Wyatt Bethel is not just a legal technician; he is also a business advisor and counselor. He strategizes with each client to “look around the corners” of transactions and to anticipate issues that may not be immediately evident. Wyatt practices primarily in the area of commercial real estate and business transactions, representing lending institutions, builders, and developers in every facet of the sale, acquisition, financing, and development of commercial and residential real estate projects. He is skilled in the preparation and negotiation of real estate contracts and commercial leases, and he has extensive experience in representing prominent local and regional banks in structuring loans and documenting commercial loan transactions, whether secured by real estate or by business assets. His work has contributed to the successful completion of numerous prominent residential, multi-family, commercial office building, and mixed-use projects constructed throughout Northern Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.
Wyatt is trained and certified to represent both banks and borrowers in the documentation and closing of Small Business Administration loans (504 and 7a) and associated bridge financing.
Wyatt also has experience in the subdivision of land and the related documentation of easements and covenants, as well as the formation of homeowners associations and the declaration of condominium regimes. He also represents banks and business/equity lending institutions in real estate based financing transactions, including the preparation and negotiation of loan commitments and loan documents, loan workouts and restructurings, and foreclosures. Wyatt is also skilled in facilitating like-kind exchanges; negotiating commercial office leases; assisting in the resolution of title disputes; negotiating custom home construction contracts; and organizing and forming limited liability companies, limited partnerships, corporations, and other real estate ownership and investment entities.
Prior to joining the firm, he was General Counsel to Van Metre Companies, a Northern Virginia developer and homebuilder.
In representing developers and businesses, and also financial institutions, Wyatt has developed an insightful business approach to transactional real estate and business transactions and he understands how to navigate each stage of a transaction to assure a successful conclusion. He takes great pride in the business successes of his clients.
Wyatt has received an AV rating, the highest rating given by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ for his legal ability and general ethical standards, and was listed among Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” for Real Estate in 2010.

D. Wyatt Bethel, Shareholder
- J.D., The College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, 1978
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B.A., Government, The College of William & Mary, 1975
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- Virginia
- Real Estate
- Banking & Finance
- Land Use & Development
- Business Formation Planning
- AV Preeminent® Peer Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™
- 2010, Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite” –Real Estate
- October 2019: Maintaining Ethics in Business Law, National Business Institute Seminar “Business Law: Tax Strategies, Contract Negotiation, Entity Selection, and More”
- Fairfax Bar Association
- Virginia Bar Association, Real Property Section
- Fairfax United Methodist Church
- Trustee, Vice-Chairman and Secretary of Board of Trustees
- Chairman, Finance Committee
- Chairman, Endowment Committee
- Member, Church Council
- Senior Usher
- Rebuilding Together