Dawn Figueiras

Assistant Professor of Law, Associate General Counsel
Faculty, Staff

Email: dfigueiras@asl.edu
Phone: (276) 935-4349, Ext. 1208

A self-professed law nerd, Prof. Dawn Figueiras enjoys discussing the esoteric nuances of things like joinder and the differences between the classic per stirpes and UPC approaches to intestacy. She’s also a big kidder, has a sarcastic wit, and will do her best to provide comic relief whenever possible.  If you have a sense of humor, you will find her classes more enjoyable. Prof. Figueiras has been married for 30 years to the love of her life, Jorge Figueiras, a Cuban immigrant who initially sparked her interest in immigration law.  She is descended from an immigrant herself.  Her great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Michael Gardner Glovier, was born in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France in 1756.  At age 12, he stowed away on a ship heading to Virginia and took an oath of allegiance to the newly-formed Commonwealth of Virginia in 1777.  His great-great grandson, Griffith Gardner Glovier, married a Native American woman, Sarah Agnes Martha Jane Letitia Beau Yankee Doodle Yea Hoo Aliff Glovier (who went by “Sallie” because apparently none of her 10 first names was to her liking), in 1870.  One of their 10 children was John Wesley Glovier, Professor Figueiras’ great-grandfather. Prof. Figueiras splits her time between Grundy and her family home in Castlewood, Virginia, a few miles from where her parents live in the house built by hand by that same great-grandfather.  She’s an avid reader and has been part of the same monthly book club (Not Yo Mama’s Book Club, aka Nacho Mamas Book Club) for eight years.  In her spare time, she enjoys collecting miniature dollhouses, going to Disney parks, spoiling her nieces and nephews, and proof-reading pre-publication drafts of novels by her friend, prolific author Franklin Horton.

Civil Procedure, Wills & Estates, Estate Planning Practicum, Immigration Law and Policy Seminar, Law & Modern Literature

  • J.D., College of William & Mary (2000)
  • B.A.Ed., Virginia Tech (1987)

Professor Figueiras earned her J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary in Virginia in 2000. While in law school, Prof. Figueiras was named to the Order of the Coif and the Order of Barristers, and served as Notes Editor for William & Mary Law Review. After graduation, Prof. Figueiras clerked for the Hon. James T. Turner on the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. before joining the D.C. office of the national law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP as an associate. In 2002, Prof. Figueiras returned to her native southwest Virginia, joining the Bristol law firm of Elliott, Lawson & Minor, P.C. There, Prof. Figueiras practiced corporate & commercial law, immigration law, estate planning, higher education law, and local government law. Prof. Figueiras was also an adjunct professor at ASL and at King University. Prof. Figueiras joined the ASL faculty on a full-time basis in the Fall of 2018, where she serves in a dual role as Assistant Professor of Law and Associate General Counsel. She maintains her licenses to practice law in Virginia and Tennessee. Prof. Figueiras currently splits her time between Castlewood and Grundy, Virginia. She has been married to Jorge Figueiras since 1990.