http://valawyersweekly.com VA Lawyers Weekly Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:29:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Every year we dust off the crystal ball and swirl the tea leaves, seeking to predict what a new year will hold for lawyers and legal profession in Virginia. Starting on page 6, we provide a list of 25 developments, stories or events that we’ll be watching and writing ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/trendspotting-developments-and-stories-we%e2%80%99ll-be-watching-in-2010/ A federal magistrate judge in Roanoke has approved the settlement of a consolidated consumer class action lawsuit against Bank of America for nearly $10 million. Consumer advocates had sued to force quicker credit disclosures by the bank to loan applicants. The judge recommends, however, that the lawyers should make ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/bank-settles-10m-slow-notice-suit/ Proposed legislation would eliminate the Virginia court system’s two top policy-making bodies, limit the authority of the executive secretary of the Supreme Court and do away with much of the Supreme Court’s authority to appoint substitute judges and supervise multi-jurisdiction grand juries. Such attempts to intrude on judicial turf crop up ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/bills-would-curtail-authority-of-high-court-chief/ The Virginia Bar Association installed its 2010 officers at its winter meeting in Williamsburg Jan. 23. Richmond lawyer John Epps of Hunton & Williams moved into the past president slot. Taking over the presidency is Epps’ law school classmate at UR, Steve Busch of the Richmond office of McGuireWoods. (See ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/vba-installed-new-officers-at-winter-confab/ Murder accomplices and those who kill certain law enforcement officials would be eligible for the death penalty under bills that have passed the Virginia House. The House voted 74-24 Wednesday in favor of a bill to expand Virginia’s “triggerman rule,” which reserves capital punishment for the person who actually does the ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/house-passes-bill-on-death-penalty-for-accomplices/ Gov. Bob McDonnell has named two new State Board of Education members, including a former state Cabinet official. Betsy Beamer was secretary of the commonwealth during former Gov. George Allen’s administration from 1994 to 1998. She is a past chair and current member of the Salvation Army of Metro Richmond and ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/mcdonnell-taps-beamer-foster-for-education-board/ Eleven long-term inmates of the Virginia prison system filed a class-action lawsuit last week alleging that the Virginia Parole Board refuses to consider all the factors required by law when making parole decision. The board’s procedures violate their right to due process and amount to an ex post facto law, according ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/parole-board-is-target-of-class-action-suit/ U.S. District Judge Glen M. Williams has retired after 34 years on the bench. Williams was appointed to the district court by President Gerald Ford in 1976. He took senior status in 1988, but has remained active as a judge in the Western District. A World War II Navy veteran and ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/judge-glen-williams-retires-after-34-years/ Edith Jones, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, will speak about the interplay between the rule of law and the creation of wealth Wednesday at the University of Richmond law school. The event at 6 p.m. in the Moot Court Room is sponsored by the ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/5th-circuit%e2%80%99s-jones-to-speak-at-ur-about-rule-of-law-and-wealth/ NORFOLK —A new report says Hampton Roads has the highest traffic accident rate among Virginia’s metro areas, despite a decline in recent years. According to the report, a traffic accident occurs in Hampton Roads every 19 minutes. A wreck-related death occurs every two-and-a-half days. The report says traffic deaths in the region ... http://valawyersweekly.com/blog/2010/02/08/hampton-roads-has-highest-accident-rate/