The VLW Blog

Virginia state lawyers have asked a New York judge to vacate his default judgment against the commonwealth and James Madison University in a lawsuit over JMU’s hiring of a new head basketball coach. New York’s Marist College sued former coach Matt Brady and JMU after Brady broke his contract with Marist in 2008 to take [...]

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Bank of America has suspended foreclosure sales nationwide pending a review of foreclosure documents in all 50 states, an action that may be triggering foreclosure holds with other institutions. Spokesman Richard G. Simon with the Charlotte-based bank on Friday told North Carolina Lawyers Weekly the bank would “stop foreclosure sales until our assessment has been [...]

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A prosecutor cannot offer a plea agreement to a defense attorney that makes not disclosing the identity of a witness to the defendant a condition of the deal, according to the Virginia State Bar’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics. The committee said in Legal Ethics Opinion 1854 that Rule of Professional Conduct 3.4(h) prohibits a [...]

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A full-time telecommuter was not acting within the scope of his employment when he drove from his home office to a government office to meet with colleagues. The telecommuter was on his own time when he had a traffic accident on his way to his employer’s office, an Alexandria federal judge said. Virginia law on [...]

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October is National Mediation Month, and the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution is hosting a reception in celebration. The free event will be held on Wednesday, October 20 at the University of Richmond law school from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mark Rubin, executive director for government relations at VCU, is the keynote speaker. The ABA [...]

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It may be a good time to live outside the law in Brookneal. The last remaining police officer in the Campbell County town has quit the force, reports The News & Advance. Officer Scott Earhart put in his resignation on Tuesday, citing “personal and professional reasons.” He had been serving as the town’s lone policeman [...]

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Del. Bill Janis, R-Glen Allen, wants to undo a Virginia Supreme Court decision barring state and local government workers from some protections of the state whistleblower law. Janis has prefiled legislation for the 2011 General Assembly to provide relief for government employees who are fired or otherwise retaliated against for reporting wrongdoing. The bill comes [...]

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Robert J. Humphreys, a member of the Virginia Court of Appeals, and Glen A. Huff, a former law partner of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, have asked to be considered for the vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia that will be created by the retirement of Justice Lawrence L. Koontz Jr. For more details, Virginia [...]

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W. David Harless, a partner at Christina & Barton LLP in Richmond and a member of the Virginia State Bar Council and executive committee, will become president of the VSB in July 2012. Harless announced his candidacy earlier this year to become president-elect, succeeding George W. Shanks, in 2011. Under VSB rules, he automatically became [...]

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An employer’s “mandatory fun day” backfired when it had to pay workers’ comp to an employee injured during a day of “team building.” Claimant Margie Kenney worked as an in-home therapist for Highlands Community Services in Southwest Virginia. She testified in deposition that she attended a “mandatory fun day for our unit” at South Halston [...]

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