Virginia Lawyers Weekly

1.      Each week Virginia Lawyers Weekly publishes digests of the previous week’s cases from Virginia’s state and federal courts. What courts are covered?

Federal Courts: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. District Court – Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, U.S. Bankruptcy Court – Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia

State Courts: Supreme Court of Virginia, Virginia Court of Appeals, Virginia Circuit Courts

2.     How can I get the full-text decision for one of these cases?

All recent opinions digested in the paper are available to subscribers through our Web site. See the following questions for more detail.

3.      Which cases are available to the general public?

Recent cases from the 4th Circuit, U.S. District Courts for the Western District, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts, the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia Court of Appeals can be accessed by any visitor to our site. Links to these opinions can be found in the pull-down menu under the “Opinions” tab.

4.      Which cases are available only to subscribers of Virginia Lawyers Weekly?

Virginia Circuit Court cases beginning from 2007 and U.S. Eastern District beginning from 2008 are available to subscribers only. The full-text opinions can be found by clicking on the appropriate court link on the ”Opinions” pull-down menu item or by entering search terms in the Google search box at the top right of the page. A username and password is required to obtain the full-text opinions.

5.      How do I obtain a case that was published before 2007 or 2008?

For information on obtaining older opinions, please call 1-800-456-5297, ext. 14010, or e-mail a request to opinions@valawyersmedia.com.

6.      What information is covered in the Virginia Lawyers Weekly online Archives?

The online Archives contain full coverage of all content published in Virginia Lawyers Weekly since 1993, including links to full-text opinions where applicable.

7.      I’m a subscriber and I want to register for the online benefits. What do I do?

You may register by filling out the form on the registration page. You will need to have your subscription number, which can be found above the mailing label on your copy of the paper.

8.      I registered, but I don’t remember my user name or password. What do I do?

If you forgot your user name or password, you can receive an e-mail reminder. You may also send a request to webeditor@valawyersmedia.com.

9.  What is a VLW number and what does each part signify?

The VLW number is a unique 7-digit numbering system used to keep track of each opinion we digest in the paper. This number can be found at the end of each digest. The first three digits represent the year (i.e. 010 for 2010); the middle digit is a numbering code for each court we digest (2- 4th Circuit, 3- U.S. District; 4- Bankruptcy Court; 6- Virginia Supreme Court; 7- Virginia Court of Appeals; and 8- Virginia Circuit Courts); the last three digits are assigned based on the order in which the case is processed in a given year (a case with 003 will be digested early on in the year, whereas a case with 346 would likely come out towards the end).

10.  I used to be able to order opinions through an auto-fax service. Do you still provide this?

No, we discontinued the automated fax service in 2006. We now have all opinions available in electronic (PDF) format.

11.  What delivery methods are available for opinions?

The most efficient method of obtaining an opinion is through our Web site. For older opinions, or those not yet available on the Web, we will e-mail the case as a PDF file. Fax and mail delivery is also available, although subject to service charges.

12.  How long does it take to receive the opinion after putting in a phone or e-mail request?

Same-day delivery is available weekdays during business hours. Requests after 3 p.m. may be fulfilled the following morning. Night, weekend and holiday orders are filled the next business day.

13.  I saw a case I wanted in your Daily Alert. How do I get a copy?

You can follow the link provided in the Daily Alert. If the opinion is not from the current day’s Alert, you may be required to log in to access the opinion. 

14.  I saw a Verdict & Settlement Report I’m interested in. How do I get a copy?

Verdict & Settlement Reports are case summaries submitted to us by lawyers in order to help other lawyers assess the value of their cases. Although each article in this section is assigned a unique number (i.e., 08-T-023), there are no corresponding documents available for order. To find more information on any of these cases, start by searching the VLW archives. If we have not digested the case in our opinions section or featured it in a news article, other options would be to contact the court or attorney for further detail.