Stephen E. (“Steve”) Heretick is a native of Hopewell, Virginia. Steve attended the St. John Vianney Preparatory Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, graduating as class Salutatorian and was awarded the Medal for General Excellence, the highest honor given to a graduating Senior. Steve attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Psychology. Steve was subsequently selected for a dual doctoral program (J.D./Ph.D.) administered jointly by Hahnemann University Medical School and the Villanova University Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1988.
Steve was admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1988), and the Commonwealth of Virginia (1989). He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania and Virginia, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia and the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Fourth Circuits.
Following a federal judicial clerkship in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Steve joined Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. He graduated from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, in 1991. He received a Special Act Award from the Justice Department later that year. Steve was nominated as the Federal Bureau of Prisons Attorney of the Year in 1991, and was nominated as United States Department of Justice Attorney of the Year in 1992. He was awarded the Justice Department Award for Public Service in 1992.
Steve left federal service in 1992, and served as a principal litigator in two regional Virginia law firms before forming his present practice in 2000. As lead counsel in a series of multi-plaintiff landmark transportation cases, Steve was personally featured on “How Safe The Rails?”, a segment of Investigative Reports by Bill Kurtis Productions, and on the ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings.
Steve founded his present practice in 2000, concentrating in civil litigation, including corporate and commercial litigation, secured transactions, intellectual property, labor litigation, and select personal injury representation, representing regional, national, and international clients in state and federal courts throughout Virginia. Steve holds the rating of “AV-Preeminent" from the Martindale-Hubbell Directory. Additionally, he was rated by the Virginia State Bar Committee on Judicial Evaluations as Qualified for appointment to the federal bench in 2013.
Steve was elected to the Portsmouth City Council, serving from 2004 through 2012. During his tenure on the City Council Steve served variously as the city’s liaison to the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority (PRHA), the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority (EDA), the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPCD), and the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRPTO), among other regional organizations.
Steve was elected to the Virginia General Assembly from 2015 to 2021, representing the 79th House District of Virginia, which included portions of Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth. He served as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Cities, Counties and Towns (Chair, Land Use Subcommittee), as a Member of the House Committee on Courts of Justice (Member, Civil Laws Subcommittee), and as a Member of the House Committee on Commerce and Labor (Chair, Insurance Subcommittee, and Member, Energy Subcommittee), and as a Member of the House Committee on Finance (Chair, Local and State Taxation Subcommittees). Steve was also appointed to the House Select Committee on School Safety, and served as the Vice Chair of the Health Insurance Reform Commission (HIRC) and Vice Chair of the Hampton Roads Caucus. He was named Legislator of the Year by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the Virginia Psychiatric Society in 2020.
By gubernatorial appointment, Steve also served on the Virginia Board of Medicine from 2003 - 2014, and served two terms as President of the Virginia Board of Medicine from 2007 - 2009, the first non-physician in Virginia history to serve as the President of the Board of Medicine. Steve was subsequently named to the Board of Directors of the Federation of State Medical Boards Foundation for Education and Research from 2009 - 2017, and served as President of the Foundation from 2011-2013. He also served as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) from 2015 - 2020. Steve additionally served as a Member and Chair of the Committee on Individualized Review (CIR) of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), a composite of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) from 2016 - 2021.
Steve is married to Stephanie von Schaaf of Walton, New York, and they have one son, Stephenson. In rare time off, Steve enjoys travel and fishing with his son.
