Representation Of Parents Challenging, Prompts Lawyer To Critique The System

Legislative background of lien law explained

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: March 12, 2007

Dear Editor: Your lead article in your Feb. 26 issue caught my eye (“General contractor, sub have different rules on perfection of mechanic’s liens”). I am pleased to see that Judge Sharrett got the interpretation of the 2003 amendment to Va. Code Section 43-4 exactly right. While Virginia does not really use legislative history, the [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: October 9, 2006

Dear Editor: The Virginia Supreme Court recently issued an opinion in the case of Janvier v. Arminio in which a serious anomaly in the statutory law of Virginia was highlighted and brought to the attention of the General Assembly. In that case, a second nonsuit was knowingly granted by the trial judge, but it was [...]

Letters to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 8, 2006

CPF officers explain fund’s purpose Dear Editor: As the chair and vice-chair of the Virginia State Bar’s Clients’ Protection Fund, we write in response to the letter submitted by fellow VSB attorney H. Watkins Ellerson in the April 17 edition of Virginia Lawyers Weekly (“Lawyer Objects to Mandatory Liability Coverage,” 20 VLW 1383). In his [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 1, 2006

Dear Editor: Watkins Ellerson’s recent letter (VLW, 4/17/06, “Lawyer objects to mandatory liability coverage”) reinforces how difficult it is (even for lawyers) to understand the distinction among various risks faced by lawyers and those who engage a lawyer’s services. Members of the general public can be harmed by lawyers who commit malpractice, by unethical lawyers, [...]

Letter to the Editor

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 17, 2006

Lawyer objects to mandatory liability coverage Dear Editor: Once again the issue of mandatory liability insurance for lawyers has raised its ugly head from the (un)dead like Dracula. Nowhere in Alan Cooper’s article of March 27 (“VSB: Mandatory insurance mulled”) was the extent of any problem stated. I have no problem with a client-disclosure rule [...]

VSB President Anderson urges action on appointed pay

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: February 13, 2006

Dear Editor: Today hundreds of “innocent” Virginians will walk into Virginia courts charged with crimes. These charges could result in their loss of liberty. They are “innocent” because our system of justice presumes all Virginians are “innocent” until proven guilty—proven guilty through an adversarial process predicated upon an aggressive prosecution and an effective defense. Many [...]

Law prof questions Allen's action on Byrd Amendment

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: December 26, 2005

Dear Editor: Sen. George Allen is opposing the repeal of the Byrd Amendment. Why on earth is the Virginia senator supporting legislation that has been roundly criticized by all supporters of free trade, the Bush Administration, and the World Trade Organization, which found it invalid? How can he contest a measure supported only by only [...]

OPEN LETTER TO ALL VIRGINIA LAWYERS

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: September 12, 2005

All Virginians have been dismayed by the destruction, dislocation, and loss of life caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia State Bar have had discussions with representatives of the judicial systems and bar organizations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. We have also had discussions [...]

Legal Aid Lawyer Responds On 'Parental Abuse' Cases

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: March 14, 2005

Dear Editor: I read with interest Hugh F. O’Donnell’s article “What’s Wrong With the Picture: The Other Side of Repre-senting Parents in Child Protection Cases” [VSB Family Law News, Fall 2004] and his recent letter to Virginia Lawyers Weekly [VLW, Feb. 21, 2005] and felt that I had to comment. Mr. O’Donnell makes a number [...]