New rule nixes ‘conflicting out’

Virtual practice: Lawyers hanging a shingle in cyberspace

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Ethics, Law Office Management, Rules of Professional Conduct, Technology, Virginia State Bar

In Melissa Howell’s employment law practice, she rarely meets with her clients in her Norfolk office space. Instead, her clients prefer to work with her via phone and email or have her come to them, where she can access employment records and interview witnesses. Matthew Kaplan, who practices law out of his home in Arlington, [...]

Supreme Court hears lawyer-blogger’s appeal

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 9, 2013
Tags: Constitutional, Justice Cleo E. Powell, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Justice William C. Mims, Lawyer Discipline, Rules of Professional Conduct, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia State Bar

Lawyer-blogger Horace Hunter faced the Supreme Court of Virginia Jan. 8 in the appeal of his disciplinary case, and he said anything he wrote about his clients’ cases is absolutely protected by the First Amendment. First Amendment scholar Rodney Smolla made the case by arguing that Hunter’s blog is not commercial speech, but political speech [...]

VSB approves adjuster talk with plaintiff’s lawyer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 28, 2012
Tags: Ethics, Legal Ethics Opinion, Rules of Professional Conduct, Virginia State Bar

The Virginia State Bar has approved an advisory ethics opinion that says unless a plaintiff’s lawyer knows that a defense lawyer represents the insured and the insurance carrier, the plaintiff’s lawyer may talk to an insurance adjuster without the defense lawyer’s consent. A draft Legal Ethics Opinion 1863, circulated last month by the VSB Standing [...]

Supreme Court nixes changes in lawyer ad rules

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 20, 2012
Tags: Ethics, Legal Marketing, Rules of Professional Conduct, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Virginia State Bar

The Supreme Court of Virginia has rejected proposed reforms in lawyer advertising regulations, refusing to relax requirements for disclaimers on claims about case results and tightening limits on the use of words such as “expert” and “specialist.” With amended advertising rules adopted Sept. 18, the court spurned a plan by the Virginia State Bar and its [...]

VSB won’t change rules on ‘advertising material’

By Peter Vieth
Published: October 25, 2011
Tags: Ethics, Rules of Professional Conduct, Virginia State Bar

WINCHESTER–A proposal to drop the requirement for an “advertising” label on lawyer solicitation letters went down to defeat at a meeting of the Virginia State Bar Council this month, but not without a spirited debate. At issue: lawyers sending letters to people charged with traffic violations or injured in accidents. Currently, the Rules of Professional [...]