Legislative background of lien law explained

Hampton Roads has issues with appointed guardians, too

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: February 7, 2011
Tags: Domestic Relations

Dear Editor: Thank you for your article on the decision of Northern Virginia judges to exercise more control over the appointment of guardians ad litem for minors, who have become “too cozy” with insurance companies in infant settlement cases (VLW, “Independent guardians,” Jan. 31, 2011). A similar phenomenon occurs in public guardianship cases in the [...]

Healthcare ‘controversy’ may not be ready for court

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 3, 2011

Dear Editor: By now almost everyone knows that on Dec. 13, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson of Richmond held that the provision in the new healthcare law, requiring people without health insurance to obtain it or pay a penalty is unconstitutional. Judge Hudson found that this provision is unconstitutional because it exceeds Congress’ authority [...]

Lawyer questions new ‘interactive’ CLE rule

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: March 15, 2010
Tags: Virginia CLE

Dear Editor: Let me understand this. The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board will now require that four hours of mandatory CLE be “interactive.” This change is said “to reflect concern about the decline over the last five years of attendance at live programs” and is designed to “stave off the inevitable that everyone will just [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: January 6, 2010

Dear Editor: I am a 25-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department, a licensed Florida attorney since 2000, and recently admitted to the Virginia State Bar in October 2008, and after having represented my first criminal defendant, I am amazed at how extreme the differences are between the two states. Florida has a completely open [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: November 30, 2009

Dear Editor: The dissent in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts predicted that the Court’s narrow 5-4 decision would have catastrophic consequences. The majority, of course, brushed off this criticism. So where do we stand, five months after Melendez-Diaz and three months after the General Assembly convened in a special session to enact a “notice and demand” statute? [...]

Exec clarifies VTLA’s view on client protection

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: October 12, 2009

Dear Editor: I am often not too effective at saying what I mean to say but I know that, my wife’s been telling me that for more than 42 years. The article published in the Sept. 21 edition of VLW (“Payee-notice plans need more work, VTLA says”) did not fully set out the points I [...]

Lawyer raps VTLA over payee notice

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: September 28, 2009

Dear Editor: I am disappointed that the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association objects to a proposed “payee notification” statute (“Payee-notice plans need more work, VTLA says,” Sept. 21). No rational consumer would think that having an insurance company mail them a notice that says “the check is in the mail to your attorney” is a bad [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 17, 2007

Dear Editor: I’m writing to those of you who offer free initial consultations to prospective clients in order to determine whether you can help them. I want to persuade you to stop. It certainly is not my intention to ask you to stop seeing prospective clients. I do, however, want to suggest that you stop [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 16, 2007

I read with great consternation the remarks made in the General Assembly by Robert Lamb and House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith in opposition to Sen. Henry Marsh’s bill regarding our Commonwealth’s participation in the bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s birth (Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Feb. 19, 2007). I am a proud member of the bars of [...]