W. Lawton Tufts

Director of Public Service and Alumni Advising

As a law student, Tufts served on the boards of the Public Service Fund and Lawyers Helping Lawyers, and worked as a summer intern at both the Charlottesville and Fredericksburg Public Defender’s Offices. After graduation, he litigated criminal and family law cases at a small firm in western Virginia. He also served as a guardian ad litem for children.

Tufts then worked as an assistant public defender for the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender’s Office. He represented hundreds of indigent defendants in misdemeanor and felony trials, while also assisting in hiring and supervising interns for the office.

Tufts serves on the board of directors for the OAR-Jefferson Area Community Corrections program and is a member of the Thomas Jefferson Inn of Court and the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association.

Education