Virginia

After Decades in Practice, Family Lawyer Cringes Over Case ‘Way Beyond Just an Ugly Divorce’

Angry after his wife of 20 years left him, Ronnie Lee Durham, who is now known as Ronnie Lee Johnson, managed to persuade Virginia authorities that she was the abusive one. Eventually, after she was arrested for the 10th time and spent 17 days in jail, she fled to a…

Jul 30, 2012 11:47 PM CDT

Judge Who Overruled Feds’ Nix on Naturalization App Will Personally Administer Citizenship Oath

In an unusual outright rejection of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services decision about a naturalization petition, a federal judge in Alexandria, Va., last month said, in a 90-page opinion, that there was no basis to deny citizenship to Jamal Abusamhadaneh on character grounds. Although the USCIS claimed Abusamhadaneh had…

Jul 25, 2012 9:50 PM CDT

Shaken by Ordeal with Gunman, Lawyer Takes a Day Off and Ponders Priorities

Matrimonial lawyer David DeFazio took a day off from work on Friday after having reportedly outrun a gunman Thursday afternoon as the man—who police say is a client’s ex-husband—leveled a rifle at DeFazio in his law firm’s parking lot and then shot at DeFazio as he was sprinting away DeFazio,…

Jun 25, 2012 6:10 PM CDT

News Reports: Lawyer Outran Gunman, Escaped Law Office via Side Door as Suspect Searched for Him

David G. DeFazio has had problems at work before and even thought that individuals might be dangerous. But never in his 14 years of practice did the Virginia matrimonial attorney expect to see a gunman level a rifle at him in his law firm’s parking lot. That’s what reportedly happened…

Jun 22, 2012 7:04 PM CDT

Lawyer OK After Man Allegedly Shot at Him with Rifle in Law Firm Parking Lot Near Va. Courthouse

A suspect is being held without bond after allegedly shooting at a Virginia attorney with a rifle in a law firm parking lot across from the main courthouse in Chesterfield County. Authorities say Mark M. Lowe, 41, shot at the lawyer and missed. The attorney, who has not been publicly…

Jun 21, 2012 9:03 PM CDT

Former BigLaw Clients Helped Small Offit Kurman Add Nearly 80 Attorneys Since 2001, Partner Says

Founded by two brothers in 1987, a small Maryland-based law firm known as Offit Kurman grew gradually over the years but still had only 10 attorneys in 2001. But rapid BigLaw expansion and a recessionary economy in which other legal partnerships have struggled helped fuel a growth explosion at his…

Jun 18, 2012 3:55 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Va. Court Finds Lawyer Can Blog on Publicly Available Info About His Cases

Law Blogger’s First Amendment Win Corrected: In October, the Virginia State Bar ruled that Richmond, Va., lawyer Horace Hunter, who wrote about his own cases on his blog without his clients’ consent, needed to add a disclaimer on his website warning that results could vary in others’ cases. He also…

Jun 15, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Metallica Offers $50K Reward re Woman Slain After Concert, Lead Singer’s Video Seeks Public Tips

In a video posted on a website for the FBI and YouTube, the lead singer and guitarist of Metallica asks for the public’s help in finding out who killed a Virginia Tech student after she left one of the heavy metal band’s concerts. Morgan Harrington, 20, was last seen hitchhiking…

Jun 13, 2012 7:14 PM CDT

Judge OKs Use of Predictive Coding to Cut E-Discovery Document Review Group from 2 Million to 5,000

A computer technique that can be used to drastically reduce the number of documents that must be reviewed by humans in litigation discovery has been OK’d by a Virginia judge despite opposition from the opposing party. Partner Thomas Gricks III of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis argued the contested motion…

Jun 11, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

Lawyers Say They Lost Millions to Con Artist Working as Elite Security Consultant

Kevin Richard Halligen wasn’t the elite intelligence operative he claimed to be, but a charming and audacious con artist who lived a luxe lifestyle by fleecing others, including a number of lawyers, of millions, authorities say. After he had already duped high-level contacts on the other side of the Atlantic,…

Jun 11, 2012 1:45 PM CDT

Ex-Attorney Won Acquittal in Client Theft Case, But Gets 45 Months for Obstruction re Faked Docs

Acquitted on mail fraud and identity theft charges related to an alleged $27,000 client theft, a former Virginia attorney was sentenced Friday to 45 months in prison on an obstruction conviction for forging documents he used to defend himself in the case. Bradley Douglas Wein, 51, had argued he had…

Jun 8, 2012 8:24 PM CDT

Fed’l Appeals Court Says Sign Law Applies to Dog Kennel’s Mural, Calls Claimed Artwork Advertising

Is a mural featuring dogs on the exterior of a commercial building a sign subject to standard business zoning requirements or a work of art? It depends on the subject matter, according to a federal appeals court opinion last week. But because the mural at issue featured cartoon canines from…

May 29, 2012 7:37 PM CDT

After Lawmakers Nix Gay Prosecutor for Judge’s Seat, Top Va. Attorney Calls Vote an ‘Embarassment’

An openly gay Virginia prosecutor who formerly served as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot was rejected by lawmakers for a seat on the state court bench Tuesday. Tracy Thorne-Begland, who serves as chief deputy commonwealth attorney in Richmond, is raising twins with his partner, who is also a lawyer, the…

May 15, 2012 10:55 PM CDT

Public Defender Testified, Against Ex-Client, re Transcript Accuracy; Will Ex-Client Get New Trial?

One day in May 2010, an assistant public defender in Newport News, Va., got an unusual phone call. A prosecutor pursuing a case against a former client of Brian Keeley’s wanted his help. A witness who had testified earlier and pointed the finger at defendant Mario Lamar Turner now said…

Apr 25, 2012 4:13 PM CDT

Former PI Lawyer Gets 2 Years for Taking $200K Out of Client Trust Account

After his wife discovered he is gay and told their children, Steven Helm said he had an hour to pack his things and go. As he struggled to deal with a fog of depression in the aftermath of losing his home, his marriage and his relationship with his children, he…

Mar 29, 2012 6:52 PM CDT