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[...]
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 bo[...]
Student sues U.Va., alleging antisemitism
A Jewish undergraduate student is suing the University of Virginia, its president and rector, and two pro-Palestinian organizations, alleging that he was “a victim of hate-based, intentional discrimination, severe harassment and abuse, and illegal retaliation” at U.Va., according to a federal lawsuit filed May 17. Ma[...]
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 fir[...]
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 — [&[...]
Allen & Allen announces new president
Jason W. Konvicka is succeeding Edward L. Allen as president of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, the Richmond-based law firm announced April 11. Konvicka joined the personal injury firm as a trial attorney in 2000 and became a shareholder in 2006. Allen led the firm as president for the past six years and will continue […[...]
Richmond-based attorneys win U.S. Supreme Court case
After nine years and through three U.S. presidents, two Richmond-based attorneys and their client, an FBI agent who also lives in Richmond, received great news Tuesday: They had won their U.S. Supreme Court case against the federal government. Rudisill v. McDonough was decided 7-2 in favor of plaintiff Jim Rudisill, a retired Ar[...]
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 [&hellip[...]
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 b[...]
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, Co[...]
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 [&hellip[...]
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[...]