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All eyes on noncompetes
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Aug. 20, a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, which was scheduled to go into effect Sept. 4. In striking down the FTC’s pending rule, U.S. District Judge Ada Brown called it “arbitrary and capricious” and an “unlawful agency action.” An FTC spokesperson said […]
Appeals court reverses $2B judgment for Appian
The corporate espionage civil case between rivals Appian and Pegasystems is heading back to court, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The three-judge panel ordered a new trial, saying that Appian was improperly relieved of the burden of proving that Pega financially benefited from misappropriating Appian’s trade secrets. In May 2022, McLean cloud computing […]
JENNIFER WEST
Ever since she was a child, Jennifer West knew she wanted to be a lawyer. “I always felt like advocating for others was going to be my calling,” she says. And now she serves as president at Richmond-based Spotts Fain, where she also heads up the law firm‘s pro bono practice and community outreach activities. […]
JILL VOGEL
Jill Vogel thought that her clerkship in political law would “merely be a short indulgence,” and then she’d go back to “real work.” But it turned out that she loved that area of the law more than insurance, family and criminal law, and now the former state senator has dedicated her entire career to it. […]
Kaufman & Canoles names Williamsburg managing partner
Dustin H. DeVore has been named managing partner of Kaufman & Canoles’ Williamsburg office, effective May 21, the law firm announced. DeVore joined Kaufman & Canoles in 2002 and chairs the firm’s lender representation practice group and the firm’s credit union team. Outside the firm, he serves on the board of directors of the Greater […]
Woods Rogers returns to original name
Call it a strategy of going back to the future — the merged Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black law firm is shortening its name back to its original appellation of Woods Rogers, executives announced Monday. In 2022, Roanoke-based Woods Rogers merged with Vandeventer Black in Norfolk, creating the state’s fifth largest law firm, with more than […]
Breaking the rules
For lawyers, time has always been money, which has made the billable hour standard practice for the profession since the 1960s. But with the rise of artificial intelligence, which already can cut the time required to complete rote tasks from days or hours down to seconds, a once-inconceivable event just might come to pass — […]
Kaufman & Canoles has new president and CEO
Jason R. Davis became president and CEO of Norfolk-based law firm Kaufman & Canoles on Monday. Davis, who has been with Kaufman & Canoles since 1997, succeeds William R. Van Buren III in his role as president. Van Buren has served as the firm’s president and chairman for 16 years and will remain chairman. “I […]
Professional Services: Making it legal
Continuing a trend of the past several years, mergers and growth continue to be in fashion among law firms. McGuireWoods, the largest firm headquartered in Virginia, has its eye out for new partners, firm Chairman Jon Harmon said in 2023. “I believe the legal industry is consolidating, and that, over time, there’s going to be […]
Former Va. ABC chief joins Hunton Andrews Kurth
Travis Hill, former CEO of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and former Virginia deputy secretary of agriculture and forestry, has joined Richmond-based law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, Virginia’s second-largest law firm announced Tuesday. Hill is a counsel for the firm’s Global Economic Development, Commerce and Government Relations Group (GECON), according to a news rel[...]
Former Gentry Locke managing partner dies
G. Michael “Mike” Pace Jr., managing partner of Roanoke’s Gentry Locke law firm for several years and a former Virginia Bar Association president, died Jan. 8 after a long illness. He was 66. Pace, a Salem native, spent nearly his whole career at the Roanoke law firm, starting as a summer associate in 1983 and […]
Lynchburg and Danville law firms to merge
The law firms of Petty, Livingston, Dawson & Richards in Lynchburg and Southern Virginia Legal (SoVa Legal) in Danville will merge to become PLDR Law beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the two law firms announced Wednesday. Together, the two firms will jointly have 16 attorneys and have offices in Lynchburg and Danville, serving communities across Central […]
