http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-06-19T18:54:31-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_school_sues_insurer_seeks_coverage_of_civil_racketeering_case/ Liberty University School of Law has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force its insurance carrier to defend the institution in an earlier civil racketeering case over a child-custody battle between married same-sex parents, reports Virginia Lawyers Weekly's VLW Blog. The underlying suit, which is proceeding in… Family Law, Insurance Law, Law Schools, Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, 2nd Circuit Court, 4th Circuit Court, States, Vermont, Virginia Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:30:32 -0500 44720.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/federal_judge_assistant_ags_advice_to_gas_companies_shocking_lead_lawyer_st/ A federal judge expressed alarm in a Wednesday opinion that an assistant attorney general for the state of Virginia has been advising natural gas companies in a court dispute and that a lead lawyer for the plaintiff landowners in the $30 million royalties case called the state their "stooge." "Shockingly,"… Energy Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, 4th Circuit Court, States, Virginia Fri, 07 Jun 2013 11:44:35 -0500 44505.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suing_ex-client_for_500k_in_unpaid_divorce_fees_leads_to_disbarment_ruling_/ A decision to sue a former client, who happened to be an attorney, for $500,000 in allegedly unpaid legal fees in a divorce case has led to a disbarment ruling against a former Virginia Bar Association president who was once considered one of the titans of the Washington, D.C., matrimonial… Family Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Virginia Wed, 22 May 2013 05:58:17 -0500 44300.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/us_attorney_asserts_jurisdiction_in_international_cases_because_of_computer/ U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia is claiming jurisdiction to pursue cases against alleged international copyright pirates and out-of-state securities fraud defendants, citing the location of computer servers in his district. The Associated Press explains. MacBride says he has jurisdiction over most securities… Attorney General, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Internet Law, Securities Law, States, Virginia Tue, 26 Mar 2013 06:00:54 -0500 43420.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/prosecutors_use_of_undercover_paralegal_in_ethics_spat_brings_reprimand/ A county attorney in Caroline County, Va., has been reprimanded for using undercover tactics in a quest to learn whether a criminal defense lawyer was making do with just “two books and some scrap paper,” as he told jurors at the trial of a client. Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony “Tony” Spencer… Criminal Justice, Prosecutors, Legal Ethics, States, Virginia Mon, 25 Mar 2013 05:45:45 -0500 43400.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suspect_faces_4_felonies_in_courthouse_bomb-threat_case_is_held_without_bon/ A 21-year-old man accused of calling in a courthouse bomb threat from a pay telephone in order to try to avoid his scheduled sentencing that morning in a malicious wounding case is now facing a new case. Devon Tyrell Slaughter is charged with four felonies concerning the Feb. 20 incident,… Criminal Justice, Judiciary, Court Security, States, Virginia Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:45:55 -0600 43121.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/defense_attorneys_not_authorized_to_try_to_save_ex-client_from_execution/ A federal judge in Roanoke, Va., on Thursday nixed efforts by former defense attorneys for Robert Gleason Jr., to prevent their ex-client from being executed. Gleason, 42, has strangled two inmates and says he will kill more if he isn't put to death, reports the Associated Press.… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Trials & Litigation, 4th Circuit Court, States, Virginia Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:00:53 -0600 42302.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ag_seeks_federal_stay_of_va._court_order_to_release_capital_murder_defendan/ As a Thursday deadline nears for the Virginia to release a defendant in a capital murder case because of prosecutorial misconduct, the state's attorney general is seeking a federal appellate-court stay of a federal district judge's order to let Justin Wolfe go. Although the two sides disagree about the parameters… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Prosecutors, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, 4th Circuit Court, States, Virginia Wed, 02 Jan 2013 17:32:30 -0600 42170.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/elderly_couple_in_fight_with_lawyers_over_tens_of_thousands_of_dollars_in_q/ Corrected: The battle between a court-appointed law firm and the family of an elderly couple that was in its care over legal fees is raising questions of the treatment of aging Americans by paid guardians and the lack of state processes to protect them. A judge appointed Virginia-based law firm… Administrative Law, Business of Law, Elder Law, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, Trusts & Estates, States, Virginia Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:00:58 -0600 41834.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/inmate_ordered_released_after_recantation_remains_in_prison_because_of_juri/ The purported molestation victim recanted. A judge ordered the convicted prisoner freed. But the story doesn’t have a happy ending, at least not yet, for the wrongly convicted man who spent more than four years in prison. Prison officials are refusing to release Virginia inmate Jonathan Montgomery because of advice… Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, States, Virginia Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:47:18 -0600 41607.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/va._judge_oks_us_army_veterans_license_plate_says_state_incorrectly_conside/ A Virginia judge has ruled that the state department of motor vehicles exceeded its authority last year when revoked a former U.S. Army sergeant's vanity license plate, which could be considered to make an offensive racial reference. However, Circuit Court Judge John W. Brown said the state has to allow… Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Government Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Virginia Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:51:13 -0600 41554.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/hurricane_sandy_sweeps_work_away_from_some_law_firms_and_toward_others/ Updated: As what is expected to be an epic storm sweeps into the East Coast from Florida to Canada and could hit the Northeast especially hard, courts and law firms both large and small joined numerous other establishments—including the U.S. Supreme Court—on Monday in announcing that their operations would be… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Judiciary, Law Firms, Large Firm, Solos/Small Firms, Natural Disasters, Hurricane Sandy, States, Delaware, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia Mon, 29 Oct 2012 14:45:59 -0500 41340.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyers_barbecue_sauce_became_a_side_business/ When Norfolk, Va., lawyer Steven Mirman first started making barbecue sauce, he had no plans to sell his new concoction. Instead, he was on a quest to make a middle-ground barbecue sauce that wasn’t too liquid and wasn’t too thick, HamptonRoads.com reports. His friends urged him to take… Careers, States, Virginia Fri, 26 Oct 2012 06:15:47 -0500 41304.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/three_regional_law_firms_announced_mergers_monday_like_most_this_year_they/ Three well-known regional law firms have announced mergers this week. And, like most other law firm mergers this year, they involved the acquisitions of smaller shops, according to Reuters. Adams and Reese will add Tallahassee, Fla.-based Igler & Dougherty to its existing roster of 260 attorneys working in… Corporate Law, Law Firms, Midsize Firm, Solos/Small Firms, States, Florida, New York, Virginia Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:54:20 -0500 41003.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/feds_say_suspect_in_100m_scam_is_fugitive_harvard_law_grad_accused_of_takin/ Federal authorities say a Harvard Law School graduate who has been a fugitive for 25 years is in jail awaiting trial as a suspect in an unrelated case involving $100 million scam in which donations for U.S. Navy veterans were collected throughout the country. The suspect, who said his name… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, 4th Circuit Court, States, Florida, Ohio, Virginia Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:20:36 -0500 40960.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/suit_claims_bouncers_severed_lawyers_pinkie_finger_while_ejecting_him_from_/ A Virginia lawyer is suing a Washington, D.C., bar for $500,000, claiming bouncers accidentally severed his pinkie finger while ejecting him from the popular nightspot. Lawyer Robert Dyer of Arlington is suing the owners of the Smith Point bar and restaurant, report the Washington Post and the… Tort Law, Trials & Litigation, States, District of Columbia, Virginia Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:13:22 -0500 40780.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/womans_like_of_sheriffs_facebook_page_points_deputies_to_photos_of_wanted_m/ A Virginia woman allegedly trying to help her boyfriend hide from Maryland authorities apparently took a look at a sheriff's Facebook page to see if law enforcement officers were looking for him. However, when 22-year-old Samantha Nicole Dillow hit the "like" button she set in motion a chain of events… Criminal Justice, States, Virginia Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:15:15 -0500 40726.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/microsoft_suit_some_malware_is_preinstalled_not_just_an_ip_issue_but_a_secu/ For years, users have been blamed when malware infects their computers and repeatedly warned not to open attachments from unknown email senders or download software from dubious sources. But a major manufacturer now says that malware sometimes is already preinstalled when purchasers first open the packaging of their new computers.… Corporate Law, International Law, Internet Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 4th Circuit Court, States, Virginia Thu, 13 Sep 2012 14:09:08 -0500 40707.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/freed_after_12_years_aided_by_moms_paralegal_work_va._man_like_da_wants_rea/ More than a decade after being wrongly convicted of an elderly woman's murder, Michael Wayne Hash left the Culpeper County, Va., courthouse Monday a free man, with the case against him finally dismissed. Now 31, Hash has something in common–in addition to a belief that the case against him wasn't… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 4th Circuit Court, States, Virginia Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:17:36 -0500 40353.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ex-student_pleads_in_law_school_break-in_state_says_he_tried_to_intercept/ A former law student at the University of Virginia has taken a plea in what authorities described as a registrar's office surveillance camera scheme intended to intercept a law firm's request for his transcript. Joshua Peter Gomes pleaded guilty on Friday to a reduced charge of unarmed robbery, reports the… Criminal Justice, Law Schools, Law Students, States, Virginia Mon, 06 Aug 2012 05:01:02 -0500 40041.abajournal.com