The intersection of legal ethics and technology has been an interest of mine since Al Gore “invented the Internet.” Earlier this year, I was interviewed for an article for the American Bar Association on the topic, “Technology and Ethics: Online Marketing and Networking,” which was recently published, and welcome your thoughts and comments.

In a rebuke to the “blame game,” the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed a trial court’s decision to kick out a legal malpractice case on summary judgment. In Wintergreen Partners, Inc. v. McGuireWoods, LLP, Wintergreen contended that its former lawyers at McGuireWoods screwed up an appeal. As noted by the Supreme Court, McGuireWoods “failed to ensure [...]

Beware wayward lawyers: you can no longer have sex with your client’s wife in South Carolina. Does anyone else hear strains of a banjo in the background?

Attorneys’ fees drive too much litigation. Under the American Rule, attorneys’ fees are not awarded unless (a) there is a statute that says they should be awarded, (b) a contractual provision provides for such an award, or (c) a common law rule affords such a recovery.

How institutions select lawyers is not a secret; relationships and reputations play a big role. An interesting article in the March 2010 issue of Claims magazine by Domenick DiCicco offers another truism:

When my sister called me not too long ago, she was trying to rent an apartment to a purported English national (let’s call him Chip) through an online service. Being the good chap that he was, Chip wanted

As the Spring Meeting of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys concluded today, I effectively handed over to Kelly Lippincott the proverbial gavel