Walter E. Hoffman Community Service Award

Each year the Norfolk & Portsmouth Bar Association presents The Walter E. Hoffman Community Service Award to an attorney under 40 who is worthy of public recognition for outstanding hands-on service to the community.  The award is highly prestigious and exemplifies one of Crenshaw, Ware & Martin's core values.  This year the award was presented to Darius Davenport.  The official presentation took place on May 9th during the NPBA Annual Meeting.

Mr. Davenport is a member of the firm's Admiralty & Maritime Law Team and Litigation Team.


Employment Law Bulletin

"Managers Beware - Supervisors Can Be Personally Liable for Wrongful Discharge", CWM Employment Law Bulletin (February 2013)   


Admiralty & Maritime Law

Crenshaw, Ware & Martin, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that Steven M. Stancliff has been appointed to serve as the Chairman of SEALI's Long Range Planning Committee for 2013.  Mr. Stancliff served on the Board of Directors (2010 - 2011) and has been a member of the planning committee since 2011.

Mr. Stancliff served more than 20 years active duty commissioned service in the United States Coast Guard before joining the firm.   He focuses his practice in the areas of Admiralty & Maritime Law, Litigation, Railroad & Transit Law and Subrogation.


Project Finance

DECEMBER 2012 - CWM Attorneys Close on Financing for Historic Theater in St. Petersburg

On December 21, 2012, CWM attorneys Delphine Carnes and Harriet Reynolds closed on an innovative $5 million transaction in St. Petersburg, Florida which utilized both federal and state new markets tax credits (“NMTCs”) as well as grant funds from the City of St. Petersburg to renovate the historic “Manhattan Casino,” a segregation era theater that brought musical greats, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie, to St. Petersburg’s African-American community.  CWM represented Urban Development Solutions, Inc., a national community development company, and its affiliates.  The NMTC funding not only made possible the restoration of the iconic Manhattan Casino and its rebirth as an entertainment, community event and food service venue, but also brought badly needed employment and economic opportunities to the surrounding low-income neighborhood.  The project has partnered with the renowned Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant in Harlem to open a Sylvia’s Soul Food location at the Manhattan Casino, which will offer the comfort food and ambiance synonymous with the Sylvia name and will further spur community revival.





Washington D.C. — November 1, 2012 — U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers have released the 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings, providing a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession.   Crenshaw, Ware & Martin, P.L.C. is proud to announce that the firm received a Tier 1 Metropolitan Ranking in both Admiralty & Maritime Law and Real Estate Law.  The firm also received a Tier 2 Metropolitan Ranking in Employment Law – Individuals, Litigation – Bankruptcy, and Municipal Law.






Seven lawyers from Crenshaw, Ware & Martin, P.L.C. were selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 (Copyright 2012 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).  They are Delphine G. Carnes for Project Finance Law and Public Finance Law; James L. Chapman, IV for Admiralty & Maritime Law; Timothy A. Coyle for Municipal Law; Howard W. Martin, Jr. for Real Estate Law; W. Ryan Snow for Admiralty & Maritime Law; Donald C. Schultz for Bankruptcy, Credit-Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and Litigation - Bankruptcy; and Guilford D. Ware for Admiralty & Maritime Law.