Imagine this.  You sue a company and the judge holds a bench trial in November of 1999, and takes the matter under advisement.  The judge issues a ruling ten years and eleven months after the initial trial.  Who said justice delayed, is justice denied?  Believe it or not, this is a real story.  Apparently, the [...]

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.

Here’s the situation: a witness is heavily involved in social media such that she will “friend” anyone that asks. Some have wondered whether an attorney or her assistant could use their real identity and gain access to, for example, a FaceBook site after the account holder accepts

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?

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

Just coming off talking about the legal ethics of social media. Yah, before you say, “boring,” I offer a link to a pretty insightful presentation, which I had no part in producing. And, now, you are thinking things are looking up! Granted, I do not pretend to be a true convert. I am new to [...]

Looking at her e-mail message from Don, Juanita realizes that he is asking for her to represent him in a professional liability action. Sighing, Juanita thinks to herself that she is having another “they sure didn’t teach you this in law school” moment. Handling the litigation is, of course, not the problem. Instead, Juanita wonders [...]

As previously reported, proposed amendments in Virginia to the Rules of Professional Conduct that govern lawyer advertising and communications by lawyers with prospective clients would prohibit in-person solicitation in all matters, not just those involving personal injury cases. While I was, and remain, critical of such a change, a decision by the U.S. Court of [...]

So you are a fifteen-year associate at a law firm with apparently limited future prospects. What would you do? How about plotting your leave by copying client files, have your girlfriend hack into the firm’s computer system and change client contact information. Oh, and then falsely tell clients that the partner is retiring from the [...]