Specialty ad rules back to status quo

DUI case could have impact on implied consent

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Constitutional, Criminal, DUI, U.S. Supreme Court

A U.S. Supreme Court decision addressing the constitutionality of blood draws from drunken driving suspects may have a limited effect in Virginia – for the time being. In the April 17 decision, which split the justices 5-4, the high court held that the natural breakdown of alcohol in the bloodstream does not automatically justify an [...]

Corporate client privilege covers ex-director’s emails

By Deborah Elkins
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Civil Procedure, Judge Tommy E. Miller, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A company suing to protect its patents can “claw back” emails its lawyer shared with a former board member, a Norfolk U.S. District Court said earlier this month. In a twist on the traditional test for attorney-client privilege in the corporate context, U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller said the privilege covered communications from the [...]

Virginia high court to weigh cameras in courtrooms

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 26, 2013
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Technology

The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to look at whether judges have an unfettered right to reject news cameras in their courtrooms, or whether they need a good reason to block access. The issue comes in the appeal arising from the emotion-laden trial of George Huguely V, the University of Virginia student convicted last [...]

Engineer sued for leaving with data

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 25, 2013
Tags: Contract, Employment, Judge Mosby G. Perrow III, Lynchburg Circuit Court

A trade secrets skirmish in a Lynchburg courtroom has become a sideshow in a high-stakes battle over a contract to manage the nation’s atomic bomb factory. While giant corporations jousted for the prized $22 billion federal contract, a former government overseer at the Texas nuclear weapons plant stood before Lynchburg Circuit Judge Mosby G. Perrow [...]

E-filing market open with new app

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 24, 2013
Tags: Accomack County Circuit Court, Arlington County Circuit Court, E-filing, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Norfolk Circuit Court, Petersburg Circuit Court, Scott County Circuit Court, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia Beach Circuit Court, Wise County Circuit Court

After years of delay and planning, a Virginia Supreme Court-designed electronic filing system is finally rolling out this month, as other courts cautiously dip toes in the water by using private vendors to provide the interface between the courthouse and users. The court’s launch of its own e-filing system puts the court in competition with [...]

Bringing ‘mind-mapping’ into the courtroom

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: April 23, 2013
Tags: Practice Tips, Technology

Toss the term “mind-mapping” into conversation and you’ll likely draw sideways glances. It sounds like something that would happen aboard alien space craft, and, in raw form, it looks like the doodles of a bored college student. But consumer protection attorney Dave Maxfield, based in Columbia, S.C., believes lawyers can use the technique to great [...]

The ‘Largest Law Firms’ Rollercoaster

By Sarah Rodriguez
Published: April 22, 2013
Tags: Largest Law Firms, Law Firms

Economic uncertainty has been the norm for the past five years, and law firms are by no means immune to the ups and downs. For the top firms in Virginia, this rollercoaster ride appears to be on a downward slope in 2013, according to the latest edition of the survey of ‘Virginia’s Largest Law Firms.” [...]

Hospitals must bill health insurance first

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 19, 2013
Tags: Bar Associations, General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Insurance

Trial lawyers hope a new Virginia law will put an end to a hospital billing tactic that threatened to take a bite out of accident victims’ compensation. The General Assembly passed, and Gov. Bob McDonnell signed, a bill requiring hospitals to bill patients’ private health insurance, when available, rather than holding out for a larger [...]

The Falls Church stays with Epsicopal Diocese, court rules

By The Associated Press
Published: April 18, 2013

The Episcopal Church is the rightful owner of a historic church formerly occupied by a congregation that abandoned the denomination over the consecration of an openly gay bishop and other differences, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices unanimously upheld Fairfax County Circuit Judge Randy Bellows’ ruling against The Falls Church, one of seven [...]