March 27, 2020
Comments Off on Overcoming the challenges facing a small law firm
By Beth Sears BridgeTower Media Newswires Reuters conducted a recent survey of law firms with less than 30 attorneys and found these five issues to be their biggest challenges: New client acquisition Time spent on administrative tasks Cost control/expense ...
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March 26, 2020
Comments Off on Two-step challenge to no-contest clause is OK
Since ancient times, the wealthy have sought to ensure their assets are distributed the way they intend and to foil any effort by survivors to undermine their estate plans. The practice continues, with wills and trusts using language that revokes ...
Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Supreme Court of Virginia News Wills & Trusts
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March 25, 2020
Comments Off on Privilege claim rejected in student loan case
A federal judge’s ruling on attorney-client privilege has brought to light a novel Virginia lawsuit claim: Lawyers allegedly induced student loan debtors to stop making payments in order to trigger actionable collection calls. A student loan debt servicer claims the ...
Tagged with: Judge Theresa C. Buchanan Student Loans U.S. District Court - Eastern District
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March 24, 2020
Comments Off on Courts are scrambling to address coronavirus
Courts across Virginia have been forced to rapidly escalate their planning and communication processes over the past two weeks in an effort to avoid public gatherings and therefore to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, Rapidly changing policies and ...
Tagged with: Coronavirus Courts
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March 23, 2020
Comments Off on No more ‘surprises’
Both the House and Senate unanimously passed identical legislation this month to remove the risk of surprise hospital bills for some Virginians. Surprise bills, or “balance billing,” often occur when patients seek emergency care at an out-of-network hospital, or receive ...
Tagged with: Balance Billing General Assembly
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March 20, 2020
Comments Off on Ignoring seat belt bars comp benefits for wreck injuries
An employee who chose not to use a seat belt in the company truck he was driving cannot recover workers’ compensation benefits for injuries suffered in a wreck, the Virginia Court of Appeals has ruled. The appeals court pointed to ...
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March 19, 2020
Comments Off on New law extends parole eligibility for juveniles
Twenty-five years after Virginia abolished parole, hundreds of inmates will be eligible for release under a bill recently signed by the governor. Sponsored by Del. Joseph Lindsey, D-Norfolk, House Bill 35 would grant parole eligibility for individuals sentenced to prison ...
Tagged with: Criminal General Assembly Sentencing
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March 18, 2020
Comments Off on Lawyer bungled case, lied to client for 4 years, bar says
The Virginia State Bar has charged a Richmond lawyer with a prolonged ruse involving a disputed judgment order and “fraudulent” payments of more than $441,000 to his medical malpractice client. Brooks Hundley is accused of 16 ethics rule violations in ...
Tagged with: Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar News
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March 16, 2020
Comments Off on A wary eye
Officials with Virginia courts and state bar groups were keeping a wary eye on developments as preparations intensified to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. As of March 12, 15 people in Virginia had tested ...
Tagged with: Coronavirus COVID-19 Supreme Court of Virginia News VADA Virginia State Bar News VTLA
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March 16, 2020
Comments Off on Reformers disappointed with criminal justice legislation
Despite some wins by advocates for criminal justice change in Virginia, the 2020 General Assembly session failed to deliver on a number of key projects for reformers. Proposals to revamp sentencing and to greatly expand judges’ authority to defer and ...
Tagged with: criminal justice reform General Assembly
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