Small Towns. Big Deals.

The Kilgore Law Office in Gate City and The Mitchell Law Firm in Blacksburg recently combined their legal practices, in an effort to become the “go-to” firm serving Southwest Virginia.

“We have completely different practices of law,” says Jeff Mitchell. Where Terry Kilgore focuses on litigation, worker’s compensation, disability and other occupational aspects of law, Mitchell’s concentration is on corporate finance transactions. “Terry and I go way back – more than two decades, though neither of us remembers exactly where we met. It was somewhere around his brother Jerry’s successful campaign for Attorney General of Virginia in 2001. We have often referred work back and forth to each other, so naturally we started having conversations about the prospect of linking up.”

Every single one of the Kilgore firms is across the street from the local courthouse. For a small-town guy like Jeff, with roots in Tazewell, “You just can’t get more small town than that!” he says.

Kilgore graduated from Clinch Valley returned to his hometown of Gate City after graduating from William & Mary. “A law professor told me to borrow a little money from every bank, so they all had a stake in my professional career,” he says of going on to law school. After serving as a Commonwealth’s Attorney, he ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 1993 and continues to serve in the General Assembly.

Jeff Mitchell started his firm in Blacksburg on Memorial Day weekend in 2012, and his first order of business was representing the group buying First & Main. “I practiced on my own until the first of this year [2025],” he explains. “Terry Kilgore and I combined that day, and the firm serves Blacksburg, Gate City, Abingdon, Lebanon and Marion.

 

Loving the New River Valley

 

Mitchell made a very conscious decision to stay in Southwest Virginia many years ago. “This is one of those special places to live,” he professes. “Nestled in the mountains with a couple college towns nearby, and a bunch of great little communities like Christiansburg, Radford, Pearisburg. It’s been such a fun place to raise our daughter — and to me, probably the closest I can come to recreating the small town I grew up in.”

Though technology has changed all of our lives, and email and cell phones have turned many industries into what feels like 24/7 businesses, Mitchell is thrilled to be living his professional dream in the New River Valley. “My parents say I talked about being an attorney when I was young,” he recalls. “If memory serves, I once drew up a contract between my brothers in an effort to stop them from picking on me. I even referred to everyone as ‘party’ and used as much legalese as I could conjure up.”

 

When it comes to doing business, that same level of professionalism still reigns today. “At the Mitchell Kilgore law firm, the no-suit covid phase is over. I don’t always wear a suit, but I try to most of the time,” says Mitchell.  

No stranger to making a good first impression, after graduating from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, Mitchell joined the staff at the governor’s office in Richmond. “I formed some really great relationships there.”  As a matter of fact, while riding in the back of a Lincoln Town Car together after a press event, Governor Baliles turned to Mitchell and asked what he was doing after this. 

“I thought he meant after the event, so I told him I was probably going to grab a bite to eat.” But the governor had his sights set on something bigger, suggesting that Jeff take the next step and apply to law school. It turned out to be good advice, as Mitchell went on to graduate in the Top 10 of his class and was editor-in-chief of The University of Richmond Law Review.

Kilgore stayed close to home, graduating from Clinch Valley College, now UVA-Wise, before earning his law degree at William & Mary Law School.   

 

Celebrating Success

 

Mitchell’s favorite thing to celebrate is the success of his clients. “When someone buys a business they’ve wanted to purchase or sells a business they’ve wanted to sell, that’s my favorite part of the job.”

Keeping close relationships with the public sector, Mitchell has always maintained a commitment to public safety. Early in his career, he helped the merger of two public safety support organizations in Richmond into the Virginia Public Safety Foundation.  “My proudest moment of service on that foundation was convincing former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore and soon-to-be-Governor Terry McAuliffe to co-chair the finance committee that raised the funds to build the Public Safety Memorial in Richmond which sits just off Capitol Square.”

A commitment to public service is the cornerstone of any successful attorney’s career. The newly formed Mitchell Kilgore legal powerhouse remains steadfast in focusing on their small-town communities and has fully embraced the role of advocates for small towns and big deals.

Photos by Jon Fleming

 

Writer Emily K. Alberts has helped build a small business from the ground up and understands the many legal pitfalls that can squash a startup. A good lawyer is worth their weight in salt!