The Hon. Leslie R. Adams is a judge for the 22nd Judicial District Court of Virginia. He was elected to the bench by the Virginia General Assembly on February 1, 2024.
The 22nd Judicial District encompasses the City of Danville and the Counties of Franklin and Pittsylvania.
Prior to his election, Adams was a senior assistant commonwealth’s attorney for the Pittsylvania County Commonwealth's Attorney’s Office, a position to which he was named in 2020. He supplemented his practice with service as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, where he represented the 16th District from 2014 to 2023. During his tenure there, Adams held assignments on the Privileges and Elections Committee and the Commerce and Energy Committee.
Adams earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences and government from Liberty University in 1996. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Richmond School of Law in 1999.
After graduating from law school, Adams began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court. He served in that capacity until 2002, at which time he joined the Pittsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. Then, in 2011, he entered into private practice, working as a partner at Adams & Fisk in Chatham.
His memberships have included the Virginia State Crime Commission and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. He has also been involved with the Board of Trustees of the Center for Rural Virginia.
Born in Montgomery County, Virginia, Adams currently resides in Chatham, Virginia, alongside his wife, Melanie. The couple has two children.
He is registered as a Republican.