About James
James Panagis practices law in Virginia after a decade and a half split between public service and private practice. He studied at the University of Virginia, finishing in 2000, and earned his law degree from George Mason University School of Law in 2006. Those years set the foundation for a practice built around courtroom experience and local government work.
After law school he began his legal career in private practice as an associate at Whitestone Young, P.C. in 2006. That early time in a firm environment gave him exposure to client counseling and litigation preparation. He moved into public service soon after and spent much of the next decade in prosecutor’s offices across Northern Virginia and Tidewater.
In 2008 he joined the Fairfax County Office of the Commonwealth’s Lawyer as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Lawyer. The role involved case screening, trial preparation and courtroom appearances. He handled motions work and bench and jury trials, the everyday tasks that define county-level criminal prosecution. In 2016 he took a position in the City of Virginia Beach Office of the Commonwealth’s Lawyer, again as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Lawyer. There he continued prosecutorial duties and worked alongside other local prosecutors on cases arising in a coastal jurisdiction with its own legal and community concerns.
Panagis maintains memberships in local bar groups. He is a current member of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association and the Virginia Beach Bar Association. Those affiliations keep him connected to peers across the region and to continuing legal education opportunities in the state.
His career path shows a mix of private firm experience and public-sector prosecution. That combination has given him regular courtroom exposure and an understanding of both sides of criminal litigation. He has moved between roles that required individual case management and positions that demanded cooperative work with law-enforcement and government agencies.
He now practices at Wolcott Rivers Gates. His work draws on the trial experience and procedural knowledge he developed in county prosecutor’s offices and in private practice. He currently practices at Wolcott Rivers Gates, focusing on criminal and related litigation matters.
