The Supreme Court of Virginia has tightened the ethical boundaries for lawyers investigating possible litigation claims. The change puts Virginia more in line with other states and federal courts for what’s referred to as the “no-contact rule.” The justices balked ...
Tagged with: contact Ethics no-contact rule Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia State Bar
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A Virginia State Bar committee proposes a “bright-line rule” prohibiting sexual relations between a lawyer and a current client unless the intimate relationship predated the lawyer-client relationship. Bar prosecutors regularly get complaints about lawyer-client liaisons, the committee chair said. Incidents ...
Tagged with: Client Relations Ethics Virginia State Bar News
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A Virginia lawyer who serves as a substitute judge may not ethically accept an offer to represent a local police union and its members, a new judicial ethics opinion says. The police union work, including representation of individual officers in ...
Tagged with: Ethics Supreme Court of Virginia
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Lawyers no longer control the investigation of complaints about the unauthorized practice of law in Virginia. The Supreme Court of Virginia has revamped the Virginia State Bar’s investigation procedures for reports of UPL in the wake of new U.S. Supreme ...
Tagged with: Ethics Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia State Bar
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No matter how insightful your views, that judge you just met at a cocktail party really does not want to hear your observations about the big case you’ve been reading about. Your unsolicited wisdom could compel the judge to explain ...
Tagged with: Ethics
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A three-member arbitration panel has rejected a dozen claims of fraud, self-dealing and other unethical conduct against an Alexandria attorney after a high-stakes family feud over years of complex financial transactions. The arbitrators decided in favor of lawyer Bruce W. ...
Tagged with: Ethics Fraud Judge Paul A. Sheridan Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr.
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“What’s your password?” It’s a question no one answers. For most folks, security mandates silence. You never give out your password, especially not to some official sounding IT person on the phone. Some lawyers might not disclose their password for ...
Tagged with: Ethics Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia State Bar
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The Virginia State Bar is seeking comments on a proposal to relax ethics rules for a lawyer confronted with a client who wants to commit perjury.
Tagged with: Ethics Rules of Professional Conduct Virginia State Bar
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A lawyer charged with lying to a Virginia State Bar investigator has avoided bar discipline with a three-judge deadlock. The circuit court panel issued an order last month stating the three judges could not reach a majority decision on whether ...
Tagged with: Ethics Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar
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A law firm cannot enforce a 50-percent penalty clause in its payout contract for departing attorneys who take firm clients with them, an Alexandria federal judge has ruled. The Nov. 6 ruling could be worth as much as $150,000 to ...
Tagged with: Contract Ethics Federal Courts Judge Liam O'Grady Law Firms
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