The VLW Blog

A prosecutor can use a criminal defendant’s former lawyer to authenticate  previous incriminating court testimony when witnesses become forgetful, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. It’s a common affliction for witnesses in tough neighborhoods. Even though they may have fingered an accused bad guy in a preliminary hearing, their memories grow foggy at the [...]

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One of the advantages of a practice near the shore is the opportunity to turn an early morning workout into a surfin’ safari. Some lawyers from Ocean City, Md., skip the golf course and head for the breakers for companionship and recreation, as the Daily Times reports. “It’s the modern board meeting,” quipped one surfing [...]

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The chairmen of the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committee said this afternoon they expect the General Assembly to convene Friday and elect appellate judges. House Courts Chairman Dave Albo, R-Fairfax,  said the Republican caucus will propose the elevation of Virginia Court of Appeals Judges Elizabeth A. McClanahan and Cleo E. Powell to the [...]

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Ken Geroe, a former Portsmouth prosecutor and a partner in the Virginia Beach firm of Brydges, Geroe, Rosenblatt & O’Brien PLLC, has died while undergoing liver transplant surgery at the VCU Medical Center in Richmond. He was 56. Mr. Geroe grew up in the Bayview section of Norfolk, graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School and [...]

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The American Bar Association has told Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, that its role in accrediting law schools is to make sure that those schools produce graduates who can be lawyers, not to regulate the number of lawyers based on economic conditions. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote the ABA on [...]

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Gov. Bob McDonnell says he’s waited long enough for the General Assembly to fill vacant Virginia judgeships — he’s ready to do it himself. Saying citizens  cannot afford further delay, McDonnell wrote to legislative leaders Thursday, urging the Assembly to either elect judges or adjourn so he can make the appointments. McDonnell’s letter notes “[s]ubstitute [...]

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A Virginia-based lawyer has been recognized in a recent survey as the nation’s highest paid general counsel. Denise Keane, executive vice president and general counsel of Richmond-based Altria Group Inc., earned $6.5 million in total compensation last year, according to ALM Corporate Counsel’s 2011 GC Compensation Survey. The survey ranked the 100 best-paid in-house lawyers [...]

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David P. Baugh, the capital defender for the central region of the state, has filed a formal complaint with the Virginia State Bar against Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert and Richard Conway, one of Ebert’s deputies. The complaint is based on an opinion earlier this month by U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson, who [...]

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Former Richmond lawyer Bradley Wein has been arrested on criminal charges that he raided funds of an elderly client, buying coins and other items for his personal use. According to a federal indictment, Wein was hired by the woman to handle certain financial matters. He used her credit cards to purchase more than $27,000 worth [...]

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A 20-year career connecting accident victims to lawyers, which included helping fabricate and exaggerate claims, has ended with a 26-month prison sentence for a Maryland man. Kenny Williams was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis for his role in a personal injury operation that included at least one dishonest lawyer and a complicit [...]

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