Peter Decker, III
Peter Decker III is the second generation of his family to practice law in Norfolk. His father, Peter G. Decker, Jr., founded the firm in 1961 and gave it the name it still carries. Pete grew up around it, and in 1998 — the year he finished his law degree at George Mason and was admitted to the Virginia Bar — he joined it.
Nearly three decades later he practices much the same law his father did: criminal defense, traffic, and personal injury. He is in the General District, Juvenile and Domestic Relations, and Circuit Courts of all seven cities most weeks, and in the federal and state courts across the region besides. He takes cases at multiple stages of the criminal process — preliminary hearings, bond hearings, jury trials — and the range is deliberate. A first-time traffic charge and a felony indictment are argued in front of the same judges, in the same rooms, and he has been in front of those judges since the Clinton administration.
That familiarity is the thing his clients tend to mention. They describe a lawyer who is known in the building — who understands not just the law but how this particular courthouse works, who is on the other side of the file, and what is realistically achievable before anyone gets their hopes up. It is an unglamorous kind of advantage and it is very hard to acquire quickly.
“Helping People isn’t just a slogan, it’s what we do every single day for clients in Hampton Roads.”
PETE’S HIGHLIGHTS
Criminal defense, traffic, and personal injury — in every court in Hampton Roads. Pete has practiced in Norfolk since 1998, and in 2025 the city named him its First Citizen.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Personal Injury
- Criminal Defense
- Traffic Law
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Commonwealth of Virginia, 1998
EDUCATION
- Old Dominion University — B. S.
- George Mason School of Law, Arlington, Virginia — J.D., 1998
In 2025 the Cosmopolitan Club of Norfolk named Pete the city’s First Citizen — the same distinction his father received in 1998. The Deckers are one of only a handful of families to produce two since the award began in 1928.
The award recognized something that had been accumulating for twenty years. He has chaired the Norfolk Police-Fire Trial Board since 2003. He chaired the Norfolk Airport Authority. Governor Kaine appointed him to the Virginia State Board of Corrections, Governor McDonnell reappointed him, and his fellow board members made him Chairman; Governor Northam later appointed him to Old Dominion’s Board of Visitors. Appointments from governors of both parties are not an accident of timing, and they say something specific about him: he is the person both sides find it easy to agree on.
“Giving back to our community is my favorite part of the job, and especially when you’re having so much fun doing it!”
Look at the rest of the list and a second theme emerges — helping kids. The Peter Decker Children’s Charity. Fundraising for St. Jude, as his father did for thirty-five years before him. Hosting the March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction. The Law & Disorderly Club, which exists to benefit local children’s causes. “Raising money for charity,” he says, “it’s a family tradition.” Alongside that sit the institutions that quietly hold Norfolk together: the Drug Court Foundation, the Sheriff’s Foundation, the Public Library Foundation, the Citizens Advisory Council of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Away from the office, Pete and his family make a point of supporting local restaurants across all seven cities of Tidewater — and when he isn’t at one, he’s usually out on the Lafayette River. There is also a decade most clients never guess at: through college and law school, Pete “worked” as a DJ.
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS
- Board of Directors, Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association Foundation
- Virginia Beach Bar Association
- Board of Directors, Virginia Beach Police Foundation
- Board of Directors, Peter Decker Children’s Charity, Inc.
- Fundraising for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
- Host, March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction
- Law & Disorderly Club (benefiting local children’s charities)
- Knights of Columbus, Council 3548
- Order of AHEPA, Robert E. Lee Chapter
- President, Sons & Daughters of Lebanon
- Chairman, Norfolk Police/Fire Trial Board
- Associate Member, Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 28
- Board of Directors, Norfolk Drug Court Foundation
- Board of Directors, Norfolk Sheriff’s Foundation
- Blessed Sacrament Church
- Board of Directors, Towne Bank Norfolk
- Board of Directors, Norfolk Citizens Advisory Council of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Court
- Board of Directors, Norfolk Public Library Foundation
- Chairman, Virginia Board of Corrections
- Norfolk Police Foundation Board
- Member of the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors
- Associate Member, Police Association of Virginia
- (past) Chairman, Virginia State Board of Corrections
- Chairman, Norfolk Airport Authority
IF YOU NEED HELP, TALK TO PETE TODAY
The Decker Law Firm is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for free consultations. Fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch promptly — because when something important is on the line, waiting shouldn’t be part of the process.