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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 commun[...]
16 Va. companies receive LGBTQ inclusivity awards
Sixteen Virginia companies received the top score in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, released in November. Nationally, more than 1,384 companies, including 378 Fortune 500 companies, participated in the organization’s 21st Corporate Equality Index (CEI) survey. Companies that do not[...]
U.Va. appoints alumna as new law school dean
A professor and former vice dean has been named the next dean of the University of Virginia School of Law, the school announced Monday. Leslie Kendrick, also a U.Va. Law alumna, will succeed Risa Goluboff in July 2024, becoming the second woman to serve as the law school’s dean. Kendrick graduated from the law school [&hel[...]
McGuireWoods names RVA, Norfolk managing partners
McGuireWoods, Virginia’s oldest and largest law firm, has appointed new managing partners in Richmond and Norfolk, the firm announced Friday. Janet Peyton will lead the Richmond office, and Michael Herring, the current Richmond office managing partner, will become chair of the firm’s commercial litigation department [...]
Altria subsidiary NJOY sues 34 e-vapor businesses
Henrico County-based Altria Group’s NJOY e-vapor subsidiary filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against nearly three dozen U.S. and international manufacturers, distributors and retailers of e-vapor products, claiming that the businesses are selling products that are illegal under California’s flavored vape ban. The law[...]
William & Mary law dean becomes of counsel at McGuireWoods
William & Mary Law School Dean A. Benjamin Spencer is consulting for McGuireWoods as a part-time, of counsel attorney, the law firm announced Thursday. Spencer, who is also a trustee professor at the law school, will consult with McGuireWoods lawyers and clients on pending legal matters and work on learning initiatives and c[...]
Keeping their own counsel
Of the 1.3 million attorneys practicing in the United States — more than 35,500 of them licensed to practice in Virginia — the American Bar Association reports that more than half are based at law firms, while only about 10% serve as in-house general counsels. That disparity is not because general counsel jobs are unwanted [[...]
Altria settles 6,000 Juul-related lawsuits for $235M
Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. has settled at least 6,000 state and federal lawsuits related to Juul Labs Inc. for $235 million, the Fortune 500 tobacco manufacturer announced Wednesday. The settlements will be paid in the second quarter of 2023. Altria purchased a 35% stake in e-cigarette company Juul for $12.8 billion [...]
Tech support
With the combination of new tech businesses and older companies employing artificial intelligence and other innovations, Virginia needs lawyers who know the difference between bitcoin and blockchain. As the commonwealth becomes home to more defense contracting giants, along with Amazon.com Inc.’s HQ2, law firms and law schools[...]
Resetting the bar
Two venerable Virginia law firms — Roanoke’s Woods Rogers PLC and Norfolk’s Vandeventer Black LLP — combined forces in July 2022, creating the state’s fifth largest firm, Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC, based in Roanoke. It’s a true statewide firm, with branch offices in Norfolk, Richmond, Lynchburg and Charlotte[...]
