Robert Elliot Long, the founder of the firm, was born in Brownwood, Texas on July 25, 1947.  He graduated from Florida Southern College in 1969 with a major in government and a minor in history. Mr. Long graduated from college as a “Distinguished Military Graduate” in the ROTC Department. Prior to beginning his legal career, Mr. Long was a commissioned officer in the Intelligence Branch of the United States Army, rising to the rank of Captain.  Mr. Long is a graduate of the Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky where he qualified as a tank platoon leader.  Mr. Long graduated from the Fort Benning, Georgia Airborne School where he qualified as an Airborne Parachutist.  Later, Mr. Long graduated from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center where he became a “Full Flash” Green Beret.  In 1970, Mr. Long volunteered to serve in Vietnam with the United States Army.  There he was the Executive Officer of a Kit Carson Training School where he taught North Vietnamese and Viet Cong deserters to work with American Troops in combat operations.  Later, Mr. Long volunteered to be an aerial observer and flew 25 combat missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  Mr. Long has received, among other military awards, the Army Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces in Vietnam. After his service in Vietnam, Mr. Long remained in the United States Army Reserves while he attended Law School.

After graduating from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in 1974, Mr. Long began his private practice in Hampton, Virginia, with the law firm of Montague, Montague and Long. In 1989, Mr. Long formed Robert E. Long and Associates, Ltd., where he continues to emphasize his civil and criminal practice including divorce, custody, wills and estate planning, personal injury, elder law, products liability, business and commercial law.  Mr. Long established the firm’s moto of providing “personal attention to your legal needs” recognizing that the practice of law is not just a business.  Rather, the practice of law involves individuals who are hurting, afraid and in need of compassionate, personal service.  It is to that end that the lawyers and staff at Robert E. Long & Associates, Ltd. have devoted their lives.

When Mr. Long started practicing law in 1974, his partner was mayor of the City of Hampton and the downtown Hampton area was in a state of steep decline in need of urban renewal.  The downtown area was filed with empty, obsolete office buildings constructed following the Civil War.  Mr. Long saw an opportunity to contribute to the City of Hampton by helping rebuild the urban corridor along Queen’s Way.  In 1978, Mr. Long and his wife began buying these empty office buildings and restoring them to first class condition.  These restored office buildings were the spark that ignited downtown Hampton’s rebirth. Mr. Long’s business, Long Properties, LLC, has provided quality accommodations for lawyers, doctors, certified public accountants, insurance companies, government contractors, New York Stock Exchange brokers, an oil company, medical billing offices, beauty salons, multiple high quality retail speciality and clothing shops, fine restaurants and other professional businesses. In fact, Long Properties, LLC has even provided the Federal Government with a formal courtroom. 

Mr. Long has served, in varying capacities, in the Hampton Bar Association and, in 2001, became the President of the Hampton Bar Association.  Mr. Long has also been a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association.  He is qualified to practice in both Federal and State Courts and is licensed by the Supreme Court of Virginia and the United States Supreme Court.  During his long career, Mr. Long has been the lead attorney in many important cases.  Two of his cases now help define Virginia law: Hayman v. Patio Products, 226 Va. 482 (1984) clarified the covenant not to sue statute in Virginia.  This clarification of Virginia law plays an important part in personal injury litigation to this day.  In  Sateren v. Montgomery Ward, 234 Va. 303 (1987), the Supreme Court of Virginia held that a private debtor was not required to show actual, out-of-pocket damage in a libel action against a non-media creditor.  This is an important case in libel law in Virginia. 

Mr. Long has served as President of the Hampton Historical Society, is active in his church and has been active in the Boy Scouts of America.  Perhaps his most challenging undertaking was serving as a Cub Scout Den Leader with twelve unruly young boys. In that capacity, Mr. Long was saved from failure only through the intervention of his wife who took over as his assistant Den Leader and brought order to confusion.  Mr. Long has been a guest lecturer for the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (an association of lawyers primarily representing plaintiffs in civil litigation) and the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (an association of lawyers primarily representing defendants in civil litigation).  Mr. Long is a member in good standing of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, the American Bar Association and the Virginia State Bar.  Mr. Long is a frequent lecturer on wills, estates and elder law at various venues throughout the Virginia Peninsula.  In addition, he has served as an officer of the Virginia Legal Aid Society.  

Mr. Long had the first case in the nation that stood for the proposition that heavy duty trucks had to provide some roll-over protection for the cab occupants.  Based upon that first case, two years later he was associated in the second such case, a Texas wrongful death case testing the same proposition.  After a 17 ½ day jury trial, Mr. Long’s client, the window of the decapitated truck driver, prevailed.

Mr. Long is the author of the book Trial Lawyer which is a compilation of true stories from his law practice.  His book is available through his office.

 
David S. Dildy was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, an international honor society of historians.

Mr. Dildy moved to Virginia with his family so that he could attend graduate school at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. While studying there, Mr. Dildy served as an editorial apprentice at the Omuhundro Institute of Early American History & Culture, which publishes the world’s foremost journal of colonial American History, The William & Mary Quarterly. Mr. Dildy concluded his studies at William & Mary when he earned an M.A. in American History.

Mr. Dildy then moved to Chesapeake, Virginia where he taught Advanced Placement American History, Honors American History, American History, World Geography, and Government at Oscar F. Smith High School. After teaching for three years, Mr. Dildy returned to school at Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach. There, he participated in the Law School’s International Law and Human Rights study program in Strasbourg, France and helped found The Regent University Journal of International Law. He also worked as a graduate assistant to Dean Jeffrey A. Brauch.

Since beginning his practice, Mr. Dildy has participated in many types of litigation in both state and federal courts including cases involving contracts, civil rights, personal injury, labor law, and family law. His primary practice areas since joining Robert E. Long & Associates, Ltd. in January of 2007, include family law, criminal and traffic defense, estate planning, and business law. He is a certified Guardian ad Litem and a member of the I’Anson-Hoffman American Inn of Court.     

Paul Robert Asercion is the newest addition to the legal team of Robert E. Long & Associates, Ltd.  Prior to earning his Juris Doctor from the Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Mr. Asercion obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in Marketing from Andrews University, located in Berrien Springs, Michigan.  During his undergraduate studies, he assisted local businesses in developing their web presences, formulated and implemented advertising strategies, and collected and analyzed market research data.

After completing his studies at Andrews, Mr. Asercion moved to Hampton Roads and joined Electronic Systems, Inc. as a computer solutions consultant and account manager.  During his tenure in the information technology field, he managed large network upgrades and installation projects in both the public and private sectors.  Mr. Asercion provided clients with custom-tailored hardware, software, and security products designed to fit their individual budgets and timeframe requirements.

Mr. Asercion worked at ESI for six years before deciding to pursue a career in the legal field.  After placing in the top ten percent on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and being offered a 70% scholarship from Regent University, Mr. Asercion left the workforce and went back to school full-time.  His primary focuses during his legal studies were tax, estate planning, drafting contracts and wills.  In addition, in the summer between his first and second years of legal education, he traveled to the United Kingdom to study at Hertford College - one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, as part of Regent’s Anglo-American Constitutionalism program. 

Mr. Asercion accepted an internship offer from Robert E. Long & Associates, Ltd. for the summer between his second and third year of law school, where he gained valuable experience assisting the firm’s attorneys in criminal, civil, divorce, and child custody cases.  This led to the firm offering him an attorney position in the spring prior to graduation.  After graduating from Regent, Mr. Asercion successfully passed the Virginia Bar Exam on his first attempt and promptly joined the firm as a full-time attorney where he provides counsel to clients on a wide range of legal issues.

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