Vanessa-Nola Pratt is the managing attorney at the V-Law Group. She is an experienced attorney in various areas of the law. Prior to founding the V-Law Group, Ms. Pratt undertook an appellate clerkship with the Supreme Court of the United States Virgin Islands, as one of the first group of appellate law clerks to clerk for a then newly formed Supreme Court in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thereafter, she transitioned to private practice in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, briefly, before returning to Washington, D.C. to establish the V-Law Group. As a general practice firm, Ms. Pratt, along with her trusted team of attorneys, handled cases in various areas of the law, including appellate criminal defense, personal injury, employment law, bankruptcy, and veterans appeals.

Committed to her service to indigent representation, Ms. Pratt concomitantly volunteered her time and services to the D.C. Bar Advice and Referral Clinic, rendering free legal advice and assistance to low income Washington, D.C. residents. Additionally, she served on the indigent defense panel for the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, representing defendants in criminal appeals, in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; the State of New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, Office of Parental Representation–Appellate Section, in Newark, New Jersey; and the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, representing veterans in appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans claims (CAVC) in Washington, D.C. In this capacity, she was well known for persuasive, brief writing skills, which resulted in successful results for her Veteran clients, and thus, she was often sought out or hired by other attorneys to draft briefs for their appeals before CAVC.

These skill sets would set the tone and eventually propel her career into a different turn, which led her to take a hiatus from the V-Law Group and transition to Federal service, working for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board). After many years of working as counsel at the Board, Ms. Pratt transitioned to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she worked as an assistant chief counsel, representing the United States Government in immigration proceedings.