Charlottesville hires managing director to run city attorney’s office

Charlottesville has been without an official City Attorney since April when the previous person to hold the job was placed on administrative leave. Since then the city has hired the services of the firm Sands Anderson to provide legal advice on a wide variety of issues.

On May 14, John Maddux began his new job as managing director of the city attorney’s office.

“He will be joining our team as the managing director of the office working with on-going Acting City Attorney Pam O’Berry who is with the Sands Anderson law firm,” said Charlottesville City Manager Sam Sanders to City Council at their meeting on May 7.

Sanders said Maddux had to be approved to join the Virginia State Bar in order to take the position. He’ll formally assume the position of City Attorney after being sworn in by the Virginia Supreme Court and a formal vote by City Council to approve his appointment.

Maddux comes to the area from Asheville, North Carolina where he served as deputy city attorney for over ten years.

“The best legal work in local government happens through strong partnerships with council, staff, and the community,” said Maddux in an information release. “I’m looking forward to bringing that approach to Charlottesville.”

One of the tasks ahead for Maddux is to fill a number of vacancies in the office. Sanders told Council there are five.

“He will get to work on that immediately as well as working with me on some policy and procedure reviews for things that we need to get done,” Sanders said.

As Maddux begins to settle in, the city will transition away from Sands Anderson.

“Sands Anderson will transition to a secondary role to be available on an as-needed basis,” said Afton Schneider, the city’s director of communications and public engagement. “As part of the transition in the City Attorney’s Office, Pamela O’Berry of Sands Anderson is working with John Maddux to ensure a smooth handoff of responsibilities.”

Without a full-time attorney or a full-staff, city government has increasingly relied on outside firms. Schneider provided a list.

• Sands Anderson has served as Acting City Attorney and provided work on land use topics, human resources, and the Charlottesville Economic Development Authority.
• Gentry Locke has been working in response to the ongoing White v. Charlottesville case seeking to overturn the Development Code.
• Hancock, Daniel & Johnson has been working on personnel matters
• Harman Claytor has been working on land use, personnel, and risk management
• Hunton Andrews Kurth has been the Bond Counsel
• Isler Dare works on Collective Bargaining with the fourth units in place
• Karen Michael Consulting has been working on human resources
• Pender Coward has been working in eminent domain and right of way related to transportation issues
• Taxing Authority Consulting Services has been working on “Judicial Sales and Treasury Consults”
• Troutman Pepper Locke has been working on Retirement/Benefits

Schneider only provided financial information related to Sands Anderson. So far the firm has been paid $498,342.42 as of May 18.

“Once we arrive at full staff capacity in the office, we will reduce our use of outside counsel where possible,” Schneider said.

One item the city faces is an ongoing lawsuit seeking to overturn the city’s Development Code. Charlottesville has hired the firm Gentry Locke to assist in the defense of an allegation that the city did not follow state regulations that plaintiffs in White v.Charlottesville argue required more coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation before adopting the new zoning code.

Most recently, Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell Jr. declined to grant a request from the city that he reconsider an April 16 decision to allow the case to proceed. Read that story here. A trial date has been set for the case for June 2026.

Before you go: This story was first published in the May 15, 2025 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement and then posted to Information Charlottesville in the early hours of May 22, 2025 with additional information. If you would like to help ensure this work continues, learn about how you can support Town Crier Productions.