Founded in 1996 by Henry S. Carter and Wm. Tyler Shands, Carter & Shands, P.C. is a law firm focusing on the defense of civil suits from inception through trial and beyond.  Our practice areas include personal injury defense, premises liability, commercial liability, insurance fraud, defamation, and insurance coverage.  By virtue of the extensive experience of our attorneys both in and out of the courtroom, the attorneys of Carter & Shands are able to provide cost effective and results-oriented solutions to our clients.  Whether you are a small business in need of legal representation in a lawsuit, an insurance company seeking to defend its insured or in need of legal opinions on insurance coverage matters, or an individual in need of representation, Carter & Shands is your legal solution.

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Real Trial Lawyers. A common misconception is that only attorneys representing plaintiffs are “trial lawyers.”  Not so.  Boasting over 1,500 jury trials, our attorneys have the real world trial experience that is an absolute necessity to efficient and effective defense of civil actions.  Our active trial practice takes our attorneys to both Federal and State courts throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.  We regularly defend our clients at trial before judges and juries in both the Circuit Courts and General District Courts of the Commonwealth, giving us a unique perspective on cases that provides our clients a distinct advantage.  If you are serious about defending your case at trial, you need an attorney with the experience to get you there.

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Real Results. Our extensive trial experience enables the attorneys of Carter & Shands to not only effectively defend your case before a jury in any court in the Commonwealth, but also to give our clients realistic evaluations as to the likely outcome of their cases long before they get to the courthouse.  While some attorneys may aggressively evaluate a client’s case long before trial expecting a good result, they may then revise that evaluation and encourage settlement as trial approaches, incurring significant defense costs in the meantime.

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At Carter & Shands, we pride ourselves on aggressively evaluating our clients’ cases at an early stage in the litigation and standing by our evaluation.  Due to our experience throughout the Commonwealth, the attorneys of Carter & Shands know the tendencies of the juries in different areas and will put that expertise to work for you to provide a realistic evaluation of your case which will enable you to make an informed decision when it comes to settlement negotiations.  We will not change our evaluation after you have gone to significant cost defending your case because we are afraid to go to trial.

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To gain advantage in settlement negotiations, you need an attorney with a reputation for going to trial.  If the plaintiff’s attorney knows that your defense attorney will do anything to avoid having to try your case before a jury, that plaintiff’s attorney will capitalize on your attorney’s fear to force a more favorable settlement—for his client.  At Carter & Shands, our aggressive and efficient representation of our clients at trial is well known amongst both plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys alike in Virginia.  With Carter & Shands on your side, you can be assured that your adversaries know that you are prepared to defend your position before a jury, and that they had better be as well.

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