The VLW Blog

The 2011 Attorney General’s Cup, the prize for raising the most food per person in a law office went to the office of B. Cullen Gibson in Norfolk in the annual competition among law firms to provide food for the state’s food banks. But AG Ken Cuccinelli was obviously pleased to present the award for [...]

[Read more →]

A discovery dispute has led a judge to split the claims in the two $10-million wrongful death lawsuits arising from the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, according to lawyers in the case. Two sets of allegations were included in the lawsuits filed by families of two students killed in the rampage. The contention that Virginia Tech [...]

[Read more →]

Tysons Corner lawyer Brian F. Kenney has been named to a pending opening on the federal bankruptcy bench in Alexandria. He will succeed U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen S. Mitchell, who was named to the court in 1994 and who will retire Aug. 31. Kenney, who was appointed by the judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit [...]

[Read more →]

While the eastern part of the state was  battening down in the face of the hurricane, members of the Salem/Roanoke County Bar Association and their families took  in a de facto double header with the Salem Red Sox Friday night. The bar’s third annual “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” scholarship fundraiser brought several dozen [...]

[Read more →]

Talking with a convicted client’s kinfolk does not satisfy a criminal defense lawyer’s duty to consult about a possible appeal. Although a trial court signed off on the lawyer’s efforts, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court and ordered reinstatement of the client’s right to appeal. After Lonnie Edward Malone was [...]

[Read more →]

Troubles abound for those accused of trying to make a quick buck off the foreclosure crisis. Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli has announced a third settlement with a company that allegedly charged illegal advance fees for “foreclosure rescue” services. A Virginia Beach firm has agreed to refund $7,800 to five customers and to pay $5,000 to [...]

[Read more →]

Homeowners are likely on their own to pay for damage from Tuesday’s earthquake. A number of Louisa County residents – some whose homes suffered more than $10,000 worth of damage – learned this the hard way, The Free Lance-Star reports. While most home and business insurance policies cover fire and water damage, coverage for earth [...]

[Read more →]

A former punk rock musician from Charlottesville who threw the kitchen sink into his defamation lawsuit against an international society writer has his case washed down the drain by a federal judge. Jason Jackson used 91 pages to lay out his 66 counts against Taki Theodoracopoulos and five other defendants in his lawsuit, filed without [...]

[Read more →]

Encased in scaffolding for its latest round of roof repairs, the 106-year-old Louisa County courthouse came through Tuesday’s earthquake with no significant damage, reports circuit court Clerk Susan Hopkins. Other than some plaster cracks in the courtroom, “everything here is fine,” she reports. The 5.8-magnitude quake was centered just 7 miles from Louisa. Only a [...]

[Read more →]

There was whole lot of shakin’ going on in law offices around Virginia at 1:51 p.m. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit then and sent some lawyers and staff scurrying from their offices into the street in many locations. Most apparently stayed put, however, and there were few reports of damage. Doug Rucker waited it out [...]

[Read more →]