About Us

Philip G. Gardner was born in Roanoke, VA, and graduated from Martinsville High School in 1965. He then went on to VMI where he was a distinguished Military Graduate and Academic Student. From there he proceeded to Washington & Lee School of Law where he graduated cum laude. He initially worked as a law clerk to Honorable H. Emory Widener who was with the US District Court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He joined the law firm of Frith, Gardner & Gardner in 1973, which evolved to Gardner, Barrow, Sharpe & Pearson, P. C. He has served two terms on the Board of Governors, VTLA, two terms on the Board of Governors/Litigation Section, and two terms on the District Ethics Committee. In 1998 Phil was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers which recognizes the top 1 percent of trial lawyers in the country. Phil has been married to his wife Lynn for 44 years, has four sons and is a life long member of Christ Episcopal Church in Martinsville. He enjoys working on his farm, riding his Harley Davidson, fly fishing and grouse hunting. He joined the Lester Group Board in 2011.