P. Thomas DiStanislao

Counsel; Co-Leader of Appellate Practice
blank image P. Thomas DiStanislao

P. Thomas DiStanislao

Counsel; Co-Leader of Appellate Practice
Richmond T: 804.807.7380 F: 804.977.3293
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P. Thomas DiStanislao

P. Thomas DiStanislao

COUNSEL; CO-LEADER OF APPELLATE PRACTICE
tdistanislao@whitefordlaw.com
RICHMOND
T: 804.807.7380
F: 804.977.3293
Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Mr. DiStanislao is an experienced appellate attorney, advising clients on complex matters while representing them before State and Federal courts across the country. He has served as both embedded and independent appellate counsel in a wide range of matters involving issues related to the Class Action Fairness Act, Prison Litigation Reform Act, Clean Water Act, and Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, among others. Mr. DiStanislao has also been lead counsel in matters before State and Federal trial courts involving a broad array of issues.
 
Mr. DiStanislao cares about effective and efficient advocacy, both written and oral. He has served as the principal author on briefing before State Supreme Courts, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. DiStanislao has also secured favorable rulings for clients after oral arguments before State and Federal courts.
 
Before joining Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, Mr. DiStanislao clerked forJudge G. Steven Agee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Henry E. Hudson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He finished first in his class at the University of Richmond School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Richmond Law Review.
 

Recognitions

  • Virginia Business Magazine, Appellate "Legal Elite" (2025)
  • Up & Coming Lawyer, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 2023
 

Memberships & Activities

  • Board of Trustees: Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
  • Treasurer: John Marshall Inn of Court
  • Member: Virginia Bar Association; Appellate Practice Section
  • Member: Richmond Bar Association
  • Member: Federalist Society
  • Adjunct Professor of Advanced Legal Writing, Washington & Lee School of Law Spring 2022

Appeals

  • Drafted and filed Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court in matter over the scope of exceptions to the Class Action Fairness Act.
  • Represented Colorado City in the Colorado Supreme Court defending against State Constitutional claims for violating the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
  • Represented a party in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for client defending against claims for deliberate indifference involving the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
  • Represented a party in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for client alleging violations of the Clean Water Act.
  • Appointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia to represent indigent appellant challenging Virginia’s felon-in-possession statute under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • Served as embedded appellate counsel in employment discrimination case in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Drafted Motion for Summary Judgment, which led to a quick and negligible settlement for the client.
  • Served as embedded appellate counsel in Georgia State Court case alleging violations of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Drafted Motions for Summary Judgment, Daubert briefs, and Motions in Limine.
 

Business and Products Liability Litigation

  • Counsel in cases involving domestic and international manufacturers where plaintiffs allege personal injury as a result of defective seatbacks in vehicles.
  • Drafted and argued successful Motions to Transfer, Dismiss, and for Default Judgment in Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and Virginia Consumer Protection Act case representing national recreational vehicle dealer. Orr v. Keystone RV Co., No. 3:23-cv-815-HEH, --- F. Supp. 3d ---, 2024 WL 2883510 (E.D. Va. June 7, 2024).
  • Secured several early and complete dismissals in premises liability actions for national landscaping company.
  • Secured full dismissal for a product manufacturer defending claims of breach of contract and warranty. Sae Han Sheet Co., Ltd. v. Commonwealth Laminating & Coating, Inc., No. 4:18cv00074, 2019 WL 4644552 (W.D. Va. Sept. 24, 2019).
  • Secured early dismissal for a medical device maker in a personal injury action arising from the use of a duodenoscope. Reed v. Olympus Am., Inc., No. 5:18CV00465 (W.D. Okla. May 6, 2019).
  • Principal author of successful motion to dismiss for a plastics manufacturer on personal jurisdiction grounds in an asbestos suit. Bondurant v. 3M Co., No. 19-10693, 2019 WL 3842007 (E.D. La. Aug. 15, 2019).
 

OTHER 

  • Assist online-only news publications seeking authority to publish legal notices under Virginia Code Ann. § 8.01-324.
INSIGHTS

Speaker: “Fourth Circuit Practice,” The Virginia Bar Association 2025 Appellate Summit, Richmond, Virginia, October 16, 2025.

Author: "Paranoid Androids: Artificial Intelligence, In-House Counsel, and the Attorney-Client Privilege," Pro Te: Solutio,Vol. 17 No. 3, September 2024.

Quoted: "Get Focused on Right-to-Repair," F&I and Showroom, March 18, 2024.

Author: "Fair Notice as a Defense to Novel Tort Liability," 2024 Litigation Update: Navigating Emerging Trends and Technology, March 2024.

Co-Author: "My Gut Says, "Yes," but Is That Correct?" For The Defense, October 2023.

Speaker: “Fourth Circuit Practice,” The Virginia Bar Association 2023 Appellate Summit, Richmond, Virginia, September 28, 2023.

Author: “10 Tips From a Former Clerk: How to Become a Better 4th Circuit Practitioner,” On Appeal, Fall 2023.

Speaker: “The Right-to-Repair Movement: My Gut Says, ‘Yes,’ But Is That Correct?”  Tennessee Association of Corporate Counsel, Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 22, 2023.

Author: "Group Pleading and Personal Jurisdiction: Strengthening the Defense in Mass Tort Cases," The Brief Case: DRI Committee News, Volume 2, Issue 5, May 2023.

Co-Author: "High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split," Law360, February 24, 2023.

Co-Author: "Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target," Law360, January 18, 2023.?

Co-Author: "To Plead or Not to Plead Citizenship," American Bar Association, January 17, 2023.

Co-Author: "High Court Pa. Could End Personal Jurisdiction Divide", Law360, November 11, 2022.

The Highest Court: A Dialogue Between Justice Louis Brandeis and Justice Antonin Scalia on Stare Decisis, 51 U. RICH. L. REV. 1149 (2017).

Standing in a Post-Spokeo Environment, 30 REGENT L. REV. 11 (2017) (with The Hon. Henry E. Hudson and Christopher M. Keegan).

Comment: A Shot in the Dark: Why Virginia Should Adopt the Firing Squad as Its Primary Method of Execution, 49 U. RICH. L. REV. 779 (2015).

ARTICLES

January 30, 2026

Client Alert: Virginia Supreme Court Clarifies Sovereign Immunity – Whiteford Secures Win in Ellis v. Jolley

  • In a victory for Whiteford’s Appellate Practice, the Supreme Court of Virginia clarified the scope of the sovereign immunity doctrine.
  • The case involved a municipal trash truck driver and whether he could be liable for negligence while on his route.
  • The Circuit Court ruled the driver was immune, but the Supreme Court disagreed.
  • The Court focused on whether the driver was exercising judgment and discretion beyond ordinary driving at the time of the accident.
  • The decision provides guidance for negligence cases involving municipal employees and vehicle operation.
  • The decision was a significant win for Whiteford’s client, allowing her to seek relief for her injuries.