Ex-lawyer pleads guilty in home-invasion attack on law firm partner who fired her

A former lawyer in Virginia cried as she pleaded guilty on Monday for her role in the November 2014 home invasion and torture attack on the law firm partner who fired her. The plea deal calls for Alecia Schmuhl to be sentenced to 10 to 45 years in prison, report…

Sep 20, 2016 9:16 AM CDT

Former Virginia governor owes defense team $10M for successful corruption appeal

Bob McDonnell, the former Republican governor of Virginia whose corruption conviction was recently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, reportedly owes his appellate lawyers more than $10 million. Jones Day lawyers Hank Asbill and Noel J. Francisco represented McDonnell, along with John L. Brownlee of Holland & Knight, the Richmond…

Sep 12, 2016 11:25 AM CDT

Federal prosecutors will drop case against former Virginia governor after SCOTUS loss

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that they will not seek to retry former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, whose bribery conviction was overturned in June by the U.S. Supreme Court. Prosecutors will also drop the corruption case against McDonnell’s wife, Maureen, according to a statement by the U.S. Justice Department. The…

Sep 8, 2016 2:26 PM CDT

10 Questions: Lawyer Phillip Stone helps revive Southern institution

Sep 1, 2016 3:30 AM CDT

Judge cites ‘callous’ crime in sentencing ex-lawyer to life for attack on law firm partner, wife

A judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, agreed with jurors’ recommendation on Friday and sentenced former lawyer Andrew Schmuhl to two life sentences plus 98 years in prison for an attack on a law firm managing partner and his wife. Judge Randy Bellows said the November 2014 attack on Leo Fisher…

Aug 29, 2016 2:47 PM CDT

Police officer is convicted of manslaughter in shooting outside Wal-Mart

A white police officer was convicted of voluntary manslaughter on Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed black man in a scuffle outside a Wal-Mart last year. Jurors who convicted Portsmouth, Virginia, police officer Stephen Rankin rejected a more serious charge of first-degree murder, report the Washington Post and the Virginian-Pilot.…

Aug 5, 2016 10:29 AM CDT

Supreme Court stay in transgender teen’s case allows school to enforce restroom restriction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a Virginia school to temporarily enforce its policy that students use bathrooms corresponding with their “biological genders.” The court voted 5-3 to stay a federal judge’s injunction requiring the school in Gloucester County, Virginia, to allow a transgender teen who identifies as male…

Aug 4, 2016 9:33 AM CDT

Drivers are pulled over for driving without an ice cream cone; are the stops unconstitutional?

Police in Halifax, Virginia, are trying to improve community relations by stopping drivers and citing them for driving on a hot day without an ice cream cone. A video of a police officer handing ice cream cones to an unsuspecting driver and her young passenger has gone viral, KTLA and…

Aug 3, 2016 11:55 AM CDT

E-discovery pioneer creates smart search for archive of VP candidate’s emails

E-discovery guru Maura Grossman didn’t stay off the radar for long. Grossman, who co-authored an influential paper about technology assisted review, recently left her position as of counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to start her own e-discovery consulting firm as well as take a position as a research…

Jul 28, 2016 3:30 PM CDT

Virginia governor’s blanket order restoring voting rights for felons is struck down

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down an executive order by the governor that restored voting rights for all felons in the state who had completed their sentences and supervised release. The court ruled 4-3 (PDF) that Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s blanket order violated the state constitution and separation of…

Jul 25, 2016 10:31 AM CDT

FBI didn’t need warrant to use malware to find visitors to child-porn website, judge rules

Hacking is so prevalent that a man charged with child pornography had no expectation of privacy for his home computer’s identifying information, a federal judge in Virginia ruled late last month. The June 23 decision (PDF) by U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan Jr. of Norfolk held that the FBI…

Jul 8, 2016 8:30 AM CDT

Law grad sues Department of Education over its guidance on campus sexual-misconduct investigations

A University of Virginia Law School graduate, whose degree and job with a Washington, D.C., law firm were delayed because of a sexual-misconduct investigation of him by the university, has sued the U.S. Department of Education, claiming it improperly changed the standard of proof in such matters, the Washington Post…

Jun 17, 2016 2:05 PM CDT

Jury recommends life sentence for lawyer in home-invasion attack; victimized partner makes statement

Jurors in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Thursday recommended that lawyer Andrew Schmuhl receive two life sentences plus 98 years in prison for a 2014 home-invasion stabbing attack on a law firm managing partner and his wife. Jurors recommended the sentence after the managing partner, Leo Fisher of the Arlington law…

Jun 17, 2016 6:58 AM CDT

Lawyer testifies he can’t remember home-invasion attack on law firm managing partner and wife

Lawyer Andrew Schmuhl testified on Tuesday that he can’t remember barging into the Virginia home of a law firm managing partner and his wife, and can’t remember stabbing the couple in what prosecutors have termed a “torture session.” The Washington Post, WUSA and WJLA have stories on Schmuhl’s testimony that…

Jun 8, 2016 8:12 AM CDT

Trial lawyer is retiring after 54-year career, in wake of $1.1M jury verdict

After 54 years of law practice, a Virginia trial attorney is getting ready to retire next month. Known for his unfailing courtesy as well as his successful representation of underdog clients, G. Marshall Mundy is about to celebrate his 82nd birthday. And, following one of his most successful years ever…

Jun 2, 2016 12:25 PM CDT