THE DECKER LAW FIRM - GEORGE NESKIS AND SHEILA OVERFELT

“People helping people” guides 50 years of service

by Judi Tull

Attorney George Neskis and bookkeeper Sheila Overfelt

This is the fourth in a series of stories about
The Decker Law Firm, its attorneys and staff.

There are themes that run through the 50 years of The Decker Law Firm — commitment, community, and family among them. For everyone at the firm, continually working toward its motto of “People helping people” holds true. Attorney George Neskis and bookkeeper Sheila Overfelt  share these values.

Sometimes people find their own career; for others, the career seems to find them. When George was a teenager, law found him in an unlikely and traumatic spot and he was led to spend his life with it.

Attorney George Neskis is a Norfolk native

As a teen at Granby High School, he was an eyewitness to a hit-and-run vehicular homicide on Granby Street, near Ocean View, in which a young man his own age was killed. He watched the suspects drive away and turn on a nearby street. When the police arrived, they loaded George into their patrol car to follow and find the suspects.

“I was in the unusual situation of being there as a witness to the wreck and then to the arrest,” he recalls.

He had to testify in court, and attorney Larry Cardon,  who is now a partner in The Decker Law Firm with him, showed him around the courthouse. He was fascinated.

After graduating from Granby, George went on to Virginia Tech for his degree in business, and then to the University of Richmond Law School, from which he graduated in 1984. While he was in law school, he spent two summers clerking for Peter Decker, a period of time he refers to now as “a privilege.”

After graduating and passing the bar, he spent four years as a prosecutor in the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office in Norfolk, then two years working with his cousin Chris in his Virginia Beach firm.

In 1991, Peter offered him a job and he jumped at the chance. The firm’s office, at that time, was on Granby Street in downtown Norfolk, an irony not lost on George.

“My dad owned a restaurant there, the White House Grill, in just about the same location, for years and years. I have a picture of myself with a wooden Coca Cola carrier on a strap around my neck, selling hot chocolate at an Oyster Bowl parade in the 1960’s,” he says with a laugh.

George specializes in criminal, traffic and personal injury cases. This kind of work brings him in close contact with people who are going through what is often the worst times of their lives.

Bookkeeper Sheila Overfelt has been at the firm for 35 years.

“My partners and I really shine when it comes to helping people with the
troubles of everyday life—speeding tickets, DUIs, kids getting into trouble.”

     — Attorney George Neskis

“My partners and I really shine when it comes to helping people with the troubles of everyday life — speeding tickets, DUIs, kids getting into trouble. No family is immune. You can’t help but help people here.  We do our very best. We are goal oriented and get the job done to get the best possible outcome for our clients,” he says.

George’s help and commitment extend outside of the office to his participation at the Annunciation Greek Cathedral, where he has served as President of the Cyprus Benevolent Society and as a member of the parish council. He is also a member and past president of AHEPA, the nation’s largest and oldest American-based, Greek heritage grassroots organization. His parents were both immigrants from Cyprus; his mother, in fact, came from the same small village as Peter Decker’s mother-in-law.

He and his wife, Catherine, have two sons — Nicholas, who’s nine, and George E., who’s seven. The family lives in Lafayette Shores in Norfolk. The boys play Little League at the same ballpark George played at as a kid.

“I have a friend who says that Norfolk is the biggest small town east of the Mississippi,” he says. “It’s like the universe is Granby Street — right through the center from Ocean View to downtown. It’s wonderful to be part of generations of Norfolk families.

“This firm has a strong history of giving to Hampton Roads. We all have signifiant connections to this area. All the partners have the same commitment. We have a reputation for excellence that comes from years of hard work and dedication to our clients,” he says.

Sheila Overfelt shares George’s sense of hometown and family. Born and raised in Norfolk, she now lives at Chick’s Beach in Virginia Beach, with her brother next door, and one of her twin daughters — Tammi Cook, who owns Affordable Floors — just a few doors down. Her other daughter, Cammi Collins, owns Hotline Surfboards, Inc., and also lives in Virginia Beach. Sheila takes her father and brother to dinner every Thursday night at a local restaurant so they can catch up with one another.

And her husband, Joe, was her high-school sweetheart.

And to reinforce her family connection to the firm, Peter Decker’s granddad and Sheila’s grandmother were brother and sister.

Over the three decades she’s been at The Decker Law Firm, she’s done just about everything: answered the phones, hired people, fired people, and trained people. Her office is lined with photos of the children of attorneys and staffers, and some of her own new “baby,” a four-month-old white Chow named Elvis.

One of her most prized possessions sits propped up in a frame on her windowsill. It’s a note from Pete’s son, Phillip, dated August 1977, thanking her for the $5 she had sent him as a gift. “I’m as proud of the Decker kids as I am of my own girls,” she says, “and I still see all of three of them every day.”

These days, Sheila’s bailiwick is handling the firm’s 20 bank accounts, getting the deposits together, doing time sheets and payroll, and keeping track of the money.

“I can’t imagine not working here,” she says. “I’ve always looked forward to coming to work. There’s a lot to do and the time flies by before you know it.”

Sheila is happy to shine light on Pete’s generosity. For example, several weeks ago he had a nurse come in to give the entire staff flu shots; when gas prices soared in the summer of 2008, he had her tuck some extra money in each pay envelope to help employees cover their costs. There’s a Halloween party complete with prizes for the best costumes and a big Christmas party every year, in addition to the many charitable contributions he makes throughout the community.

“He is truly generous from his heart,” Sheila says. “He just keeps on giving.”