Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Focus turns now to unfilled judgeships

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 25, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Judge Teresa M. Chafin, Judgeships

As the dust settled from the 2012 General Assembly, the empty seat on Richmond’s general district bench was not the only funded judgeship left unfilled.
While the House of Delegates’ vote to block the election of Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland to a judgeship made headlines around the country, there were other vacancies left unfilled and nominees [...]

Martingayle files petition for VSB president-elect 

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 25, 2012
Tags: Virginia State Bar

If his plans work out, Kevin E. Martingayle will be the first president of the Virginia State Bar from Virginia Beach, the state’s most populous city.
Martingayle, a two-term member of the VSB Council, wasted no time making his intentions known, filing a petition for election on April 2, six months before the Oct. 1 deadline.
If [...]

U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear music-download appeal 

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: U.S. Supreme Court

A $675,000 jury verdict against a student who illegally downloaded 30 songs from the Internet was left standing by the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to take up the matter.
In recent years, coalitions of music publisher have sued college students from Virginia Tech and William and Mary, as well as other consumers, for alleged [...]

Roanoke OBs hit with $9M verdict 

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Medical Malpractice, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Roanoke Circuit Court

A Roanoke City jury has returned verdicts totaling $9 million against two obstetricians in a birth injury case where the child’s medical expenses have already exceeded the cap for the child’s recovery under Virginia law.
The child – now 10 – functions at a pre-kindergarten level, according to Jeffrey H. Krasnow of Roanoke, who tried the [...]

Couple wins defamation case against TV station 

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: May 24, 2012
Tags: Defamation, Federal Courts, Judge Tommy E. Miller, Million-Dollar Verdicts

“On your side” consumer reports have become a staple of local television news coverage. The consumer reporter investigates complaints about a business and reports findings, often including how the station helped an angry citizen.
But a 2010 report on a Hampton Roads TV station went too far, according to a federal jury in Norfolk.
Earlier this [...]

Doctor discipline cases can challenge lawyer ethics 

By Deborah Elkins
Published: May 23, 2012
Tags: Ethics, Virginia Bar Association

A doctor hires a lawyer to represent the doctor on disciplinary charges before the Virginia Board of Medicine. A former patient claims the doctor had a sexual relationship with a second patient.
The doctor is a little dodgy. He indicates the board’s inquiries may have some factual basis. But the board doesn’t ask the right [...]

Sometimes financial planning can be premature  

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: May 21, 2012
Tags: Wealth Management

You’ve heard stories about how the lack of financial and estate planning can force families to sell their homes and family heirlooms to pay estate taxes at the death of a loved one. Many of us are aware of basic trusts that can move assets out of our taxable estates to protect our heirs and [...]

Lessons In Lending: Early retirement – Are you sure it’s what you really want? 

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: May 21, 2012
Tags: Wealth Management

Early retirement sounds tempting. It’s a goal for many folks. But for some, it falls into the category of: “Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it!” Planning for retirement, particularly early retirement, tends to focus mostly on financial factors:

What are my income needs?

How much will be supplied by my pension [...]

Gay judge nominee defeated by non-votes, ‘Rule 69′

By The Associated Press
Published: May 21, 2012

RICHMOND (AP) — It wasn’t the 31 conservatives in the Virginia House who voted no that denied Tracy Thorne-Begland’s bid to become the first openly gay judge elected to the bench in Virginia. It was those who abstained or didn’t vote that did him in.
Thorne-Begland, a frontline criminal prosecutor in Richmond, got 33 yes votes, [...]

Exercises to set goals and see them through 

By Sylvia Hsieh
Published: May 21, 2012
Tags: Law Office Management

If you have lots of ideas for your law firm but they remain in the realm of the abstract year after year, here are some 10-minute exercises that can help you set specific goals and turn them into reality.
First, write down your goals for the year.
“Do you go to Costco with a list? If you [...]