About Les
Delegate Les Adams is a 6th generation resident of Pittsylvania County and Southside Virginia. As a local leader, family man, and state prosecutor, Les is invested in our community and future prosperity. He has represented the people of the 16th House District since 2014.
Les graduated magna cum laude from Liberty University and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. After law school, he served as the Judicial Law Clerk for the Danville Circuit Court before joining the Pittsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office in 2002. As an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Les prosecuted all categories of crime and was promoted to the position of Career Prosecutor. In that capacity he served as a faculty member at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. Les has also taught as an adjunct professor at Danville Community College and the Helms School of Government at Liberty University.
In 2011, Les entered the private practice of law with the purchase of a longstanding firm in Chatham, later known as Adams and Fisk, PLC. As a senior partner and co-owner of the firm, Les helped lead the purchase and renovation of the former BB&T bank building at the corner of Main Street and Court Place, rejuvenating an array of practice areas and substantially growing the firm in service to many clients, including the Town of Chatham. Les sold his share of the business and returned to the Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office as a Senior Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in 2020.
Les has been a leader in our community for many years. He has served as President of the Pittsylvania County Bar Association, Circuit Representative for the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar, member of the Board of Directors for Faith Christian Academy in Hurt, and member of the President’s Council of the local Good News Jail and Prison Ministry. He is today an active member of the Chatham Rotary Club and Chatham Baptist Church, where he serves as deacon.
As a citizen-legislator, Les serves in the General Assembly as Vice-Chairman on the prolific House Courts of Justice Committee and as chairman of the subcommittees responsible for criminal law and judicial appointments. He is also a member of the Privileges and Elections Committee and the Commerce and Energy Committee.
As Delegate, Les also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission, and is a member of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, and the Committee on District Courts. He is the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Rural Virginia, is a member of the Board of Trustees of the New College Institute in Martinsville, and is a member of the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. In December 2020, Les was one of two members of the House Republican caucus selected to serve on the inaugural Virginia Redistricting Commission.
At home, Les resides in Chatham with his wife Melanie, a pharmacist, and their two sons, Roger and Garrett.