The VLW Blog

A judge’s appearance in the back of a courtroom to support a close personal friend did not violate Virginia’s judicial canons, the Supreme Court of Virginia said today. In a unanimous opinion, the court dismissed a disciplinary complaint against 6th Judicial District Judge Jacqueline R. Waymack, who sits in juvenile and domestic relations courts in [...]

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“Of counsel” has been showing up on law firm letterheads and websites for years, and the status can cover a variety of arrangements. A new advisory legal ethics opinion offers guidelines for one such arrangement, based on a hypothetical in which a sole practitioner with her own PLLC, who specializes in tax work, wants to [...]

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McGuireWoods’ failure to provide full disclosure of incentives for some plaintiffs was labeled an “egregious” violation of ethical rules as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a complete denial of fees for the Richmond-based firm for work on a class action antitrust case. The firm represented would-be lawyers who claimed West Publishing Corp. and [...]

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Virginia Beach attorney John W. Hart has surrendered his license to practice law rather than face allegations that he misappropriated more than $85,000. According to Virginia State Bar documents, Hart became trustee of an irrevocable trust in 2004 and misappropriated at least $50,000 from the trust, although the total amount of the misappropriation is not [...]

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A former attorney in Henrico County has been indicted for an alleged embezzlement that already had cost him his license to practice law. William O. Smith, 70, appeared briefly today in Henrico Circuit Court and is expected to enter a plea on the charges on Sept. 28, according to Deputy Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Tracy Thorne-Begland, [...]

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York County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eileen M. Addison accepted today a public reprimand from the Virginia State Bar for failing to acknowledge a tentative plea agreement with a key witness during a murder trial in April 2007. That resolution of allegations that she had violated Rules of Professional Conduct had been pending since March 14, when [...]

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The Virginia State Bar’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics again has tweaked its proposed revisions of the rules that govern lawyer advertising. The most substantive change is elimination of an earlier proposal to require lawyers to retain copies of their electronic advertising for a year. Ethics Counsel Jim McCauley said the committee received many comments [...]

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A legal ethics opinion declaring it unethical for plaintiffs’ lawyers to indemnify insurance companies against unforeseen liens has been approved by the Virginia State Bar’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics. LEO 1858 holds it improper for the insurance company lawyer to even ask for indemnity. The committee issued the opinion Wednesday despite opposition from some [...]

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The Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board has issued its formal order recommending denial of Del. Joe Morrissey’s petition for reinstatement of his law license. The order restates at considerably greater length – 63 pages to be exact – the findings Board Chairman William E. Glover announced back in May at the end of a two-day [...]

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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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