Virginia Lawyers Weekly

VTLA elects officers, board 

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 9, 2012
Tags: Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association elected new officers and board members March 31 at The Greenbrier. The slate for 2012-2013 is as follows:
Lisa P. O’Donnell,
President
Bertini O’Donnell & Hammer PC
Norfolk
Barbara S. Williams,
President-Elect
Barbara S. Williams PC
Leesburg
Thomas J. Curcio,
Vice President
Curcio Law
Alexandria
John E. Lichtenstein,
Vice President
LichtensteinFishwick PLC
Roanoke
Stephanie E. Grana,
Vice President
Cantor, Stoneburner, Ford,
Grana & Buckner
Richmond
R. Lee Livingston,
Vice President
Livingston Law Firm
Charlottesville
M. Bryan [...]

10 Questions for new VTLA President, Lisa O’Donnell 

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: April 9, 2012
Tags: Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Editor’s Note: Norfolk lawyer Lisa Palmer O’Donnell became president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association March 31. Virginia Lawyers Weekly asked the new president 10 questions — some relating to the VTLA, some dealing with law practice as a whole, and some personal. Below are her answers.
1. What is your 30-second (or 50-word) elevator speech about [...]

Scenes from the VTLA 

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 9, 2012
Tags: Judge Jerrauld C. Jones, Judge Leslie M. Alden, Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Practice Tips, Social Media, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

With 12 hours of continuing legal education from leaders of the bar, the court and the legislature, good advice was in plentiful supply at the annual convention of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association at The Greenbrier last month. Some samples:
About Facebook

“Never, ever, ever, ever tell your client to delete anything,” said Malcolm P. “Mic” McConnell [...]

Obenshain takes heat over Hernandez bill 

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 3, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va.— A Republican state senator got grilled as he spoke to an audience of criminal defense attorneys and defended legislative limits on judges’ authority to defer and dismiss criminal charges.
Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg – an announced attorney general candidate – also fielded pointed questions about mandatory minimum criminal penalties from [...]

Bill creates ‘new class of plaintiffs’ 

By Peter Vieth
Published: March 28, 2012
Tags: General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Legislation approved by the General Assembly – but not yet signed by the governor – would create a new class of plaintiffs in Virginia civil litigation: representatives of the unborn.
Some observers warn the bill creating a cause of action for the wrongful death of a fetus would give birth to a new coterie of litigation [...]

Payee notification up for discussion again 

By Peter Vieth
Published: September 15, 2011
Tags: General Assembly, Justice Cynthia D. Kinser, Payee Notification, Virginia State Bar, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Virginia Chief Justice Cynthia D. Kinser has asked the Virginia State Bar once again to look at payee notification.
Past proposals, seeking to protect clients from potentially larcenous lawyers, would have required insurance companies to give notice to litigants expecting money after settling a case.
The concept has been controversial – trial lawyers felt unduly singled [...]

Top p.i. lawyer quits Allen firm  

By Peter Vieth
Published: July 20, 2011
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Law Firms, Virginia State Bar, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Charlottesville lawyer Mat-thew B. Murray, the immediate past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, has resigned from his law firm and reportedly is leaving the practice of law.
Murray’s resignation from Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, the largest personal injury firm in Virginia, came one day after the filing of legal papers accusing him of [...]

Draft LEO: Plaintiff is not required to indemnify liens 

By Peter Vieth
Published: June 9, 2011
Tags: Legal Ethics Opinion, Personal Injury, Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, Virginia State Bar, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

Trial lawyers are cheering and the defense bar and at least one corporation are booing a proposed Legal Ethics Opinion on lawyers’ obligations for unpaid liens in personal injury cases.
LEO 1858, as drafted, says it is unethical for a plaintiff’s lawyer to indemnify an insurance carrier against any unpaid liens; moreover, it says an insurance [...]

Tips from the bench at the VTLA meeting 

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 15, 2011
Tags: Practice Tips, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

HOT SPRINGS—Lawyers who attended the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association convention at The Homestead earlier this month found judicial advice in good supply. Judges offered tips from the bench on a potpourri of topics:
Manners. Prince William County Circuit Judge Mary Grace O’Brien urged lawyers to curb their use of colloquial language at trial. “You can never [...]

Med-mal cap survives Gov. McDonnell’s veto 

By Alan Cooper
Published: April 11, 2011
Tags: General Assembly, Gov. Bob McDonnell, Medical Malpractice, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

The House of Delegates made quick work of Gov. Bob McDonnell’s veto of legislation that would raise the state’s cap on medical malpractice awards from $2 million to $3 million over 20 years.
After barely 10 minutes of discussion, the House overrode the veto Wednesday on a 93-7 vote, even more one-sided than the 89-7 vote [...]