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Ten issues to consider when renewing your office lease
Your landlord just left you a message — your lease is up soon. It’s the last thing on your mind. You don’t know what your business is going to look like over the next couple of years and the last thing you want to deal with is an office or facility move. The good news […]
Dress Codes: The Poll Results
It’s okay to ditch the tie when working in the office, according to lawyers across the commonwealth. Just don’t show up with a three-day beard. Leave the low-cut tops at home, but don’t be afraid to step out in stilettos. Tattoos and nose rings have no place in the law firm, but men can probably […]
Firms must exercise care in hiring unpaid interns
Summertime means vacations, dinner on the grill and summer interns at the office. Law firms may be looking to unpaid interns who are looking for resume enhancement. Lawyers also may need to advise their business clients who may be skittish about hiring and hope to take up the slack with unpaid interns. But beware. It’s […]
Dress Codes: What is the prevailing view about associates’ appearance?
Another crop of new lawyers has entered the legal workforce in Virginia. We have seen some slight easing of the job crunch: Here’s hoping that law firms and other organizations decide that it’s time to hire and that the new lawyers can put their new law licenses to work. But what type of workplace culture […]
Does your law firm have a language gap?
Lawyers have a language all their own, and sometimes its purpose seems to be to obscure meaning rather than to facilitate it; however, other disciplines that work in law firm staff positions also have their professional jargon that may or may not translate well for lawyers. Some time ago I read an article in the […]
Protecting yourself, data when recycling
When donating or recycling used computers, it’s important to keep your personal files out of the wrong hands. Simply deleting files from your computer does not clear the information from your hard drive. Armed with the right tools, even an inexperienced crook can recover client data, legal documents, credit card numbers, browser history, passwords and […]
Old computers can get new life through recycling
As technology develops at a seemingly exponential rate, many small firms and businesses find themselves burdened with obsolete equipment. Limited resources and overall lack of awareness, coupled with concerns for the environment, have prompted some offices to hang on to old computers rather than throw them away. Those environmental concerns, however, are not without merit. […]
Green practices at firms require coordination
Green practices at a law firm can be the result of a coordinated effort by a 900-lawyer institution or a single lawyer following what she describes as her “hippy-dippy” inclinations. Robert J. Couture, executive director of Richmond-based McGuireWoods LLP, said the firm has been recycling its paper since the 1990s but has greatly expanded its […]
What to keep in your employee files
The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client, Abraham Lincoln once said. But the solo or small firm lawyer may represent him or herself as IT Director, Chief Marketing Officer or Director of Human Resources for the firm, among other responsibilities. At least the lawyer with a fool for a client has […]
‘At-risk’ lawyers: How the rest of the firm keeps them in line
When it comes to dealing with “at-risk” lawyers, take action quickly – even if it’s one of the senior partners in your firm. That’s the advice of the experts. Whether it’s a lawyer bullying staff, a senior partner with billing issues or an attorney struggling with substance abuse or mental illness, the problem is not […]
How to keep personal problems from affecting performance
Each day when we arrive to work we bring our unique skills, motivation and attitude. We also bring our stories, our personality, our family history, our habits and our relationships. These very things make up the fabric of an organization and often become its recipe for success. Unfortunately, these same elements can also detract from […]
Keeping Your Balance: Review expense statements carefully
Each year, generally around this time of year, commercial tenants with pass-through costs included in their lease agreements will receive the Annual Operating Expense Reconciliation Statement from property owners. The statement reflects the tenant’s obligation to pay its share of annual increases in the total occupancy costs of the building, often one of the highest […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Driver fell asleep, causing significant auto accident — $1M settlement
- Defense verdict returned for company in rear-end crash — Defense verdict
- Cauda equina syndrome developed after procedure — $625,000 settlement
- Passenger died months after sustaining multiple injuries — $725,000 settlement
- Plaintiff injured in crash with oncoming vehicle — $235,000 settlement
- Driver killed in rear-end collision with tractor-trailer — $1.5M settlement
- Man died from pancreatic cancer after delayed response — $1.8M settlement
- Worker fell off roof, rendering him a paraplegic — $1.25M settlement
- Driver sustained permanent hearing loss after traffic collision — $240,000 settlement
- Plaintiff suffered concussion in rear-end collision — $81,000 verdict
- Builder misrepresented home status to buyers — $675,000 verdict
- Low potassium led to cardiac arrest, death of patient — $1M settlement
Opinion Digests
- Company owner dodges breach of contract suit
- Employee’s own allegations doom minimum wage claim
- Federal government defeats former employee’s claims
- Principal wasn’t entitled to exclusively remote work
- USPTO properly redacted info in responsive documents
- Untimely lawsuit allowed to proceed
- Engineering consultant dismissed from suit
- Rule 60 motion was filed too late
- Nonprofit directors immune from ex-employees’ claims
- City, employees immune from whistleblower claims
- Experts excluded in condemnation damages suit
- Judgment entered against company for horse’s death
