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 ...

Tagged with: Commonwealth's Attorneys Ethics Immigration Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

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 ...

Tagged with: Ethics Federal Courts Judge James C. Turk Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar

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 ...

Tagged with: Ethics Immigration Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

After a lawyer fought for two years against charges of unethical conduct in a domestic violence case, a three-judge panel took 15 minutes to exonerate her this month. The lawyer claimed the ethics charges were the result of overreaching by ...

Tagged with: Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar

A Virginia State Bar committee wants to reaffirm the bar’s authority to punish Virginia lawyers based on discipline imposed by authorities elsewhere. At the same time, a proposal to revise the VSB reciprocal discipline rules would remove “strict default provisions” ...

Tagged with: Virginia State Bar

A new effort to ensure that immigrant criminal defendants don’t unwittingly risk deportation would impose an ethical burden on prosecutors. Prosecutors are expected to question whether they should be put in the position of advising defendants about their rights under ...

Tagged with: Criminal Immigration Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

ALEXANDRIA – The Virginia State Bar Council has approved increases in the caps on compensation payments to victims of dishonest lawyers. The higher caps, to take effect next summer, will be the first increases in payment limits in 15 years. ...

Tagged with: Clients' Protection Fund Virginia State Bar

Should Virginia change the rules governing law practice to open up new ways to deliver legal services? A 14-member Virginia State Bar task force now is considering how best to regulate the future of the profession. The panel, chaired by ...

Tagged with: Virginia State Bar

LYNCHBURG — Three candidates for the top volunteer post at the Virginia State Bar shared a lectern before a group of colleagues while another attorney stepped forward as an early candidate for 2016-17 VSB president-elect. Virginia lawyers will vote for ...

Tagged with: Elections Virginia State Bar

The Virginia State Bar Standing Committee on Legal Ethics hopes to spark more dialogue on proposed rules changes requiring lawyers to have some level of familiarity with modern technology as it affects their law practices. Because only six lawyers commented ...

Tagged with: Technology Virginia State Bar