Virginia prosecutors – state and federal – are aligned in opposition to a proposal that would impose an ethical requirement to highlight evidence favorable to an accused defendant in some cases. The Supreme Court of Virginia is considering adding language ...

Tagged with: Discovery Lawyers Rules of Professional Conduct

The Virginia State Bar is proposing to expand its disapproval of lawyer-legislators getting into business with lobbyists. The VSB is asking for comment on a proposed legal ethics opinion that would advise against any state lobbying by a consulting firm ...

Tagged with: Rules of Professional Conduct Virginia State Bar

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

New rule amendments by the Supreme Court of Virginia mean lawyers cannot turn a blind eye to potential conflicts of interest with their clients. A year after the Virginia State Bar petitioned the court to tighten law firm conflict requirements, ...

Tagged with: Rules of Professional Conduct Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia State Bar

The Supreme Court of Virginia has adopted ground rules for the battles that arise when law firms break up or lawyers split from firms to practice elsewhere. Until now, the only guidance for dealing with often-confused clients has come from ...

Tagged with: Law Firms Rules of Professional Conduct Supreme Court of Virginia News

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, ...

Tagged with: Ethics Law Firms Rules of Professional Conduct Virginia State Bar

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 ...

Tagged with: Employment Ethics Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr. Law Firms Rules of Professional Conduct Virginia State Bar

With Republicans effectively in control of the Virginia governorship and both houses of the General Assembly, lawyers have been leaning to the red side in making political campaign contributions this year. The trend holds even for trial lawyers, often seen ...

Tagged with: Elections Ethics General Assembly Rules of Professional Conduct Virginia Trial Lawyers Association

In Melissa Howell’s employment law practice, she rarely meets with her clients in her Norfolk office space. Instead, her clients prefer to work with her via phone and email or have her come to them, where she can access employment ...

Tagged with: Ethics Law Office Management Rules of Professional Conduct Technology Virginia State Bar

Lawyer-blogger Horace Hunter faced the Supreme Court of Virginia Jan. 8 in the appeal of his disciplinary case, and he said anything he wrote about his clients’ cases is absolutely protected by the First Amendment. First Amendment scholar Rodney Smolla ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Justice Cleo E. Powell Justice Cynthia D. Kinser Justice William C. Mims Lawyer Discipline Rules of Professional Conduct Supreme Court of Virginia News Virginia State Bar