VADA Member Spotlight

This month’s spotlighted VADA member is Heather K. Bardot of McGavin, Boyce, Bardot, Thorsen, & Katz, PC, in Fairfax. Heather is a graduate of the University of Virginia and the George Mason University School of Law. She has served as a member of VADA’s Board of Directors, as Chair of our Young Lawyers Division, and as VADA’s DRI State Representative. Heather currently serves as a member of the Board of Editors of VADA’s flagship publication, The Journal of Civil Litigation.

1.         Where were you born?

Woodbury, New Jersey.

2.         Tell us a little about yourself. Spouse? Children? Pets?

My partner’s name is David. Together, we have five (5) children, ages 27 to 14, and three (3) amazing grandchildren, ages 3 to 1. We also have a dog, two (2) cats, three (3) fish, a turtle and 13 chickens (which is handy with the egg crisis).

3.         How long have you been a member of VADA?

I have been a member of VADA since 1994.

4.         What type of law do you practice?

I primarily represent local government entities and their employees. So, I most often defend school boards and their employees, police officers/departments and boards of counties and towns.

5.         What do you like most about practicing law?

I love the practice of law because, in my line of work, I get to defend people who really care about the work they do and the people they serve, and I find it very fulfilling to advocate for these clients at what is a difficult time in their lives.

6.         What have you enjoyed most about your time in VADA?

VADA provides a great network of people, who quickly become a great group of friends.

7.         What was the make and model of your first car?

Dodge Omni. Not my choice. When I was able to buy my first car, while still in high school, I bought an old Nissan 280ZX, and I rebuilt it from the ground up all by myself until it was the most beautiful and functional car any girl could ever have dreamed of.

8.         What is your favorite travel spot?

Italy.

9.         What TV show or movie can you watch over and over, no matter how many times you have seen it?

I am not the type of person who ever wants to watch a show or movie over and over. Though, I have watched The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music an insane number of times.

10.       What was your first job?

Shoney’s – as a salad bar attendant. And, I cut my finger so bad the first day I worked, that I passed out and had to be revived with smelling salts.

11.       If you were to walk into my office, one of the first things you would notice would be …

The “quilt” made by my children when I was a slave to a case decades ago and barely made it home for a whole summer. They cut out small squares of paper, drew a picture on each, and then taped them together so I would have a warm “quilt” for the late nights and long days. It has been framed in my office for decades.

12.       When I am not in the office, I like to …

Travel.

13.       If I wasn’t practicing law, I would be …

A teacher.

14.       What is something you’ve tried once that you will never try again?

Sea urchin.

15.       What do you consider to be your biggest professional accomplishment thus far?

I am fortunate enough to regularly be retained to handle high profile cases in the fields of education or police work, and I feel very humbled to be entrusted with these matters.

16.       What is at the top of your bucket list?

Travel. I just want to go, go, go. Anywhere, really.

17.       What book is currently on your bedside table?

I don’t read in bed. I would never sleep.

18.       What talent or skill do you wish you had?

I wish I could play piano (or guitar).

19.       What is your biggest pet peeve?

Laziness, for sure. I have no tolerance for it.

20.       What do you know now about the practice of law that you wish you had known when you first passed the bar?

When I first passed the bar, I wish I had known how long the journey is from day 1 to retirement. I would have understood better the need to pace myself and take a break from work a little more often. I still haven’t mastered that, but I have a decade or so left to keep trying.