“Global Experience, Local Concern, Personal Trust”
Bert van Gils
Bernard “Bert” van Gils has been assisting families and business owners for the past thirty years. He receives particular joy from his business clients witnessing what was once an idea come into physical manifestation and thrive. With families, he enjoys getting to know his clients and speaking to them about what they hold most dear which is the loved ones in their lives and what they wish to leave behind for them.
He has guided a variety of businesses throughout their business cycles, from organization and development to growth and through the sale of businesses. He has experience with contracts, business and corporate law, copyrights, trademarks, non-profits, estate planning and asset protection. He believes one must do good to do well so he has a special place in his heart and business for guiding a variety of non-profit organizations and helping them achieve their mission.
Bert has been active in his local community by providing his legal, teaching and executive abilities to a variety of organizations such as the Warrenton Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Fauquier County Chamber of Commerce, the Fauquier County Community Action Committee, the Ballet Academy of Warrenton and the Fauquier Regional Technology Association.
Bert received his Juris Doctor in 1986 from the Washington College of Law of American University in Washington, D.C., where he was an Associate Editor of the inaugural edition of The American University Journal of International Law and Policy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Bert is a member of the Virginia State Bar (admitted to practice, April 1987) and a member of the International Law, Business Law, and Wills, Trusts and Estates sections.
Pat van Gils
Patricia (“Pat”) van Gils is the office manager, paralegal, organizer, scheduler, and bookkeeper for the firm. Pat left the Northern Virginia “Beltway Experience” to focus on growing and managing this family business where honesty, integrity, quality and compassionate values she and her husband hold dear, guide their activities on a daily basis. Her former career encompasses experience in a variety of settings such as government contracting companies, law firms, engineering firms, research and development firms, builders, computer consulting companies, and trade associations. Pat’s experience also includes starting, managing and conducting a word processing service, supervisory skills, and public liaison at trade shows and conferences. She has a close family that includes a brother and two sisters with many nieces and nephews on both her side and her husband’s side. Pat loves being by the water as well as in it. She navigates the water by swimming, kayaking, skiing, snorkeling and diving.
