The VLW Blog

Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Horan announced yesterday that he will call it quits after 40 years on the job. The Washington Post reports that Horan, 74, had been concerned that a gradual hearing loss would affect his performance in the courtroom. Both parties will be scrambling to field candidates before Friday’s filing deadline, although Ray [...]

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Apparently the “take it like a man” defense has limits when it comes to women’s sports. When Melissa Jennings played soccer for the legendary women’s team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she tried to keep a low profile as coach Anson Dorrance indulged in sexual banter with team members during warm-ups. [...]

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A California court consulting firm will help Richmond Circuit Court judges develop a new case management system. Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. recently wrote Richmond Chief Judge Walter W. Stout III that he has selected Christopher Crawford of Justice Served for the work. The Richmond circuit has been the only one in the state [...]

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Eastern District judges are cracking down on their frequent filers – pro se plaintiffs who keep using federal court filings as therapy for grievances, real or imagined. U.S. District Judge Walter D. Kelley Jr. in Newport News says that plaintiff Ned N. Cary Jr. has filed at least eight separate actions in state and federal [...]

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Two prominent Central Virginia family law practices have joined forces. Effective today, Hopewell attorney Lawrence D. Diehl will merge his practice with The Barnes Law Firm, headed by Edward D. Barnes. The firm will operate under the name Barnes & Diehl PC, and remain at the Barnes Firm’s current Chesterfield office.

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Longtime Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Horan may retire. Horan, 74, told the Washington Post that he is considering not running for reelection. He has a Friday deadline to decide whether to stand as the Democratic candidate for the position. The local GOP has put up candidates against Horan only twice since 1975. If Horan chooses [...]

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The Virginia State Bar has named two winners for its 2007 Lewis F. Powell Pro Bono Award: John M. Oakey Jr. and volunteers at the Mortimer Caplin Public Service Center at the University of Virginia law school. Since his retirement from McGuireWoods LLP, Oakey has handled numerous pro bono projects in the Richmond area. The [...]

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The 2005 Supreme Court of Virginia case that defined what constitutes an “active clinical practice” for expert witnesses in medical malpractice cases has ended in a second defense verdict. Elizabeth Hinkley filed suit against two obstetricians and their practice in Montgomery County Circuit Court after both of her identical twin sons died at birth as [...]

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The House of Delegates yesterday killed amendments from Gov. Tim Kaine that would have increased the pay of court-appointed lawyers in juvenile court. Kaine had sought to shoehorn the increase through changes to House Bill 2361, which will permit a judge to waive the fee limits for court-appointed counsel in certain cases. While killing that [...]

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Federal courts continue to fill in the puzzle pieces for liability under the Family & Medical Leave Act. From Harrisonburg, U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad says that a supervisor for the Upper Valley Regional Park Authority has no individual liability for a park manager’s claim that the supervisor violated the Act by denying the manager [...]

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