Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Law schools have taken a lot of hits lately. Students and alumni have criticized educational institutions for a failure to respond to the changing legal marketplace, rising tuition and a lack of practical preparation for students turned new lawyers. The ...

Tagged with: Law Schools Technology

It all began with a three-foot strip of grass. An African-American man in his 40s wanted to mow the grassy area between his home and the next home in a townhouse complex in northern Virginia. In an attempt to be ...

Tagged with: Loudoun County Circuit Court Tort

Changes in the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual are likely to have an impact in the courtroom. The fifth iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – better known as DSM-5 – updated ...

Tagged with: Personal Injury

A whistleblower seeking protection under the anti-retaliation provision of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act won $950,000 in what is believed to be the first trial under the statute in the state. After reporting intentional or fraudulent actions by employees at Midlothian-based ...

Tagged with: Employment Federal Courts Judge Robert E. Payne

Distracted drivers – talking, texting, e-mailing, or playing “Words with Friends” – are increasingly causing serious accidents and finding themselves targets for lawsuits. Jay Tronfeld of Richmond said his firm sees cases “all the time,” particularly involving younger, texting drivers. ...

Tagged with: Traffic Offenses Wrongful Death

In a suit alleging tortious interference and breach of contract by a former employee and his new employer, the lawyers reached a $1.8 million settlement before discovery even changed hands. IT product solutions reseller Govplace charged a former salesperson with secretly reaching a new employment agreement with competitor Universal Understanding and then diverting sales opportunities while still employed at Govplace, costing the company millions of dollars.

Tagged with: Contract Employment Million-Dollar Settlements Noncompete

Nobody likes to be proven wrong, least of all employers. In an effort to hire the perfect person for a position, a company may gather as much information as possible about an applicant, such as a quick review of a ...

Tagged with: Employment Employment Discrimination Federal Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in U.S. v. Windsor, striking down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, has same-sex marriage advocates cheering and opponents re-grouping. Estate planning attorneys, meanwhile, are left scratching their heads. Despite the momentous ...

Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court’s continuing love affair with arbitration has yielded two recent decisions that will have a significant impact on consumer and employment cases, limiting class actions. In Oxford Health v. Sutter, the unanimous court said that where parties ...

Tagged with: ADR Federal Courts U.S. Supreme Court

A lost summary judgment motion. A lowball offer to settle. The denial of an appeal. Lawyers are constantly the bearers of bad news. “Delivering bad news is the thing I was least prepared to do when I became a lawyer,” ...

Tagged with: Practice Tips