November 27, 2018
Comments Off on No-show experts prompt sanctions
A lawyer’s designation of experts who twice failed to show at trial brought a ruling that the designations violated Virginia’s good faith pleading statute. A Fairfax County judge awarded nearly $10,000 in attorney’s fees for the lawyer’s “blatant disregard” of ...
Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney S. Azacarte
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November 26, 2018
Comments Off on Withholding judgment
The debate continues over Virginia trial judges’ power to delay and dismiss a criminal case when a defendant’s guilt is clear. Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring says courts have the inherent power to reduce or dismiss such a charge ...
Tagged with: Attorney General Mark Herring Virginia Court of Appeals News
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November 21, 2018
Comments Off on Human trafficking victim trying to recover $8M award
A Virginia attorney representing a victim of human trafficking earned her client an $8 million judgment in Kansas earlier this year, which is believed to be the largest single-plaintiff human trafficking award in United States history. Collecting the award, however, ...
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November 20, 2018
Comments Off on Supreme Court approves guidance on fixed-fee programs
Virginia has joined five other states that officially discourage lawyers from participating in fixed-fee programs similar to that offered for a time by Avvo Legal Services. The Avvo fixed-fee program folded this summer, but other attorney-client matching models are on ...
Tagged with: Supreme Court of Virginia News
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November 19, 2018
Comments Off on Cut off
In a victory for local land use regulators, the Court of Appeals of Virginia said the state ABC Board overstepped its authority when it granted a farm winery license for a less-than-two-acre site in Clifton. The decision is likely to ...
Tagged with: Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Virginia Court of Appeals News
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November 19, 2018
Comments Off on Circuits split on lenders’ loophole
Two Virginia circuit judges have reached opposite conclusions on whether Virginia law offers a window for “small loan companies” to charge unlimited interest rates.” In what one lender’s attorneys called a decision of far-reaching importance, a Richmond judge in January ...
Tagged with: Judge David Bernhard Judge Theodore J. Markow
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November 19, 2018
Comments Off on Racial comments don’t overcome no-impeachment rule
An African-American defendant who was convicted of drug and firearm charges may not interview the convicting jurors for signs of racial animus, despite a juror’s statement that his peer expressed racial prejudice during deliberations, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of ...
Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III
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November 16, 2018
Comments Off on Expert required for misnomer issue in legal malpractice case
The Supreme Court of Virginia offered guidance on several civil litigation issues while clearing a lawyer of tort exposure last month. Despite the court’s exploration of common misnomer and tolling issues, the ruling comes not in a published opinion but ...
Tagged with: Civil Litigation Supreme Court of Virginia News
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November 15, 2018
Comments Off on Fee proposal for lawyer referral work advances
The proposal to charge lawyers a percentage fee for cases referred to them by the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service survived a “robust” debate before winning nearly unanimous approval by the Virginia State Bar Council. A package of proposed VLRS rule ...
Tagged with: Virginia State Bar Council
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November 14, 2018
Comments Off on Appeals court imposes appeal fees in upholding sanctions
A recent decision by the Court of Appeals of Virginia both rebukes a persistent litigator and affirms the power of trial judges to regulate the dress of parties who appear in their courtrooms. A disbarred Virginia lawyer with what the ...
Tagged with: Judge Glen A. Huff Virginia Court of Appeals
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Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
