The VLW Blog

A bankruptcy court can be its own authority on the prevailing pay rate for a winning lawyer, according to a new opinion from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In awarding $279,090 in fees after upholding the lien priority of Tysons Financial LLC in an adversary proceeding, the bankruptcy court said it could “almost [...]

[Read more →]

A former patent examiner has lost an appeal of his disability and race discrimination suit against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Chuckwudi Perry, who is African-American, has no vision in his left eye and reduced vision in his right eye. Yet, he held a driver’s license and could read using magnifying glasses and straight-edge [...]

[Read more →]

An Abingdon lawyer has been charged with public intoxication, assault, trespassing and a half-dozen traffic charges. Berry Leslie Conway II was arrested three times in the past two weeks, accused of being drunk in public, threatening a couple and later urinating in their yard, reports the Bristol Herald Courier. His troubles began on June 3, [...]

[Read more →]

Del. Richard Morris – a military lawyer – concluded gay judicial candidate Tracy Thorne-Begland is not guilty of any military misconduct, an accusation that was a key factor in opposition to his candidacy. As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, Morris, R-Carrollton, shared his conclusion with other Republicans last month in a five-page analysis. The circulation of [...]

[Read more →]

A Norfolk city agency cannot collect contract damages against the supervisor of a “no-show” employee for the money the agency paid the absent employee, a Norfolk Circuit Court says. Virginia contract law does not provide a basis to hold a public employee liable for agency mismanagement, the court said. The Norfolk Community Services Board filed [...]

[Read more →]

A former CFO who blew the whistle on his employer under the False Claims Act will receive a $2.6 million cut of an $18.1 million settlement with the U.S. government. Relator Kimthy Chao alleged that Calnet Inc., a Reston-based defense contracting company, systematically overbilled the Department of Defense by millions of dollars over a period [...]

[Read more →]

Five leading attorneys at Richmond’s largest law firms have added their signatures to a letter urging the appointment of Tracy Thorne-Begland, the openly gay Richmond prosecutor rejected for a judgeship by the House of Delegates. “Several of us thought that he should be judged fully on his merits,” said Thurston R. Moore, former chairman and [...]

[Read more →]

Legislation aimed at preventing large-scale attorney defalcation has been recommended by a Virginia State Bar task force. The payee notification bill approved in April by the VSB Payee Notification Task Force would have insurance companies notify personal injury claimants when settlement checks are being mailed to their lawyers. The idea gained force after a Woodbridge [...]

[Read more →]

Troutman Sanders has prevailed in a court battle where an investment firm charged that bad legal advice caused it to get in trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Supreme Court of Virginia last week refused to hear an appeal of the dismissal of the lawsuit by AIC Inc. against Troutman and firm partner [...]

[Read more →]

A Northern Virginia lawmaker says the announcement that Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Patricia West will join the staff of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli pulls back the shade from a mysterious budget amendment offered by Gov. Bob McDonnell. During the final days of the 2012 General Assembly session, McDonnell urged legislators to “unthaw” the judge hiring [...]

[Read more →]