J. Frederick Watson is a judge who sits on the 24th Judicial Circuit of Virginia, where he presides over Lynchburg Circuit Court decisions, as well as the Lynchburg Drug Treatment Court. He presided over the Nelson County Circuit Court from 2019-20.
Watson is a member of the Judicial Council of Virginia’s Standing Committee on Commissioners of Accounts and serves on the board of governors of the Virginia State Bar’s Construction Law and Public Contracts Section.
Prior to taking the bench in 2019, Watson practiced law for 21 years with the Lynchburg firm Caskie & Frost. His practice focused on civil litigation in state and federal courts. While in private practice, Watson was twice awarded the Virginia Legal Aid Society and Lynchburg Bar Association’ s Pro Bono Award for his pro bono work, and he was a frequent lecturer for the Lynchburg-Central Virginia Crisis Intervention Team on the topic of civil liability of law enforcement officers and for the Virginia Retirement System on the topic of estate planning and legal readiness.
From 2015-19, Watson was a substitute judge of the 24th Judicial District of Virginia, where he regularly heard cases in the juvenile and domestic relations district courts and the general district courts.
After graduating from law school, Watson clerked for the Supreme Court of Virginia in the office of the chief staff attorney. He is a former member of the Campbell County School Board, and he is a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served in the Military Police Corps.