Sharif Gray

Sharif Gray admits movies like A Few Good Men and My Cousin Vinny first drew him in. At Virginia Military Institute he was elected to the Honor Court, where he prosecuted classmates in peer jury trials, and he learned he could be a lawyer in the military. His first job, with the U.S. Army JAG Corps, made advocacy real. A client’s post-trial handshake and the words “You saved my career,” he says, remain the biggest compliment he has received.

Sharif says he does not think he is better than anyone else; he is willing to work hard, he cares and he believes in what he does. He argues a personal injury case is not really about money but about deterrence, accountability and recognizing the full value of what was taken from someone’s life. Half Egyptian, he lived in Egypt for four years as a child. He keeps studying trial work, often watching Mark Lanier opening statements while his wife watches TV.

The case Sharif thinks about most involved a senior Army officer who had seen the worst of war and survived multiple suicide attempts. After a federal conviction and an Army push for an other-than-honorable discharge, Sharif built a green-yellow-red chart showing how the officer’s health records and performance evaluations deteriorated together, and helped him make amends with the mosque involved. The officer received an honorable discharge with medical retirement. “Everyone thought we’d lose,” he says, and he remains in contact with the client.

Sharif’s closing argument takes on the belief that good lawyers do not need to market. He held that view for years until a friend in California told him, “If you think you provide a good legal service and you’re not marketing, shame on you.” That was a lightbulb moment. The people who need help have to be able to find you, he says, and outreach can be tactful and meaningful rather than an arms-crossed billboard.

In 2023, Sharif and former partner Ben Rand won a $1.5 million jury verdict in a Virginia trip-and-fall case, notable because Virginia’s contributory negligence rule means 1% fault ends the claim; he had been practicing personal injury law for only a year and a half. He also secured a confidential six-figure settlement for a man wrongfully arrested and jailed for about five days after video evidence surfaced. Trial Lawyer’s Journal featured Gray Broughton Injury Law’s $20 million verdict for Charlie, a 13-year-old abuse survivor.

Sharif graduated as valedictorian of Virginia Military Institute in 2008 and earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2011. He clerked for Judge Henry E. Hudson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 2017 and Judge G. Steven Agee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2018. In 2023 he completed the three-week Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College and earned an LL.M. in trial advocacy from Temple University.

Sharif practices at Gray Broughton Injury Law in Henrico, Virginia, in the Richmond area, with a website at graybroughton.com. The firm handles plaintiff personal injury cases, including motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice and nursing home abuse, and civil rights and wrongful arrest matters. Before joining, Sharif defended Delta Force, Ranger and Green Beret soldiers at Fort Bragg, clerked for federal judges, tried Big Law and prosecuted in the Richmond area. He is a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice.