, and support
The legal problems are different, but the obligation we owe the person sitting across from us is the same.
Service Built the Name. Trust Carries It Forward.
Montagna Law has grown through relationships, one client, one family, one referral at a time. When a former client sends us a spouse, a parent, a friend, or a coworker, that person is putting his or her own reputation behind our name. There may be no greater compliment a lawyer can receive. There will always be bigger law firms and louder advertisements. We would rather be the law firm that knows your name.
What Guides Montagna Law
“When I became a lawyer, my father told me the case revolves around the client. I have carried that advice throughout my career, and it is the reason this firm is built the way it is. It is why we stay small on purpose. Your lawyer should know your name. And you should know your lawyer.
I am proud of our family's history, but I do not believe history entitles anyone to trust. History creates responsibility. My job is to leave the Montagna name at least as worthy of trust as it was when it was handed to me. To me, legacy is not prestige or status. It is the responsibility to work hard, to tell people the truth, to treat every client with dignity, and to be there when someone needs us.”
Jon Montagna, Managing Partner
