The VLW Blog

Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert denies he violated the law or the Rules of Professional Conduct in the capital murder prosecution of Justin Wolfe.
Wolfe was convicted of arranging the murder of a drug dealer, but his case now is subject to habeas corpus review based on a July opinion from U.S. [...]

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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 of [...]

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Disbarment orders can be a sad litany of lawyer oversights and defalcations, but one item stands out on an edict approving termination of a South Carolina attorney’s license. The attorney, it seems, tried to have an opposing lawyer killed.
According to the S.C. Supreme Court order, Irby Walker sought to hire a hit man to kill [...]

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After a failed appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia, a previously imposed 12-month suspension for Norfolk-based attorney Curtis Brown is now effective.
A panel of Norfolk Circuit Court judges found that he made false statements to a jury during a 2007 personal injury case in Chesapeake, reports The Virginian-Pilot.
The suspension order indicates Brown sought a [...]

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A Salem lawyer facing Virginia State Bar findings that he misused funds in his client trust account agreed to revocation of his law license last month.
Steven F. Helm consented to revocation based on findings that his trust account “was overdrawn for insufficient funds on several occasions,” that payments to be made on behalf of clients [...]

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Wherever the former Vinton lawyer is, he no longer has a Virginia law license.
The Virginia State Bar revoked the license of Jesse S. Shelor last month for abandoning his law practice “with utter disregard for the welfare of his clients.” Shelor was a no-show at his disciplinary hearing and failed to respond to the VSB’s [...]

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A federal grand jury has indicted Winchester lawyer and former prosecutor Paul H. Thomson on seven charges, including evidence tampering and cocaine possession.
Thomson is accused of attempting to influence the testimony of an accused drug dealer.
Meanwhile, Winchester Circuit Judge John Wetsel Jr. has written to a federal judge advising he has postponed Thomson’s cases in [...]

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Alleged mishandling of a personal injury claim has brought a three-year suspension for Richmond-area lawyer Sara Davis Harman, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The paper reports Harman also is being sued for malpractice over her handling of the injury claim.
According to the paper, the suspension followed an agreement earlier this month by Harman to surrender her [...]

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Former Virginia Beach attorney Philip Leibman has been charged with practicing law the week after his license was revoked by the Virginia State Bar.
The criminal charge was returned among indictments from a Virginia Beach grand jury on Monday. A news release from the commonwealth’s attorney’s office said Liebman represented a client in general [...]

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Former Grundy lawyer David Cecil pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion in connection with his handling of the estate of a Buchanan County physician.
The government says Cecil stole more than $175,000 from trust accounts he was hired to administer for the estates of Robert and Nancy Baxter, [...]

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