The VLW Blog

George W. Shanks, an attorney in Luray, says he wants to be president of the Virginia State Bar in 2011-12.
So far, he is the only candidate for the position of president-elect designate. Lawyers who have been members of the VSB Council for two of the previous five years are eligible for the position.
Candidates have until […]

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What if nobody wanted to be president of the Virginia State Bar?
You get there by submitting a petition with 50 names on it by Oct. 1 to be the president-elect designate 21 months before your term as president would begin. If more than one candidate files a petition, an election is conducted by a ballot […]

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The Virginia State Bar is posting a warning about an e-mail scam targeting Virginia lawyers.
According to the advisory, a law firm is approached through e-mail with what appears to be a legitimate business opportunity.  Almost always, the deal eventually involves an apparently valid check being deposited into the firm’s trust account, with payment then being […]

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ALPS, the legal malpractice insurance carrier endorsed by the Virginia State Bar, is buying Southern Title Insurance Corp.
Both firms are privately held and details of the stock purchase agreement were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in early July.
“We are always looking for ways that we can help lawyers in Virginia practice better […]

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The Virginia State Bar asked for comment on the diversity initiative championed by President Manuel A. Capsalis, and it got it.
More than 60 written comments were sent to Executive Director Karen A. Gould or the VSB’s Virginia Lawyer magazine with cons outnumbering pros by about 3-2.
Capsalis and proponents of the initiative contend that the legal […]

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He’s baaack!
Thomas A. Edmonds, the executive director of the Virginia State Bar for 19 years before retiring at the end of 2007, will rejoin the VSB in July, this time as a Bar Council member representing Henrico County. Edmonds and Roger T. Creager are unopposed for the vacancies created by the departure of Daniel L. […]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia will allow the Virginia State Bar to once again post on its Web site disciplinary information about a lawyer before the time for filing an appeal has expired.
The court caught the bar by surprise in March by directing the VSB to remove such information from the site.
The court did […]

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Ed Walters, CEO of Fastcase Inc., came to Richmond yesterday to talk about the company’s contract for legal research service with the Virginia State Bar, which is up for renewal in February.
A VSB task force, headed by president-elect Jon Huddleston, began several months ago to review complaints by Virginia Beach lawyer Kevin Martingayle and others […]

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Did you get a nastygram from the Virginia State Bar in the mail last week? One that told you that you didn’t have enough CLE hours?
You’re not alone. I was one of the unlucky ones. But I was left pondering the VSB’s math.
According to the math I learned, 2 + 3 + 4.5 + […]

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Attorneys who want to keep their names off of the soon-to-be-online list of lawyers in Virginia now can exercise their “opt-out” option at the Web site of the Virginia State Bar.
To keep your name off the online list, log in to the Member Login site in the upper right corner.  Go to Virginia Lawyer Directory […]

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