Some court petitions signed and filed by social workers may be void because of Virginia laws requiring pleadings to be filed only by attorneys or unrepresented parties. A Virginia State Bar report last month addressed a common practice in social ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Virginia State Bar

A lawyer suspended from bankruptcy court last year avoided related discipline from the Virginia State Bar in May, but his handling of two non-bankruptcy matters has led to a four-month suspension of his law license. While suspended, attorney Darryl A. ...

Tagged with: Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar

VIRGINIA BEACH — The proponent of a plan to go back to paper ballots for Virginia State Bar presidential elections found himself swimming against a tsunami at a VSB Council meeting June 18. Despite more than an hour of debate ...

Tagged with: Elections Virginia State Bar

“Take the money at filing time” is the advice suggested by a committee of the Virginia State Bar for attorneys charging up-front flat fees for no-asset bankruptcy cases. The VSB Committee on Ethics is requesting comments on a proposed legal ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Bankruptcy Legal Ethics Opinion Virginia State Bar

A suspended Virginia lawyer launched an election campaign for circuit court clerk despite pending state bar charges that he improperly used trust money for personal purposes. Kevin L. Cash is scheduled to face the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board on ...

Tagged with: Elections Lawyer Discipline Virginia State Bar

Despite lower turnout and a campaign glitch, the first online election for president of the Virginia State Bar last year produced “overwhelmingly positive” comments from lawyers, a study found. The VSB study panel recommends continued use of web-based voting and ...

Tagged with: Elections Virginia State Bar

Decades ago, the wisdom of one non-lawyer helped define the need for a counseling and treatment resource for attorneys struggling with drugs and drink. Then a practicing lawyer, Donald W. Lemons volunteered on a discipline panel for the Virginia State ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Justice Donald W. Lemons Virginia Bar Association Virginia State Bar

The Virginia State Bar has cancelled plans to hold its midyear legal seminar in Jerusalem in the face of organized opposition focused on Israeli travel restrictions. The change in location for the November 8-15 trip stirred controversy as some accused ...

Tagged with: Virginia State Bar

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