Virginia Authorities to Appeal Reversal of Death Row Inmate’s Conviction

Virginia authorities plan to appeal a federal judge’s decision to throw out a death row inmate’s conviction and sentence in a murder-for-hire scheme. The state attorney general’s office filed notice of its intent to appeal Monday with the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Associated Press reported.…

Aug 9, 2011 6:05 PM CDT

MERS Changes Rules, Says Mortgage Servicers Must File Assignments with County Before Foreclosing

Calling for an end to a controversial practice, the Virginia-based company that owns Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) has announced a change in its rules that apparently would require mortgage loan services to follow longstanding property law principles. They are no longer to file foreclosure actions in the name of…

Jul 27, 2011 11:36 PM CDT

Defense Seeks Reversal of $10.6M Death Award, Says Lawyer Didn’t Disclose ‘Stink Bomb’ Email

A $10.6 million award in what may be Virginia’s biggest wrongful death case is being challenged based on a prominent plaintiff lawyer’s claimed failure to disclose what the defense says he called a “stink bomb” email, among other information. On July 5, defense attorneys for Allied Concrete Co. and William…

Jul 22, 2011 12:23 PM CDT

Law Firms Compete in Legal Food Frenzy to Donate the Most to Food Pantries

Working several years ago at a law firm with a presence in Virginia, attorney Mary Binns-Davis saw firsthand how intensely the lawyers there felt about a two-week statewide competition among legal partnerships to gather the most donations for food pantries. Initiated in 2006, the charitable drive donates a million pounds…

Jul 22, 2011 10:10 AM CDT

A Painful Case: Do Parents Need Lawyers for School Disciplinary Hearings?

Jul 1, 2011 8:10 AM CDT

Retired In-House Counsel is Suspended for a Year Due to Second Domestic Violence Incident

A New Jersey lawyer has been suspended from practice for a year by the state supreme court an incident of domestic violence that also resulted in a 12-month jail term for him, according to the Legal Profession Blog. The incident, which resulted in Peter Jacoby’s guilty plea to the felony…

Jun 10, 2011 10:40 AM CDT

Law Firm Bookkeeper Accused of Embezzling $567K, Allegedly Put 210 Forged Checks Into Own Account

Hired in 2005 to work as a bookkeeper for a Virginia-based personal injury law firm, Diana Farmer-Forston allegedly embezzled $567,000 of Bennett and Zydron’s funds over the past four years. Now 54, she has been charged with forgery in federal court in Norfolk and accused of using the money to…

May 26, 2011 5:39 PM CDT

Law Grad Pleads Guilty in Methamphetamine Conspiracy

Jennifer Marie Patterson graduated last week from the University of Richmond law school, and on Thursday she was in court—as a defendant. Patterson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of methamphetamine, report the Richmond Times-Dispatch, WTVR.com and WRIC.com. She could face up to life in prison,…

May 20, 2011 12:57 PM CDT

Lawyer Seeks Continuance in the Interest of Marital Harmony

A Virginia lawyer who accepted appointment to a drug case before he learned of the trial date filed an unusual motion for a continuance. Lawyer Chad Dorsk agreed to replace another lawyer who had withdrawn, then realized the bad timing, the Daily Press reports. Dorsk’s wedding is May 28, and…

May 10, 2011 2:32 PM CDT

Va. Bar Reprimands Monica Goodling for Making Political Hiring Decisions in DOJ

Former Justice Department lawyer Monica Goodling has accepted a public reprimand from the Virginia State Bar. The controversial staff counsel for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had been accused in media reports of aiding a political purge of U.S. attorneys. But a Virginia Bar committee’s reprimand was based on another allegation—that…

May 6, 2011 2:19 PM CDT

Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Launder Marijuana Profits

A Maryland lawyer who was accused of helping drug traffickers launder their illegal profits and using tens of thousands of dollars in proceeds for real estate investments has taken a plea. Brian Young pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiring to launder money…

Apr 26, 2011 6:07 PM CDT

Police Justified in Fatal Shooting of Va. Lawyer Who Fired From His Home During Standoff

Police in Chesterfield County, Va., were justified in fatally shooting an apparently suicidal lawyer after he twice fired at them from the garage of his home in January during an 8-hour standoff, a special prosecutor has ruled. His wife, who is also an attorney, said Richard C. Ferris II had…

Apr 25, 2011 11:32 PM CDT

UVa to Pay Bar Review Expenses for Law Grads Who Are Unemployed

For law graduates who don’t yet have jobs lined up, the University of Virginia is trying to eliminate a potential financial obstacle to getting licensed to practice. It will pay up to $500 in bar application costs and $1,500 in bar review expenses, reports Virginia Law Weekly. Hat tip: Above…

Apr 21, 2011 7:32 PM CDT

Finally, a Big Fish: Federal Jury Convicts Taylor Bean Mortgage Co. Owner Farkas in $3B Fraud

In a rare major fraud case brought in connection with the nation’s financial crisis, the government has won a conviction. A federal jury in Alexandria, Va., today convicted Lee Farkas, the chairman and majority owner of a major Florida-based mortgage company, on all 14 counts concerning a fraud scheme that…

Apr 19, 2011 11:20 PM CDT

After Losing Libel Claim, Newspaper Editorializes About Case, Is Sued for Libel by Lawyer and Judge

It must seem like deja vu to the Southside Voice Inc., owner of the Richmond Voice. In 2009, the company was sued for libel over a letter to the editor the newspaper had published about a teacher. A $125,000 award resulted in 2010, about which the Voice published an editorial.…

Apr 14, 2011 3:29 PM CDT