Lawyer Discipline | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Reston lawyer’s license revoked

By Peter Vieth
Published: May 16, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

A Virginia State Bar discipline panel last month yanked the license of a Reston lawyer based on allegations of “gross incompetence, utter lack of diligence, and dishonesty.” A VSB lawyer argued Thomas J. Sehler was “not fit to practice law” and his continued practice posed “an imminent danger to the public.”
The VSB urged the Disciplinary [...]

Ex-lawyer is convicted for phony documents

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 21, 2012
Tags: Federal Courts, Judge Henry E. Hudson, Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

A former Richmond lawyer dodged nine federal fraud charges in a jury trial last month, only to be convicted of submitting false documents to support his defense.
Bradley D. Wein fought accusations that he committed mail fraud when he made personal purchases with credit cards belonging to an elderly client. He argued the client had authorized [...]

Harsh and abusive behavior earn lawyer 3-year suspension

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 7, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

Findings of harsh and abusive litigation behavior, a series of intentional misrepresentations to judges and conflicts of interest led to a three-year suspension for a Virginia lawyer last month.
Jason Roper, formerly of Virginia Beach, said he is appealing the disciplinary action by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. On Feb. 28, the Supreme Court of [...]

Bar disciplinary staff is being more aggressive

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 2, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

The Virginia State Bar is getting more aggressive and moving more quickly in the prosecution of lawyers accused of misconduct.
The number of active cases over a year old has dropped about 15 percent since the prior fiscal year, compared to last year, according to Bar Counsel Edward L. Davis.
There were 197 district committee cases at [...]

Lawyer mismanaged assets, is convicted of embezzlement

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 16, 2012
Tags: Alexandria Circuit Court, Elder Law, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, Judge Robert J. Smith, Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

A Falls Church lawyer has been convicted of embezzlement after being ordered to reimburse more than $275,000 in excess fees she charged for management of an elderly couple’s assets, according the Virginia State Bar and court records.
A 2009 report by the Fairfax County commissioner of accounts found Erin Weber Anderson, now known as Erin Marie [...]

Patent lawyer suspended, no Virginia ticket

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 3, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

Even though she has never been licensed by the Virginia State Bar, a Williamsburg patent lawyer has been suspended from performing any legal work in the state for two years.
A three-judge circuit court panel last month approved a two-year suspension of Bambi Faivre Walters for unauthorized practice of law and misuse of client money, [...]

Contingent fee contract draws discipline

By Peter Vieth
Published: February 2, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

A Richmond lawyer has been admonished by the Virginia State Bar for demanding a contingency fee from a client based on non-monetary relief.
A three-judge VSB panel imposed the public admonition on Thomas H. Roberts, saying the judges were concerned Roberts’ fee agreement presented the possibility of a fee “adverse to the client.”
According to the fee [...]

In-house lawyer beats VSB in ethics dust-up

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 20, 2012
Tags: Business, Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Lawyer Discipline, Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia State Bar

Even though his company was twice sanctioned in litigation with a software supplier, a former in-house lawyer came out almost unscathed in a battle with the Virginia State Bar over ethics charges based on how he handled a multi-million-dollar business dispute.
Stephen T. Perkins – former general counsel for Richmond-based Cavalier Telephone LLC – emerged from [...]

VSB to lawyer: Fire your assistant/husband

By Peter Vieth
Published: January 6, 2012
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

The Virginia State Bar has ordered a Richmond lawyer to get rid of her assistant – her husband, an ex-lawyer who was convicted of fraud and disbarred 20 years ago.
Yvonne Cochran-Morton was given a public reprimand by a VSB disciplinary subcommittee for sloppy supervision of an employee and ordered to disassociate her law practice from [...]

Glenn Lewis suspended by VSB

By Peter Vieth
Published: December 30, 2011
Tags: Lawyer Discipline, Virginia State Bar

Glenn C. Lewis, a leading Northern Virginia divorce lawyer and former president of the Virginia Bar Association, has had his law license yanked by the Virginia State Bar for ignoring its demand for information amid financial troubles and allegations of misuse of client money.
The Virginia State Bar administratively suspended Lewis’s license on Dec. 27 [...]

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