Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Over the past year, there’s been a lot of talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential, both negative and positive. Some tout an idyllic world where robots cater to the every want and need of humans. Others, like Elon ...

When I was a child, grownups were often telling me that I ought to be a lawyer when I grew up. Usually this career advice was given right after an exhausting argument over some injustice that I felt had been ...

ROANOKE – A Roanoke federal judge said a police officer fighting for his reputation cannot suppress potentially discrediting information that could affect dozens of convictions. The decision removed a potential roadblock to an unusual action by Western District federal prosecutors. ...

Tagged with: Judge Michael F. Urbanski U.S. District Court - Western District

ROANOKE – Budget limitations are putting the squeeze on Virginia courts, with shortages of both judges and the clerk staffers that support them. The court systems’ top executive says administrators are working hard to make ends meet, even while the ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons General Assembly

HENRICO — The question of whether a prosecutor can obtain a defense attorney’s recording of a preliminary hearing will remain unanswered for now, after both sides agreed to a plea deal. The issue arose after Marvin Banks, a witness in ...

Judges concerned about whether guardians ad litem for children are meeting expectations for their work will have a new tool to check. One judicial panel this month approved a form for a lawyer to disclose actions taken as an appointed ...

Tagged with: Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons Judge Frank W. Somerville

After contested elections in four of Virginia’s most populous jurisdictions, 13 new faces will join the Virginia State Bar Council next month. A total of 23 lawyers were elected to seats on the bar’s governing body in online elections that ...

Tagged with: Virginia State Bar Council

Although the General Assembly a decade ago codified the law of mold claims in rental homes, the law does not bar tenants from using common law negligence theories to sue over mold conditions, the Supreme Court of Virginia says. In ...

Tagged with: Justice Stephen R. McCullough Supreme Court of Virginia News

A lawyer who sued under the newly recognized tort of “interference with parental rights” barely managed to escape an award of sanctions after the client’s allegations proved untrue. The client was not so fortunate. The plaintiff – a Blacksburg woman ...

Tagged with: Judge H. Lee Harrell Montgomery County Circuit Court

A federal appeals decision denying underinsured motorist coverage for a fatal truck accident has generated “alarm and concern” about the interpretation of millions of Virginia auto insurance policies, according to lawyers for the claimants. A divided panel of the 4th ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge G. Steven Agee Judge Gerald Bruce Lee Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III