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Woods Rogers, Vandeventer Black law firms to merge July 1
Woods Rogers PLC and Vandeventer Black LLP announced Wednesday that the two law firms have agreed to merge as Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black, creating the state’s fifth-largest firm, with more than 130 attorneys and a total workforce of 250 people. The merger will go into effect July 1. Daniel Summerlin, president of Roanoke-based Woods Rogers, […]
Sentara Healthcare names new general counsel
Earl Barnes will join Sentara Healthcare as its general counsel on June 2, the Norfolk-based health system announced Tuesday. Barnes previously was executive vice president and chief legal officer for Chicago-based Amita Health. In that role, he managed the legal, compliance, audit and risk departments, leading a 60-person team and managing a $10 million annual […]
Hunton Andrews Kurth promotes execs
Virginia’s second-largest law firm, Richmond-based Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, has named a new executive committee chair, the firm announced Monday. Randall S. Parks will succeed George C. Howell III as the chair of the firm’s executive committee. Parks joined the firm (then Hunton & Williams LLP) in 1988. Howell served as chair for five years, […]
Hotel workers must complete anti-human trafficking training
RICHMOND, Va. — After a few lawmakers missed time during the session due to COVID-19, Del. Shelly A. Simonds, D-Newport News, said she was thrilled to see all 100 members of the House unanimously pass a bill requiring hotels to provide human trafficking training for employees. “It was really exciting for me to watch the […]
Legislators nipped Va.’s budding cannabis industry, advocates say
RICHMOND, Va. — Jacob Williamson grows, makes and sells hemp-based CBD products through his family’s Hens and Hemp farm. He went through the permitting process to be a hemp farmer when it became legal in 2019, but now he is leaving the industry. “We can’t keep up with the multimillion-dollar cannabis industry coming into the […]
CowanGates opens Williamsburg office
Richmond-based law firm CowanGates has expanded to Williamsburg and opened a new office, the firm announced March 17. The new office is located at 439 W. Duke of Gloucester St., and will initially focus on real estate law, including contract and closing negotiations, construction and permanent financing, easement agreements, covenants and other real estate matters. […]
College sports wagering bill wasn’t good bet
RICHMOND, Va. — Six Virginia men’s and women’s basketball teams made it into March Madness, but state law prevents fans and bettors from placing wagers on their favorite in-state college teams. Lawmakers attempted to change that law this session. Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, introduced Senate Bill 576 that would allow Virginia sports bettors to bet […]
The big crunch
Although the “Great Resignation” is hitting other industries harder, Virginia law firms are experiencing a tight labor market while also seeing increased demand for services. Alison McKee, a past president of the Virginia Bar Association and an attorney at Kaufman & Canoles PC in Virginia Beach, notes that “2021 was the busiest year in a […]
Youngkin signs bill to conform tax code
This year’s tax season may be a little less complicated for businesses that were granted Paycheck Protection Program loans and Rebuild Virginia grants during the pandemic. A bill that Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law Wednesday will ensure that the aid granted through those programs won’t be treated as taxable income. Because Virginia state and […]
GOP lawmakers push to protect workers who decline COVID vaccines
RICHMOND, Va. – Lawmakers narrowly passed a bill this month that would allow people fired for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine to receive unemployment benefits if no other misconduct took place. The measure advanced from the House of Delegates on a 51-48 party line vote and was assigned to a Senate committee on Feb. 10. The […]
Lawmakers debate human trafficking bill
RICHMOND, Va. — Legislators raised a few questions with a measure that would deploy hotel staff to help combat human trafficking. The bill introduced by Del. Shelly A. Simonds, D-Newport News, was heard Thursday in a House subcommittee. House Bill 258 would authorize the Department of Criminal Justice Services to create an online mandatory course […]
Richard Cullen to become Youngkin’s counselor
Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has selected former Virginia Attorney General Richard Cullen as counselor to the governor. A senior partner and former chairman of McGuireWoods, Cullen will leave Virginia’s largest firm on Jan. 14, the day before Youngkin is sworn in. Cullen joined McGuireWoods in 1977. From 1991 to 1994, he served as U.S. attorney for […]
