VLW wins two Va. Press Association awards

Virginia Lawyers Weekly won two awards in the Virginia Press Association‘s 2025 News and Advertising Contest, the organization announced April 11 at its annual awards banquet at The Virginian Hotel in Lynchburg.

With contest judges praising his “competent writing about complicated legal matters,” Senior Reporter Jason Boleman won a first place award for news writing portfolio for a batch of stories including “Certain criminal convictions to be sealed come 2026,” “Game changer: After settlement, attorneys see an impact on NIL” and “‘The situation is pretty dire’: Funding gap leaves court-appointed counsel unpaid, reluctant to accept new CJA cases.”

Boleman also won a third-place award for general news writing for “‘The situation is pretty dire’: Funding gap leaves court-appointed counsel unpaid, reluctant to accept new CJA cases.” The story, which appeared in the Sept. 8, 2025 edition of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, looked into the lack of federal funds to pay Criminal Justice Act panel attorneys who represent indigent clients in federal court.

The VPA News and Advertising Contest recognizes excellence in design, writing, photography and advertising among Virginia’s media publications, with this year’s awards being judged by the South Carolina Press Association.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly competes in the specialty category, which includes publications that publish less frequently than weekly and targeted or niche publications.