Essentials of Innocence Law in Virginia

FACULTY

Hon. Lisa M. Lorish, Court of Appeals of Virginia / Charlottesville
Jennifer L. Givens, UVA School of Law / Charlottesville
Brandon Wrobleski, Virginia Office of the Attorney General / Richmond

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Hon. Lisa M. Lorish, Court of Appeals of Virginia / Charlottesville
Lisa Lorish was elected to the Virginia Court of Appeals in August 2021. She formerly served as an assistant federal public defender and the appellate specialist for the Western District of Virginia, representing indigent clients charged with federal crimes that ranged from petty offenses to capital murder, as well as a litigator with Sullivan & Cromwell and McGuireWoods. She has also been a president of the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association, an adjunct professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, and a member of the board of directors of the Fountain Fund, a nonprofit that provides low-interest loans to formerly incarcerated individuals. Judge Lorish graduated from Princeton University in 2003 and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008.

Jennifer L. Givens, Innocence Project Clinic of University of Virginia School of Law / Charlottesville
Jennifer Givens is the director of the Innocence Project Clinic at UVA School of Law, where she also teaches a seminar on the death penalty. Prior to joining the clinic in 2015, she worked as an assistant federal defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and as a senior staff attorney with the Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center, where she represented death-sentenced inmates in state and federal post-conviction proceedings.

Brandon Wrobleski, Virginia Office of the Attorney General / Richmond
Brandon Wrobleski is a Special Assistant for Investigations to Attorney General Jason S. Miyares. His practice focuses on actual innocence litigation in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia. He also assists with investigations and cold cases as directed, including in response to requests made by the Governor. Mr. Wrobleski has practiced as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, a Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, and a Public Information Officer in the Portsmouth and Suffolk Offices of the Commonwealth’s Attorney. He has led lengthy investigations into in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings, in addition to investigating and presenting criminal cases to judges and juries. Mr. Wrobleski received his B.A. from Liberty University in 2012 and his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 2015. He served as a staff editor and lead articles editor for the Regent University Law Review from 2014–15. He also served as a competitor, board member, and the Interscholastic Competition Coordinator for the Regent University Trial Advocacy Board.