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Attorneys

Contact Information

411 East Franklin Street
Suite 600
Richmond, Virginia 23219-2200
(804) 697-2070
(804) 697-2170 (fax)
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Current Employment Position(s):

Shareholder and Director and Head of the Corporate Transactional Group

Areas of Practice:

  • Corporate and Business Transactions
  • Commercial Real Estate
  • Land Use and Zoning Law and Litigation
  • Construction Law and Litigation
Bar Admissions:

  • Virginia, 1986
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, 1986
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Virginia
J. Thomas O'Brien, Jr. 

For more than 20 years, Tom O'Brien, who serves as head of Spotts Fain's Corporate Transactional Group,  has represented clients in commercial, business and real estate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions of closely held businesses and the acquisition, development, financing, leasing, construction and sale of shopping centers, office buildings, office parks, and mixed-use projects and residential developments. He also handles land use and zoning matters, including land use litigation.  Representative transactions (typically in the $2 million to $15 million transaction value range) include:

  • Represented sellers in sale of stock of closely held medical services company to venture fund
  • Represented shareholders in sale of two related closely held companies servicing the coal industry to a venture fund
  • Represented closely held contractor servicing various state and federal agencies in sale of its assets to a private venture fund
  • Represented purchaser in acquisition of "Big Three" car dealership
  • Represented large mechanical contracting company in sale of assets to Fortune 100 corporation
  • Represented closely held graphics company in sale of assets to a venture fund
  • Represented purchaser in acquisition of assets from a closely held boat dealership
  • Represented U.S. entity in sale of a European subsidiary to a NYSE venture fund
  • Routinely represents owners of closely held businesses in contentious "business divorces"
  • Mixed property development - represented developer of large residential development containing single family homes, townhouses and condominium neighborhoods including multi-tiered property owner associations and condominium regimes
  • HUD 221(d)(4) financings - represented developer / borrower in development of 136 unit apartment complex, 182 unit apartment complex and 150 unit apartment complex
  • SBA Financing - routinely represents buyers of closely held businesses securing acquisition financing, including SBA 7(A) and SBA 504 loans
  • Zoning of independent living apartments for seniors - represented developer of an age-restricted apartment facility with 240 units
  • Represented many clients before zoning boards and commissions in the counties of Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, Goochland and the City of Richmond

    Tom earned his B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia in 1982. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond in 1986.  He is a member of the Richmond and Virginia Bar Associations, and he served as Chairman of the Real Estate Section of the Richmond Bar Association from 1994 to 1995. Tom has served on the Board of Directors and is past President of Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity.

    • Education:
    • University of Richmond, The T.C. Williams School of Law, Richmond, Virginia, 1986
      J.D.
      Honors: Cum Laude
      Honors: Chancellor, McNeill Law Society
      Law Review: University of Richmond Law Review, Member

    • University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1982
      B.S.
      Major:  Accounting and Commerce

    Fraternities/Sororities:
    • Phi Delta Phi
    Professional Associations and Memberships:
    • Virginia Bar Association
    • Richmond Bar Association, Real Estate Section
      Member
    • Richmond Bar Association, Real Estate Section, 1994 - 1995
      Chairman
    Past Employment Positions:
    • Menin Development Companies, Inc., General Counsel

    • Hunton & Williams, Associate

    Birth Information:

    1959, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America

    January 27, 2010 - We are proud to announce that Spotts Fain Managing Director, Hugh M. Fain, III has been elected Chair of the Board of Governors of the Virginia Bar Association. 

    December, 2009 - Spotts Fain congratulates our shareholders named in the 2009 Legal Elite list published by Virginia Business magazine.  They are Meade Spotts, Legislative/Regulatory; Hugh Fain, Civil Litigation; Betsy Davis, Labor and Employment; and Dana McDaniel, Intellectual Property. 

    December 1, 2009 - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination - article by Betsy Davis

    October 29, 2009 - Betsy Davis spoke on Recent Changes in Employment Law at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys

    October 27, 2009 - Spotts Fain presented, Commercial Landlords and Tenants: Planning for and Dealing with Bankruptcy, presenters were Jen West and John Anderson

    October 26, 2009 - Comments on President Obama's proposal to increase lending limits on SBA loans, by Tom O'Brien

    October 21, 2009 - GINA is Coming - Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act - article by Betsy Davis
    Spotts Fain Consulting