Partisans in the fight over the Virginia State Bar’s mandatory IOLTA proposal last week brought the showdown to Virginia’s court of last resort. VSB President William R. Rakes, urging adoption of the proposal, said that the VSB Council’s 33-23 vote ...
Read More »High court hears IOLTA arguments
Settlement: Judges willing to help if asked by lawyers 
Some commentators liken settlement of law suits to curing the common cold: most law suits will settle even if the sufferers never seek relief from a professional, whether doctor or judge. And many Virginia trial court judges seem to subscribe ...
Read More »No. Va. lawyers likely to encounter non-English-speaking clients 
The likelihood that a criminal defense attorney in Northern Virginia will be called upon to defend a client who does not speak English is growing. The number of non-English-speaking defendants is on the rise, particularly in jurisdictions such as Fairfax ...
Read More »Judge provides definition of "sound mind" in suicide 
A circuit judge has provided what is apparently the first judicial definition of “sound mind” for cases involving a suicide. Under a Supreme Court case decided last year, Wackwitz v. Roy, (VLW 092-6-078), if a person of “sound mind” commits ...
Read More »Fax Poll: IOLTA opposed, 83-17% 
As the Virginia Supreme Court prepares to hear argument on the mandatory IOLTA proposal later this week, lawyers responding to a Virginia Lawyers Weekly fax poll overwhelmingly reject the idea. Eighty-three percent of the 930 respondents oppose the IOLTA proposal ...
Read More »Mandatory IOLTA prompts sharp disagreement, angry comments 
In Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s recent fax poll on mandatory IOLTA, 83 percent of the respondents opposed the measure. And while many lawyers listed ideological reasons for their opposition, many lawyers in small firms offered practical reasons they felt IOLTA would ...
Read More »Pro: Legal aid needs all lawyers' assistance 
According to a recent Virginia Lawyers Weekly fax poll, 17 percent of respondents support mandatory IOLTA. Most support the proposal on the grounds that legal aid programs need funding desperately, and that mandatory IOLTA is a painless way for the ...
Read More »Plywood part of reality, no longer "goods" under UCC 
A Fairfax circuit judge has overturned a $434,185 products liability verdict won by a builder against a manufacturer for faulty plywood used in building Northern Virginia townhouses. The rationale: Because the plywood was incorporated into the townhouses, the Uniform Commercial ...
Read More »Practice Tips: Attacking late attestation of DUI form 
In an effort to shut the door on a successful technical defense that lawyers had been using to defeat drunken driving charges, some prosecutors have been asking the state forensics lab to attest to blood test certificates after they have ...
Read More »Domestic arbitration uses same standard of review 
A husband who challenged an arbitrator’s award of spousal support as unfair cannot overturn the award unless it is unconscionable or against public policy, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. In a case of first impression, the court held ...
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