Big Valley Law

Bios

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  Robert S. Hahn

  Partner

  Robert S. Hahn founded his legal practice in 2003 when he returned to the Shenandoah Valley, serving the needs of clients in criminal, family law, civil litigation, employment law defense, general business, and personal injury matters. In 2007, he founded the partnership of Big Valley Law (formerly known as Miner, Martin & Hahn) to allow him to better serve existing clients while offering a broader range of client services within Criminal Defense, Family Law, Civil Litigation, Employment Law, General Business, and Personal Injury. As the firm has continued to grow, the new offices of Big Valley Law opened to represent the diverse strengths of the legal team and the communities it now represents.

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  Link: Robert S. Hahn

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  M. Victoria Shea

  Associate

  M. Victoria Shea is a Virginia native who returned after graduating from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2015 with a Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Social Justice. She graduated cum laude from George Mason University with a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology. As a law student, she was a student practitioner at the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic and Center for Social Justice, Child’s Rights Clinic, and interned at the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Since her time with the firm, her focus has been on Criminal Law, Family Law and Civil Litigation.

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  Link: M. Victoria Shea

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  Aaron M. Burgin

  Associate

  Aaron M. Burgin was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.  He went on to graduate with Bachelor of Arts Degree in political science from the University of Florida.  Aaron went to work with Chrysler Financial for a year and a half before relocating to Virginia to attend law school at Regent University.  Upon graduation from law school, Aaron took a position as an Assistant Public Defender in Danville, Virginia.  After three years, Aaron began working as an Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Aaron joined our Firm in January of 2019. Having worked as a public defender and a prosecutor allows Aaron to adeptly assess a case and determine the best course of action for our clients. Aaron’s practice will focus exclusively on criminal defense.

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  Link: Aaron M. Burgin

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  Samuel M. Pender

  Associate

  Samuel M. Pender obtained a B.S. in Criminal Justice with a focus on Homeland Security from Liberty University in 2014.  He then went on to attend Liberty University Law School and he graduated in 2017. While in law school, Sam served as an intern with the Appomattox Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and upon graduation he went to work for the Rockingham County Commonwealth Attorneys’ Office where prosecuted cases involving domestic violence, crimes against children and crimes against the elderly and the incapacitated.  He worked at the Rockingham County Commonwealth Attorneys’ Office for 18 months before leaving for private practice.  Prior to attending law school, Sam had an extensive business background.  

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  Link: Samuel M. Pender

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  John M. Bodenhamer

  Attorney

  John Bodenhamer was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He would later attend Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, where he graduated with a degree in political science in 2016. While there, John also played for the Quinnipiac Bobcats baseball team where he was selected for the MAAC conference all-academic team. Upon his graduation from Quinnipiac, John would attend law school at Liberty University where he graduated three years later. At Liberty, John had a passion for learning about criminal law and the criminal justice system. While also at Liberty, John interned with various non-profit organizations who helped defend those wrongly accused of crimes. John joined our firm in 2020 and has taken his passion for helping those caught in the criminal justice system into practice. His primary focus is in criminal defense.

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  Link: John M. Bodenhamer

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  Jacqueline I. Bontjes

  Attorney

  Jacqueline I. Bontjes was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She attended the University of Florida where she graduated with Bachelor's Degrees in History and Information Systems and Operations Management. Following her graduation from the University of Florida she relocated to Virginia to attend law school at Washington and Lee University. As a law student she interned with the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia and the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority. She was a student practitioner with the Trusts and Estates practicum at Washington & Lee, which worked to prepare medical directives, power of attorney, and wills for local hospice patients. Since her time with the firm, her focus has been on Criminal Law, Family Law, and Civil Litigation.

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  Link: Jacqueline I. Bontjes

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  Megan Lawson

  Office Manager

  Megan Lawson, paralegal, specializes in assisting our clients and attorneys with criminal defense cases, gun rights restorations and expungement petitions. She also has experience assisting clients with family law issues. She was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley and has developed good working relationships with local law enforcement agencies. Megan worked in medical collections account management before transitioning to the legal field.

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  Link: Megan Lawson

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  Cristina J. Gonzalez

  Paralegal

  Cristina J. Gonzalez is our Paralegal. She recently moved back to the Harrisonburg area from Georgia. She hopes to assist the attorneys in helping the surrounding Hispanic community with their legal difficulties.

  Link: Cristina J. Gonzalez

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  Hannah G. Berry

  Paralegal

  Virginia native from Madison County. As the Domestic Paralegal, my hope is to continue to build relationships with our clients and assist them through these difficult times in their lives by utilizing my knowledge of Family Law.

  Link: Hannah G. Berry

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  Jennifer Chester

  Paralegal

  Criminal paralegal specializes in assist our client and attorneys with criminal defense cases. She also has experience with Family law issues. She was born in Charlottesville and raised in Augusta County. She obtained her Bachelor of Ars in Psychology and a Master in Education. She has worked in the legal field for about 20 years. Her hobbies include antiquing, beaches, horses, fashion, dogs, hiking, camping, traveling, fishing, hunting and riding motorcycles.

  Link: Jennifer Chester

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  Ted E. Mumaw

  Lead Investigator

  Ted E. Mumaw brings more than 30 years of experience as a seasoned legal assistant and investigator. His experience in dealing with the commonwealth has proven to be invaluable to many of our criminal clients. During his previous career, Ted observed countless hours of courtroom testimony and worked with presentence and sentencing guideline preparation. Ted attended specialized training in polygraph testing, Virginia criminal law, courtroom procedures, drug testing, substance abuse counseling, sex offender counseling and state registry laws. After graduating from Roanoke College in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology, Ted had a 30-year career with the commonwealth of Virginia that included supervising high-risk drug offenders and becoming a specialist in sex offender cases. In 1999, Ted was promoted to senior probation and parole officer and managed an office in Harrisonburg that provided intensive supervision for the circuit courts of the 26th Judicial Circuit. He retired from that career in July 2011. Ted now uses all his expertise as a legal assistant/investigator in his position with Big Valley Law.

  Link: Ted E. Mumaw

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  Tabbi Leal

  Receptionist

  Born and raised in Rockingham/Harrisonburg area. I have obtained my Legal Court Interpreter Certification in the Spanish language, to better help the surrounding Spanish-speaking community.

  Link: Tabbi Leal