Lee focuses his practice on estate planning and trusts and estates administration, which often involves taxation and business planning, charitable planning and organizations, and related transactions. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), which recognizes individual attorneys for distinguished contributions to the practice of estate planning, probate, and trust law. He served a five-year term as the Virginia State Chair for ACTEC and currently serves as the Chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee.
Lee served for six years (2008-2013) as an adjunct professor at the Washington and Lee School of Law where he taught Wealth Transfer Planning. He has presented numerous continuing legal education programs on various subjects, including ethics, estate and trust planning, and recent developments in trusts and estates law.
Lee is a member of the Virginia Bar Association, having served on the Board of Governors, and is an active member of the Legislative Committee of the Wills, Trusts and Estates Section. He serves as a director of the Virginia Law Foundation and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Virginia Law Foundation, and the Roanoke Bar Foundation. He is past chair of the Trust and Estates and the Taxation Sections of the Virginia State Bar. He has served as a member of the Boyd-Graves Conference and as a member of the Conner-Zaritsky Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar since 1993. Lee is a current Trustee of the Roanoke Bar Foundation and a past President of the Roanoke Bar Association.
Lee was recognized as a member of the Virginia Hall of Fame by Virginia Lawyers Weekly in 2019. He holds a Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review rating and is recognized annually by Best Lawyers in America, including being named “Roanoke Lawyer of the Year” in 2013, for Trusts and Estates. He is regularly recognized among the Virginia Super Lawyers and is one of Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” in the Trust and Estates category.
Lee is an active community volunteer and serves on the boards of the Rescue Mission Foundation, the Charitable Advisors of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Roanoke Kiwanis Foundation, the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, the Roanoke Kiwanis Foundation, Garth Newel Music Center Foundation, the Commonwealth Alliance for Rural Colleges, and Mill Mountain Theatre. He is a member of the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission (Chair 1995-99), the Roanoke Valley Transportation Planning Organization (Chair 1995-99), and the Roanoke Valley Greenway Commission. He is a Governor Emeritus of the Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia, having served as a Governor from 1994-2003.
Speaking Engagements
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ACTEC/ALI CLE Webinar | Joint Representations in Complex Estate Plans: Avoiding the Ethical Traps
May 11, 2022 -
The Conner-Zaritsky 43rd Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar 2022 | Ethics Potpourri—The Essence of Professional Responsibility
April 29, 2022 -
72nd Annual Virginia Conference on Federal Taxation 2021 | Ethical Considerations in Representing Business Owners and Their Families Regarding Their Estate Plans and Related Matters
June 3, 2021 -
The Conner-Zaritsky 41st Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar | Ethical and Practical Considerations in Winding Down (or Winding Up) a Trust and Estates Practice
September 24, 2020 -
Virginia CLE / Virginia Law Foundation - 39th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Administration Seminar | Ethical Issues in Forming and Representing Business Entities
April 28, 2018 -
52nd Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning | Ethical Issues in Advising Clients on Planning for, Creating, Operating, Transferring Control and Ownership of, and the Dissolution of Closely-Held Businesses
January 25, 2018
Recognition
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71 WRVB Attorneys Named to 2023 “Legal Elite” and Five Named as Rising Stars
December 1, 2023 -
Best Lawyers in America Recognizes 70 WRVB Attorneys
August 17, 2023 -
70 WRVB Attorneys Named to 2022 “Legal Elite”
November 29, 2022 -
WRVB Attorneys Make Major Showing in Best Lawyers in America
August 16, 2022 -
Eighteen Woods Rogers Attorneys Named to 2022 Virginia Super Lawyers or Rising Stars Lists
May 5, 2022 -
26 Woods Rogers Attorneys Named “Legal Elite” or “Rising Stars”
December 1, 2021 -
Forty-four Woods Rogers Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers for 2022
August 19, 2021 -
Sixteen Woods Rogers Attorneys Are 2021 Virginia Super Lawyers or Rising Stars
May 6, 2021 -
31 Woods Rogers Attorneys Listed as “Legal Elite” and “Rising Stars”
November 30, 2020 -
Forty-one Woods Rogers Attorneys Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for 2021
August 20, 2020 -
Eighteen Woods Rogers Attorneys Selected as 2020 Virginia Super Lawyers
April 15, 2020 -
Thirty-nine Woods Rogers Attorneys Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for 2020
August 16, 2019 -
Lee Osborne Named to Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame
April 17, 2019 -
Twenty-two Woods Rogers Attorneys Named 2019 Virginia Super Lawyers
April 11, 2019 -
Lee Osborne Joins Virginia Law Foundation Board
February 14, 2019 -
Thirty-nine Woods Rogers Attorneys Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America
August 16, 2018 -
Lee Osborne named President of the Roanoke Bar Association (RBA)
July 24, 2018 -
Twenty-three Woods Rogers attorneys awarded honors by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine
April 20, 2018 -
Thirty-six Woods Rogers Attorneys Are Recognized by Best Lawyers in America
August 15, 2017 -
Twenty-one Woods Rogers attorneys awarded honors by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine
May 1, 2017