Eric Burns

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Eric Burns

Eric P. Burns

Counsel

Mr. Burns is counsel at NOVA Business Law Group and leads the commercial litigation practice. He is a graduate of Wayne State University Law School, where he was the highest rated oral advocate in the Arthur Neef Moot Court competition, and a coach for the NYU Immigration Law Moot Court competition.

Mr. Burns worked as a contractor with the U.S. Department of Justice before beginning a career in private practice. Prior to joining NOVA Business Law Group, Mr. Burns was a partner at an Am Law 200 firm where he litigated catastrophic personal injury, professional liability, construction and commercial matters. He has tried cases and litigated appeals in both the state and federal courts of Virginia, and litigated cases through dismissal or summary judgment in the state and federal courts of the District of Columbia.

Mr. Burns believes that each client and each matter have unique needs, and he works with clients to develop the right strategic approach to pursue their interests. And above all, whether inside or outside of court, he is a zealous advocate for their interests.

Mr. Burns is an avid fan of University of Michigan athletics, and Liverpool Football Club. He resides in Annandale with his wife and three boys, and coaches soccer through the Annandale Boys and Girls Club. In his “spare time,” he enjoys reading, playing recreational sports, and fishing.

Education

~ Wayne State University Law School (JD, 2007)
~ University of Michigan-Flint (BA, 2004)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia
~ District of Columbia
~ Michigan

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of the United States
~ U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
~ U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
~ U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
~ U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
~ U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
~ U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia

Professional Affiliations and Awards

~ Rising Star, Super Lawyers 2017-2022

Sam Garbia

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Sam S. Garbia

Partner

E: sgarbia@novablg.com
P: 571.451.2588

Mr. Garbia is a founding member of NOVA BLG, LLP and GarbiaPlocki, LLP. Mr. Garbia directs the firm’s Corporate Counsel section, serves as lead counsel to the firm’s corporate clients in litigation, consults with and advises corporate clients on litigation matters and methods to avoid litigation. Acting outside general counsel for a wide range of companies. He regularly advises clients regarding appropriate business structures, in particular by advising them regarding the benefits and potential difficulties associated with forming corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other commercial entities.

Mr. Garbia serves as General Counsel and the Chief Legal Officer for various corporate clients. He is responsible for leading corporate strategic growth and tactical legal initiatives. Mr. Garbia provides oversight and assists in the government contracting proposal and negotiating process and is responsible for compliance with all applicable government regulations, including Federal Acquisition Regulations and other federal contracting rules. He serves as the key lawyer/legal advisor on all major business transactions, including acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Addiitonally Mr. Garbia judges the merits of major court cases filed against or on behalf of his clients. He supervise litigation and bid protests, and develops policies to assure the organization’s compliance with the small business administration’s 8(a) program and GSA Schedule.

Education

~ George Mason University School of Law (JD, 2002)
~ George Mason University (BA, 1999)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of Virginia
~ U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

Professional Affiliations and Awards

~ Top Secret Security Clearance, DOD
~ American Bar Association, 2003 - 2014
~ Virginia Bar Association, 2002 - Present
~ Fairfax Bar Association, 2005 - Present

Ibrahim Moiz

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Ibrahim A. Moiz

Partner

E: imoiz@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Mr. Moiz is a partner with NOVA Business Law Group. He graduated from Howard University School of Law in 2007. While in law school, Mr. Moiz was the vice president and co-captain of the Goler Teal Butcher International Moot Court team. During law school, Mr. Moiz was an Oliver Hill Fellow for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in the employment discrimination project.

Immediately following his graduation from law school, Mr. Moiz served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas J. Love of the District Court of Maryland in Prince George’s County. Before joining NOVA BLG, Mr. Moiz worked in Richmond as the Legislative Assistant to Delegate David Poisson (D-32) for the 2009 General Assembly session.

Mr. Moiz serves as Outside General Counsel to domestic and international based information technology, healthcare, non-profit organizations, and FinTech companies. Mr. Moiz heads the firm's corporate transactional and commercial and residential real estate practice groups.

Education

~ Howard University School of Law (JD, 2007)
~ University of Michigan – Flint (BA, 2003)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia
~ District of Columbia
~ Maryland

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of Virginia
~ Maryland Court of Appeals
~ District of Columbia Court of Appeals
~ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
~ United States District Court for the District of Maryland
~ United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Professional Affiliations and Awards

~ Virginia Bar Association
~ Fairfax Bar Association
~ Maryland State Bar Association
~ Capital Area Muslim Bar Association
~ Lawyers of Distinction, Corporate and Transactional Law 2022
~ Rising Star, Super Lawyers 2013-2020

Community Involvement

~ Virginia Real Estate Board, Citizen Member, Vice Chairman
~ Loudoun County Board of Zoning Appeals, Member
~ International Interfaith Peace Corps, Secretary, Board Member
~ Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia, Director

Languages

~ Arabic
~ Urdu

Brandon Okes

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Brandon S. Okes

Counsel

E: bokes@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081
C: 703.587.1357

Mr. Okes focuses his practice on corporate transactions and commercial matters.

Mr. Okes has deep experience advising companies across a range of industries, including information technology, healthcare, and construction as well as 501(c)(6) trade organizations. He constructs practical solutions that ensure businesses’ operational needs are met while legal requirements are fulfilled.

Mr. Okes has instructed Transactional Drafting and Practice at George Mason University School of Law as a longtime Adjunct Professor. He also is a 2006 graduate of that law school, where he was a member of the Law Review and a Legal Research and Writing Fellow.

Outside of the office, Mr. Okes is an avid photographer and a soccer dad.

Education

~ George Mason University School of Law, (JD cum laude, 2006)
~ College of William and Mary (1998)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia
~ District of Columbia

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of Virginia
~ District of Columbia Court of Appeals
~ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
~ United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Joe Kirkwood

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Joseph P. Kirkwood

Senior Associate

E: jkirkwood@novablg.com
P: 724.612.6708

Mr. Kirkwood is a senior associate attorney with NOVA Business Law Group. Mr. Kirkwood's primary areas of practice are mergers and acquisitions, commercial law, government contracts, and commercial real estate.

He obtained his bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 2010 and his Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School in 2018. Mr. Kirkwood has represented clients through mergers and acquisitions, business formation, commercial real estate acquisitions and lease negotiations, and contract negotiation of all types. Mr. Kirkwood is an attorney in the firm’s commercial transactions practice group.

When he is not practicing law, Mr. Kirkwood enjoys writing, sports, and spending time with his family and dog.

Education

~ George Washington University Law School (JD 2018)
~ George Washington University (BA 2010)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of Virginia

Alexandra Sipes

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Alexandra J. Sipes

Senior Associate

E: asipes@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Ms. Sipes is a senior associate attorney with NOVA Business Law Group in the commercial litigation practice. She is a graduate of George Mason University School of Law, where she has also served as an adjunct professor for the first-year legal research, writing, and analysis program as well as a coach for the trial advocacy association. While in law school, Ms. Sipes competed in the American Association of Justice Student Advocacy Competition where her team won the D.C. Regional and went on to place second in the national competition. Upon graduation, Ms. Sipes was awarded the Virginia Trial Lawyers’ Association Student Advocacy Award.

After law school, Ms. Sipes served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Daniel S. Fiore II at the Arlington County Circuit Court. Prior to joining NOVA Business Law Group, Ms. Sipes worked in private practice in Northern Virginia where she litigated a diverse case load, including catastrophic personal injury, automobile accidents, professional liability, employment disputes, premises liability, and construction and commercial disputes. Ms. Sipes has litigated cases throughout state and federal courts in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Education

~ George Mason University School of Law (JD, 2015)
~ Eastern Kentucky University (BA, 2012)

Bar Admissions

~ Virginia
~ District of Columbia
~ Maryland (Pending)

Court Admissions

~ Supreme Court of Virginia
~ U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
~ U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
~ U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
~ U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Professional Affiliations and Awards

~ George Mason University Inn of Court
~ Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
~ Fairfax Bar Association, Young Lawyers Section

Anastasia Moesta

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Anastasia Z. Moesta

Of Counsel

E: amoesta@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Mrs. Moesta graduated from American University Washington College of Law in 2021. During law school, Mrs. Moesta participated in the Academy on Human Rights and received the highest grade in both Comparative Public Law and International Justice for Human Rights. Additionally, she worked with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions co-writing a piece of a report it issued, analyzing trends in its Opinions and on the kinds of cases brought to its attention.

Mrs. Moesta was an evening law student and worked full-time the majority of her time as a student as a paralegal in small to mid-size firms, as a case analyst contractor for the DOJ, and as a corporate paralegal for a Sprint-preferred retailer. Mrs. Moesta started out her legal career as a legal secretary at NOVA Business Law Group, and has returned full-circle as Associate for the firm’s corporate transactional group.

Education

~ American University Washington College of Law (JD, 2021)
~ University of Virginia (BA, 2015)

Bar Admissions

~ Maryland

Court Admissions

~ Maryland Court of Appeals
* Licensed only in Maryland and not Virginia

Professional Affiliations and Awards

~ American Society of International Law
~ Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity

Sarah Ramia

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Sarah H. Ramia

Of Counsel

E: sramia@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Ms. Ramia has devoted her practice exclusively to immigration and nationality law. She has extensive experience representing corporations and individuals from around the world in securing non-immigrant work visas, including visas for specialty occupations and professionals, treaty investors and traders, multinational managers, athletes, actors, musicians, cultural groups and artists. She additionally represents clients seeking immigrant visas through labor certifications, extraordinary ability petitions, national interest waivers and Eb-5 investor petitions. Ms. Ramia assists individuals in family based permanent residence and citizenship applications.

Ms. Ramia is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston Law Center. Prior to working as an immigration attorney, Ms. Ramia served as a law clerk at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica and Pinheiro Neto Advogados in São Paulo, Brazil. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and conversant in Italian.

Education

~ University of Texas at Austin
~ The University of Houston Law Center (JD)

Bar Admissions

~ Washington, DC
~ Texas
* Practice limited to immigration law - not licensed in Virginia

Association Involvement

~ State Bar of Texas
~ District of Columbia Bar
~ American Immigration Lawyers Association
~ Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia
~ American Bar Association

Evelyn Ezeta

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Evelyn K. Ezeta

Paralegal

E: EEzeta@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Mrs. Ezeta is a paralegal with NOVA Business Law Group and she has five years of combined legal assistant and paralegal experience. A native of Northern Virginia, Evelyn graduated from George Mason University in 2018 with a B.A. in Global Affairs.

After graduation, Mrs. Ezeta began working as a legal assistant before returning back to George Mason University in 2019 to become certified in paralegal studies. She has been working as a paralegal ever since, specializing in litigation and helping attorneys with a diverse caseload including personal injury, automobile accidents, employment disputes, and medical malpractice.

Mrs. Ezeta has experience with cases in Virginia, DC, and Maryland with both state and federal court knowledge. She takes great pride in combing through cases and documents to find key information that adds value to our clients’ cases.

Evelyn recently got married and lives with her husband and two dogs, Moose and Jax. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, yoga, and spending time with her friends.

Education

~ George Mason University (Paralegal Certificate 2019)
~ George Mason University (BA 2018)

Dena Garbia

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Dena S. Garbia

Director of Operations

E: dgarbia@novablg.com
P: 703.766.8081

Dena Garbia has been with the firm since 2005. She lived on West Coast and in Europe prior to moving to Virginia where she went to college and earned her degree in Chemistry. After working with WebMD in Software Support she decided to switch her focus to Law and Real Estate. Aside from being the Director of Operations she is also a Settlement Agent and Partner in a local title company. She enjoys traveling, Latin dancing and volleyball in her free time.