The Library

The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce named Mike Pace as its Small Business Advocate of the Year at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center on October 4, 2005.  Mr. Pace was one of many outstanding local business leaders nominated for this distinguished award.  Mr. Pace serves on the Executive Committees of the Roanoke Valley Business Council and The Business Leadership Fund.  As Past-Chairman of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mike has worked hard for issues that affect the viability of small businesses, including taxes, transportation, and economic development.  Mr. Pace also served as President of the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, where […]

In January 2004, The Virginia Bar Association launched a major initiative: the VBA Community Service Program.  This program, in development since 2001, is led by The Honorable Harry L. Carrico of Richmond, Alfred M. “Ran” Randolph Jr. of Norfolk, and a Council comprised of distinguished lawyers from across the Commonwealth and all segments of the legal community.  It is the direct product of the VBA’s strategic plan to heighten emphasis on lawyer professionalism, not only as it relates to paid professional work, but also as it manifests itself in a balanced life of healthful activity, time for family and friends, […]

The Roanoke, Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, has been recognized by the Virginia Lawyers Weekly publication for its role in securing one of the ten largest defense verdicts in the state of Virginia in 2004. Gentry Locke was the only Roanoke law firm to be so recognized. The case was brought by Atmos Energy Corporation, of Dallas, Texas, in which it sought damages of over $1 million representing the repair and replacement costs of a high-pressure natural gas transmission line it owns in Dublin, Virginia. After a week-long trial held in U.S. District Court, Western District of […]

Nine lawyers from Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2005-2006 (Copyright 2004 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).  They are: J. Rudy Austin – Personal Injury Litigation Howard J. Beck, Jr. – Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law Eugene E. Derryberry – Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law, Financial Institutions and Transactions Law W. William Gust – Tax Law S. D. Roberts Moore – Personal Injury Litigation G. Michael Pace, Jr. – Corporate, M&A, and Securities Law, Financial Institutions and Transactions Law, Real Estate Law W. David Paxton – […]

Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore is pleased to announce that fifteen of its lawyers have been named to “Virginia’s Legal Elite 2004” in 11 categories by Virginia Business magazine.   Bruce C. Stockburger – Business Matthew W. Broughton – Civil Litigation Guy M. Harbert, III – Criminal Michael S. Whitlow – Environmental/Land Use Charles L. Williams, Jr. – Environmental/Land Use J. Scott Sexton – Intellectual Property Gregory J. Haley – Legislative/Regulatory Victor S. Skaff, III – Legal Services/Public Service W. David Paxton – Labor/Employment J. Rudy Austin – Real Estate/Construction G. Michael Pace, Jr. – Real Estate/Construction W. William Gust – […]

Prior to issuance of the new overtime regulations, salary deductions often led to “class action” claims where otherwise exempt employees claimed to have been converted to non-exempt workers arguing that the “deductions” meant they were not paid on a “salaried basis.”  The new DOL regulations provide businesses the ability to limit such class actions if a new “safe harbor” is adopted. Even under the new overtime rules, it continues to be improper for an employer to make “partial day” deductions from a salaried exempt employee’s wages because they are late reporting to work, miss work to attend a parent/teacher conference, […]

The Blue Ridge Business Journal named Jim Hale as one of its 2004 “20 Under 40” recipients for his commitment to his profession and community. Excerpt taken from Blue Ridge Business Journal, Vol. 16, No. 17, August 23, 2004. Jim Hale             Age:  38             Business:  Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore             Location:  Roanoke             Type of Business:  Law firm.             Title:  Partner             Background:  Family is originally from Narrows; grew up in Lancaster County, Pa. and in Belgium.             Father was with New Holland Farm Machinery.  Parents back in Narrows on farm that has been in the family since […]

By Todd A. Leeson   It has been an eventful summer for labor unions.  As we approach Labor Day, this article summarizes several recent developments involving unions.    AFL-CIO Aggressively Supports John Kerry for President    As you probably know, the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have been spending millions of dollars in their high-profile support of John Kerry.  According to AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, the “labor movement has never been more united or working harder for a presidential candidate.”  If President Bush is reelected, it will be another defeat for the AFL-CIO.  (Indeed, the AFL-CIO is being criticized by several competing union […]

In June, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) overruled its controversial 2000 decision in Epilepsy Foundation and concluded that employees in non-union workplaces are not entitled to request that a co-worker or other representative be present at an investigatory interview conducted by his employer.  As will be further explained below, the so-called Weingarten “right to representation” has traditionally been available to employees in a union setting.  In its 2000 Epilepsy Foundation decision, however, the Board, in a surprising decision, extended “Weingarten rights” to non-union employees.  Last month, in IBM Corporation, 341 N.L.R.B. No. 148 (June 9, 2004), […]