Rodney Poole Profiled in UR Alumni Magazine

Brother Poole '69 was profiled in the Summer 2008 issue of the Richmond Alumni Magazine:

Rodney Poole performs an amazing balancing act. He is one of the foremost adoption attorneys in the nation. He also serves as senior vice president and general counsel of The Wilton Companies, a firm that owns and develops apartments, office buildings, industrial properties, and shopping centers in central Virginia.

“My time is supposed to be split 50/50,” he says. “I like to say that means 50 hours a week on each.”

Adoption law is personal for Poole, the father of two adopted children, a biological daughter, and a stepson. He inherited his passion for helping adoptive families from his late father, Travis, an attorney and former foster child who was dedicated to placing children in permanent homes. Poole grew up knowing he wanted to follow his father’s example. After graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law, he joined the elder Poole in establishing Poole & Poole in Richmond.

Approximately 3,000 cases later, he is a leader in the field. Poole is a past president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. He also served for nine years as liaison between the academy and the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC), helping to build relationships that make it easier to adopt children across state lines.

He is a recipient of the AAICPC’s Mitchell Wendell Jurist Award in recognition of “extraordinary accomplishment on behalf of children,” as well as the Angel in Adoption Award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

In 2002, Poole joined Henry L. Wilton and UR Trustee Rich Johnson, B’73, in the acquisition of The Wilton Companies. In five years, they have quadrupled the value of the company’s real estate portfolio.

Poole’s family, which includes wife Lauree and mother Helen, is actively involved with UR. Each year a deserving student benefits from an accounting scholarship the family has established in memory of Poole’s two late brothers, Travis Jr., B’73, and Craig, B’73.