Final VSB LEO has limited ‘Padilla’ duty for prosecutors
Virginia prosecutors may have an ethical duty to avoid plea bargains that could lead to defendants’ deportation under new guidance from the Virginia State Bar, but only in limited circumstances. A final VSB legal ethics opinion arising from so-called Padilla concerns about misdemeanor plea bargains would apply only when a prosecutor has been informed that […]
Ex-prosecutor facing VSB ethics charges
A Virginia State Bar disciplinary panel has accused a former commonwealth’s attorney of misleading a jury about possible benefits for the testimony of a government witness. Former Culpeper County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gary L. Close is facing four possible findings of misconduct in the proceedings arising from the murder prosecution of Michael Hash. Hash was convicted […]
Prosecutors balking at proposed new ethical duty
A Virginia State Bar panel is still pondering how best to prevent criminal defendants from unwittingly creating immigration problems for themselves when they accept plea offers in misdemeanor cases. A proposal to recognize an ethical duty for prosecutors to guard against ill-advised guilty pleas drew fire from Virginia commonwealth’s attorneys, who say they have no […]
Judicial ethics center moves to NCSC
The Center for Judicial Ethics has been acquired by the Williamsburg-based National Center for State Courts in the wake of the breakup of the American Judicature Society. The move brings the CJE, a national clearinghouse on judicial ethics and discipline, under the umbrella of the NCSC — a “good fit,” in the words of one […]
Ghostwriting not an ethical violation, VSB says
Lawyers will not be in trouble with the Virginia State Bar for ghostwriting pleadings for pro se litigants, but they still have to use care about where those pleadings might be filed, under a new guidance from the bar. Overruling past interpretations, the VSB Legal Ethics Committee now states that ghostwriting is not inherently dishonest […]
Joint letter would tell clients of firm split
VIRGINIA BEACH – Neither lawyers who want to leave a law firm nor those who remain would be able to contact the firm’s clients until the two sides have tried to forge a joint letter advising clients of the breakup, under a proposed new ethics rule. When the parties can’t agree on a joint letter, […]
Bar considers break with the past on ghostwriting lawyers
Virginia State Bar authorities want to rewrite the advisory guidelines for lawyers who ghostwrite pleadings intended to be filed in court by non-lawyer clients. While ghostwriting has been frowned upon by many judges and ethically allowed only with disclosure of the lawyer’s involvement in preparing documents, a proposed new VSB Legal Ethics Opinion would dispense […]
Ethics panel gets earful on rule for departing lawyers
A proposed Virginia rule governing law firm splits should recognize that departing lawyers usually leave suddenly, without warning to the firm, according to lawyers who have experienced firm breakups. The chaos and acrimony that often follows a split is on full display in a still unfolding drama involving a group of seven lawyers who left […]
common.sense
The Virginia State Bar’s Standing Committee of Legal Ethics has jumped into the 21st century with a new draft opinion. It’s a Legal Ethics Opinion on one of those small but significant details left over from a firm break-up: What happens to the old firm’s web address and URL? The hypothetical in proposed LEO 1873 […]
Lawyer faces ‘ethics emergency’ when client plots against accusers
“What’s wrong with this man?” wondered Warsaw lawyer James Monroe as he sat in a jailhouse meeting room. Monroe’s court-appointed client did not seem to be paying attention to what Monroe was saying. It was Dec. 12, 2012. The lawyer was trying to explain that the man on the other side of the table was […]
Attorney departures are fraught with risk
Lawyer defections often come with hurt feelings, a sense of betrayed loyalty and bitter recriminations. They also come with ethical snares that can lead to distracting and costly litigation just when both sides need to get on with business. One issue that has arisen in two recent cases is the ethical prohibition on lawyer noncompete […]
VSB lawyers drop ethics charges over unpaid lien
The Virginia State Bar has dismissed discipline charges against a lawyer for failing to honor a large lien claimed by a pre-settlement funding company. Hampton attorney Stephen M. Smith argued the lender was “using the Virginia State Bar as a means of collection” after demanding a payoff nearly nine times the original advance to his […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Woodshop incident leads to amputation of fingers — $1.3M settlement
- Motorcyclist’s foot amputated in collision — $7M settlement
- Contractor rear-ended on interstate on way to wedding — $825,000 settlement
- Man suffers back injury in crash with out-of-state driver — $530,000 settlement
- Driver crossed center line, struck 89-year-old’s vehicle — $1.2M settlement
- Jury returns defense verdict in favor of gastroenterologist
- Teens killed in T-bone collision with officer — $3.1M settlement
- Man sustained subdural hematoma in rear-end collision —$1.15M settlement
- Adequate anesthesia not provided during C-section — $2.5M verdict
- Tenant fell ill from mold in apartment — $588,000 verdict
- Woman suffers nerve injury, pain after dental procedure — $550,000 settlement
- Driver struck child exiting school bus — $750,000 settlement
Opinion Digests
- Suit over historic mansion and estate dismissed
- Former employee’s claims survive motion to dismiss
- Equal Pay Act doesn’t apply to applicant
- Court rejects invocation of attorney-client privilege
- Evidence supported competency determination
- Appellees had power to remove business manager
- No continuance after witnesses failed to appear
- No actual or constructive eviction in warranty case
- Gas distribution pipeline exempt from ZBA regulation
- Improper venue in air pollution regulation matter
- No benefits awarded in unemployment comp case
- No immunity for judge who personally oversaw search