The VLW Blog

A trial lawyer has two chances to request recusal. The lawyer takes a pass both times. The judge rules against the lawyer’s client. It’s hard to argue on appeal that the judge’s bias requires reversal. Not only did the lawyer lose the appeal in a fight over an Internet domain name, he was hit with [...]

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With financial pressures putting the squeeze on state budgets across the country, it’s no surprise Virginia is not the only state where money battles put judges and lawmakers at odds. The Charlotte Observer reports the North Carolina legislature is seeking budget relief with cuts in judicial programs, bringing howls of protest from  judges. One budget [...]

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Sen. Henry L. Marsh III suggested today that a series of hearings this summer on a proposal to realign the state’s judicial circuits and districts might not be wise politically. “You can have too much democracy,” he said at a meeting of the Committee on District Courts, one of the judiciary’s two top policy-making bodies. [...]

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Gov. Robert F. McDonnell vetoed the General Assembly’s redistricting plan this afternoon, citing concerns about several elements of the realignment of Senate districts. The districts in the Senate plan are not compact and do not preserve locality lines and communities of interest, McDonnell said in a letter to the House of Delegates. The districts in [...]

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The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hears the fewest oral arguments and issues the fewest published opinions of the federal circuit courts. Its decision earlier this week affirming a partnership deal for a TV series raises the question of just what its standard for publishing an opinion might be. This one appears to have [...]

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A Roanoke federal jury has determined Virginia Tech discriminated in salaries for two women employees of its fund raising office. The jury returned damages awards totaling $101,000 on Thursday. The amounts could be doubled under the federal Equal Pay Act. The two plaintiffs also are asking for an award of attorneys’ fees, reports The Roanoke [...]

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Complaints are plentiful about the 35-year-old Richard H. Poff Federal Building in Roanoke, but workers at the federal courts are not looking forward to a planned $51-million renovation project. At a Thursday hearing, Congressional critics grilled a General Services Agency official about whether the project was improvidently planned. Court Clerk Julia Dudley had a different [...]

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With more than 500 lawyers and an office in Tysons Corner, North Carolina-based Womble Carlyle is poised to expand by taking over a 44-lawyer firm in Charleston, SC. Buist Moore Smythe McGhee is Charleston’s largest law firm. Its acquisition by Womble is expected to close April 30. South Carolina Lawyers Weekly reports the merger plan [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has accepted a proposal by a joint task force of the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Bar Association that will make it easier for corporate counsel who are not licensed in Virginia to provide pro bono services. Corporate counsel now can provide such services only in programs operated and [...]

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The Norfolk Community Services Board has sued to recover money it spent on salary and benefits for an employee who was allowed to stay at home for 12 years. By naming as defendants the suspended-with-pay worker and four former staffers of the agency, the lawsuit could bring to light the reason no one ever addressed [...]

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