September 19, 2018
Comments Off on Lawyer can’t take a fee from money under dispute
Lawyers must refrain from paying themselves from trust account funds when there is a good faith dispute about someone else’s interest in the money, the Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled. The court has affirmed a public reprimand for a ...
Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia News
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September 18, 2018
Comments Off on No intoxication defense outside of ‘insanity’
The Court of Appeals of Virginia says evidence of involuntary intoxication cannot be used as a “back-door way” to prove a defendant’s mental state outside of a formal insanity defense. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals refused to ...
Tagged with: Virginia Court of Appeals
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September 17, 2018
Comments Off on Lessons from Florence: Disaster planning for law firms
As this issue of Virginia Lawyers Weekly was being put to bed, Hurricane Florence, a Category 4 storm, was headed for landfall in the Carolinas, with heavy rain and wind expected for Virginia. Large population centers in the commonwealth appeared ...
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September 17, 2018
Comments Off on Davis to retire as VSB’s top prosecutor
Virginia State Bar Counsel Edward L. “Ned” Davis is retiring this year after 25 years of prosecuting wayward lawyers. With about 30 years as a state employee, Davis, 65, said the time is right to step aside and spend more ...
Tagged with: Virginia State Bar News
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September 17, 2018
Comments Off on High court continues rule clarification project
The Supreme Court of Virginia has advanced another set of rule changes that address gray areas of the appeal process. This time, the court has posted the rules for comment with an Oct. 25 deadline. The proposed revisions address ...
Tagged with: Supreme Court of Virginia News
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September 17, 2018
Comments Off on Maryland judge can’t be sued for ordering defendant shocked
Citing “judicial immunity,” the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a multimillion-dollar civil rights lawsuit against a Maryland circuit court judge who ordered a deputy sheriff to use electrical shock to quiet a criminal defendant. ...
Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Dennis W. Shedd Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Judge Roger L. Gregory
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September 14, 2018
Comments Off on Lawyer summoned for possible contempt hearing
A Virginia Beach lawyer has been called on the carpet by a Norfolk circuit judge after allegedly concealing the status of an adoption order to prevent a timely challenge to the adoption. Jennifer B. Shupert faces a show-cause hearing before ...
Tagged with: Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. Virginia Beach Circuit Court
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September 13, 2018
Comments Off on Supreme Court expands its rules on finality
The Supreme Court of Virginia has added language to Rule 1:1 dealing with finality of judgments, orders and decrees that could make it easier for lawyers to know when a matter is ripe for appeal. The rewritten rule was announced ...
Tagged with: Supreme Court of Virginia News
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September 12, 2018
Comments Off on Judge blasts patent lawyer, orders $1M payment
An Alexandria federal judge pointedly condemned the “dishonesty” of a patent lawyer who profited from licensing a company’s patent portfolio while keeping the company in the dark about his activities. U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady said Erik Cherdak’s “character for ...
Tagged with: Judge Liam O'Grady U.S. District Court - Eastern District
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September 11, 2018
Comments Off on Defendant can’t ‘piggyback’ on co-defendant’s appeal
A woman on the losing end of a $24,000 verdict cannot simply be added to the appeal of the other defendant, who properly perfected his appeal, according to a Norfolk Circuit Court judge’s Aug. 22 opinion. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. ...
Tagged with: Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. Norfolk Circuit Court
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