Stephen E. Heretick

Stephen E. ("Steve") Heretick is a native of Hopewell, Virginia. He attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 1982, and the Villanova University Law School in Villanova, Pennsylvania, receiving his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1988.

Following a federal judicial clerkship in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Steve joined Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, serving in Washington, Philadelphia, and as a supervisory attorney in Central Pennsylvania.

Steve entered private practice in 1992, serving as a principal litigator in two regional law firms before forming his own practice in 2000, concentrating in business and commercial litigation. In 2026 Steve joined the Chesapeake firm of Kinser Leftwich Kahle, P.C., as a partner. Steve holds the Martindale-Hubbell professional peer rating of "AV-Preeminent."

Steve continues to concentrate his practice in commercial litigation, professional health care regulation, gaming law, and governmental relations. Principle recent cases include Church Mutual Insurance Co., S.I. v. Ephesus Richmond SDA Church, Va.App., No. 0628-24-3 (April 8, 2025); City of Norfolk v. Pretty Lake 5757, LLC, Va.App., No. 0073- 25-1 (April 21, 2026); MACInmex, Inc. v. Jasani et al., Va.App. No. 1138-25-4 (July 14, 2026).

Steve has also served over two decades in elected public service, beginning with two terms on the Portsmouth City Council from 2004 through 2012, during which time he served as the city’s liaison to the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority, the Portsmouth Economic Development Authority, and the Hampton Roads Sports Authority, among others.

Steve subsequently served three terms in the Virginia General Assembly representing the 79 th House District of Virginia, which included portions of the cites of Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Portsmouth. Steve served on the House Committees on Finance, Commerce and Labor, Cities, Counties and Towns (Vice Chair), and Courts of Justice. Steve simultaneously chaired the House Subcommittees on State Taxation, Insurance, and Land Use. Steve’s principal legislative initiatives included wireless communication and solar energy infrastructure development, insurance and health care reform, criminal justice reform, and the legalization of cannabis. Steve also served as Vice Chair of the Health Insurance Reform Commission, the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization, The Hampton Roads Caucus, and the House Select Committee For The Study of School Safety, among multiple other legislative assignments.

In addition to the practice of law and elected public service, Steve also has extensive experience in professional health care regulation, serving by gubernatorial appointment to the Virginia Board of Medicine from 2003 until 2014, including two terms as President of the Virginia Board of Medicine--the first non-physician in Virginia history to serve in that capacity. Steve subsequently served as a National Director of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), as President of the FSMB Foundation for Education and Research, and as Chair of the Committee on Individualized Review for the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Steve’s work has also been published in the Journal of Medical Regulation.

Steve is married to Stephanie von Schaaf of Walton, New York, and they have one son, Stephenson, who proudly serves as a Firefighter/Paramedic in Suffolk. In rare time off, Steve enjoys fishing with his son and traveling.