John C. Whitbeck, Jr. is the founder of WhitbeckBennett. His practice focuses on family law, special education law, and mental health law. He regularly practices in several jurisdictions in the Northern Virginia area. He has also been certified as an expert witness in litigation.
Mr. Whitbeck is a professor of law at George Mason University Law School, and the former Director of the George Mason University Law and Mental Illness Clinic. The Clinic provided pro bono legal representation to the families of mentally ill individuals seeking to have their loved ones committed to psychiatric treatment. Mr. Whitbeck also taught the classroom component of the Clinic. Mr. Whitbeck has also been a guest lecturer at George Mason for other courses.
Mr. Whitbeck has appeared on and quoted in various national and local media, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business, MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, NPR, Washington Post, Richmond Times Dispatch, Virginia Pilot, Daily News, Daily Press, Roanoke Times, Loudoun Times Mirror, Leesburg Today, Winchester Star and many other national and local media.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. Whitbeck served as Substitute Judge in Virginia District Courts, hearing civil and criminal matters, including family law cases. Mr. Whitbeck also served as a Special Justice for civil commitment hearings in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit as well, which requires him to sit as a “judge” for hearings to commit mentally ill individuals to psychiatric treatment. Mr. Whitbeck has also severed as a Special Prosecutor in the Loudoun County General District Courts.
Mr. Whitbeck has been named by his peers a “Rising Star” in Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top up-and-coming lawyers in the Commonwealth from and one of Virginia’s Legal Elite by Virginia Business Magazine.
Mr. Whitbeck graduated with an A.B. in Politics from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. As a student at Occidental, Mr. Whitbeck was a starting tight end and offensive lineman on the NCAA affiliated football team, was a member of the Occidental Rugby Club, and served as the President of the Delta Phi Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity in his junior and senior years.
Mr. Whitbeck attended law school at George Mason University where he was a member of the Moot Court Board, the Trial Advocacy Team, and the George Mason Law and Mental Illness Clinic. After law school, Mr. Whitbeck worked briefly as an associate for a law firm in Leesburg, Virginia before forming his own law firm.
Community Service
Affiliations: Former At-Large Representative, Loudoun County Government Reform Commission, Former Broad Run District Representative, Loudoun County Criminal Justice Board, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), Former President, Lansdowne on the Potomac Homeowner’s Association, Member, Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, Member, Top of Virginia Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Affiliations: Founder and Partner, WhitbeckBennett., Member, Virginia State Bar, Former Board of Directors, Loudon County Bar Association, Former President, Loudoun County Criminal Defense Bar Association, Member, Loudoun Young Lawyer’s Association, Former Director George Mason Law and Mental Illness Clinic, Former Member George Mason American Inns of Court, Member.
