"This is a service opportunity" Dinsmore Attorneys Share their Excitement Ahead of New Leadership Positions with DRI

Two Dinsmore attorneys in the Firm's West Virginia offices have been elected to serve national positions with DRI, the nation's largest civil defense attorney organization. Jill Cranston Rice, a partner in the Morgantown office, recently completed a three-year term on DRI’s Board of Directors as a regional director and has been elected to serve as second vice president. Jill will move into the officers’ rotation, becoming president in 2026. Danielle Waltz, a partner in Charleston, was elected to the DRI Board of Directors and will serve a three-year term. Both women talked to the West Virginia Record about the impact their involvement in DRI has had on their legal careers. An excerpt is below.

Rice said West Virginians have had an integral part in DRI since the beginning.

“Stanley Morris was the first DRI president, and he was from West Virginia,” Rice said. “That was sometime in the '60s. Marc Williams (from Nelson Mullins' Huntington office) was the second president (from West Virginia). I’ll be the third, and I’ll be the first woman when I become president in 2026. That is pretty cool.”

Rice and Waltz both said there have been many great West Virginians in the organization.

“We have so many outstanding West Virginians who are really involved in this organization,” Rice said. “We have really made a mark as a state, and I think it’s because we have the support of each other and we’ve always supported each other. I think it’s a testament to how collegial our bar is.”

Waltz said Dinsmore & Shohl has been great at allowing them the time to participate in the national organization.

“Our firm is extremely supportive and that's a really special thing to allow us to go serve in these roles because it takes time and certainly has recognized the importance in its attorney's investment back into the lawyer community,” Waltz said. “I think that's something you can't take for granted.”

Read the entire article here.