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Lawyers aim to lower barriers to legal advice for startups
It takes a lot to start a business — a marketable idea, available capital and good advice, among other resources. Tricia Dunlap puts legal guidance in the same bucket. A former history teacher who became a lawyer in her 40s, Dunlap started her own Richmond-based law firm, Dunlap Law PLC, in 2015 to help “un-lawyered […]
Former commerce secretary returns to Williams Mullen
Former Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball is returning to his former law firm, Williams Mullen. Ball rejoined Williams Mullen on Oct. 10 as of counsel in its corporate section, supporting and serving the firm’s Economic Development Team and aiding clients with business expansion needs. He’ll be based in the firm’s Richmond office. […]
Virginia State Bar names new exec director/COO
The former deputy executive director of the Virginia State Bar has been promoted to lead the organization responsible for the licensing of more than 50,000 lawyers in the commonwealth. Cameron M. Rountree’s appointment to the state bar’s executive director and chief operating officer was approved by the Supreme Court of Virginia on Sept. 8. He […]
Hitting home
“The stereotypical view is that every young lawyer wants to work from home,” unlike their older peers, observes Victor O. Cardwell, principal and chairman of Roanoke-based Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC. Indeed, 51% of baby boomer attorneys report being eager or very eager to get back to the office, but just 22% of their millennial […]
Legal review
In law firms across Virginia, power is now definitely on the side of individual attorneys, who can command larger salaries and other perks so long as they’re willing to cope with heavier workloads. As demand for legal services has soared, the number of lawyers available to perform that work has slumped, leaving even the most […]
Judge dismisses Trigiani lawsuit against New Peoples Bank
A federal judge issued a summary judgment last week, dismissing all claims in former executive Mary Y. Trigiani’s lawsuit against Russell County-based New Peoples Bank for discrimination and wrongful termination. Trigiani’s complaints of a “cultlike office culture” did not hold up to judicial scrutiny, U.S. District Judge James P. Jones ruled. A Big Stone Gap […]
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. […]
