News, Events, Seminars & Articles by Gentry Locke Attorneys

What You Need to Know About Calculating Deadlines

Articles December 2018

Travis Graham represents both plaintiffs and defendants in the state and federal courts of Virginia and Tennessee, and focuses on trust and estate litigation, product liability, medical malpractice, and complex commercial litigation. He is a frequent writer, lecturer, and consultant on issues of federal and state civil procedure. In Virginia State Courts, there are three basic deadline rules. First, when you calculate a deadline from the occurrence of some event, you never count the day that the event occurred. So, ten days from January 1 is January 11. Ten days before January 20 is January 10. Second, per Rule 1:7, […]

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Gentry Locke attorney Benjamin Law receives award by Memphis Preservation Society

News December 2018

On October 19, 2018, Gentry Locke attorney Ben Law received the “Law Student of the Year Award” from the Memphis organization Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. for his work on the 2018 legislative amendments to Tennessee’s Neighborhood Preservation Act (“NPA”). A 2018 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law and former member of the school’s Neighborhood Preservation Clinic, Ben and a small team of Memphis attorneys drafted a comprehensive amendment to the NPA, which received statewide sponsorship and passed unanimously in both the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Senate. Among many changes were the ability to more easily obtain […]

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Gentry Locke welcomes new associates Mary Kathryn Atkinson and Benjamin R. Law

News December 2018

ROANOKE, Va. (December 5, 2018) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that Mary Kathryn Atkinson and Benjamin R. Law have joined the firm’s Roanoke headquarters as associates. Mary Kathryn will practice with the firm’s Personal Injury team and Ben will practice with the firm’s Business & Corporate team. “We are proud to welcome Mary Kathryn and Ben to Gentry Locke,” said Monica Monday, Managing Partner of Gentry Locke. A native of Pittsylvania County, Mary Kathryn graduated summa cum laude from William & Mary Law School where she achieved the distinction of Order of the Coif. She interned for both […]

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Annual Toy Drive for The Rescue Mission of Roanoke

News December 2018

“Wrap stars” of the ALA come through again! On December 11, 2018 members of the Western Virginia Chapter of Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) delivered the results of this year’s toy drive for families being helped by The Rescue Mission of Roanoke. Empty shelves in the toy pantry at the mission were quickly filled with gifts for families to come “shop” for gifts for their children. ALA members then wrapped the gifts for them and stored them for delivery on Christmas morning, when approximately 50-60 children will attend a feast and receive their surprise gift. Gentry Locke raised approximately […]

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Protected Activity: How Far Can an Employee Go to Collect Evidence?

Articles December 2018

The Fourth Circuit recently explored the contours of what constitutes “protected activity” under Title VII (and by implication other similar civil rights laws). The employee argued that her unauthorized review, copying and disclosure of confidential personnel files in order to gain support for her race and religious discrimination claims constituted a protected activity under Title VII. The Fourth Circuit disagreed.[1] The employee, a black Muslim woman, worked for the local Sheriff for a number of years with an unblemished disciplinary record until she received a disciplinary sanction which barred her from testing for a promotion. She filed an EEOC Charge […]

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DOE’s New Title IX Notice Proposes Dramatic Changes for Colleges

Articles December 2018

On November 16, 2018, the Department of Education published its proposed new Title IX regulations, as well as a one-page fact sheet and six-page background and summary document. You can find the DOE’s Press Release here. The proposed regulations (also referred to as a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” or “NPRM”) were formally published in the Federal Register on November 29, 2018. The DOE requests comments through January 28, 2019. As you may recall, in September 2017 the DOE advised the public that these proposed new regulations were coming. On September 22, 2017, the DOE rescinded previous guidance issued by the […]

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Gentry Locke again named to “Most Generous Workplaces” List by United Way of Roanoke Valley

News December 2018

Listed at #15; sole law firm on Top 25 list Gentry Locke has again been named to the United Way of Roanoke Valley’s list of “Most Generous Workplaces.” We are listed as the 15th most generous workplace in the Roanoke Valley, and are the only law firm on the top 25 list. The list of Top 50 counts philanthropic contributions to the United Way workplace campaign made by both organizations and employees. Gentry Locke receives a lot of awards and accolades throughout the year. We consider this placement a high honor. It speaks volumes about our caring people and how important we […]

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Ten Gentry Locke attorneys named to 2018 “Legal Elite” list

News December 2018

ROANOKE, Va. (December 1, 2018 ) – The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke is pleased to announce that ten attorneys have been named “2018 Legal Elite” by Virginia Business magazine. The 2018 Legal Elite list is Virginia Business magazine’s 19th annual report. It is determined by peer votes and is divided into 18 specialties. The Gentry Locke attorneys listed as “Legal Elite” for 2018 are: J. Rudy Austin: Construction Law (Retired in 2018) Thomas J. Bondurant, Jr.: Criminal Law Christen C. Church: Intellectual Property Michael J. Finney: Litigation W. William Gust: Business Law Kevin Walker Holt: Litigation K. Brett Marston: Construction Law Monica […]

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Size No Longer Matters: ADEA Applies to All State and Local Government Employees

Articles November 2018

The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that state and local government entities must comply with the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (“ADEA”) even if the entity employs fewer than twenty (20) employees. For the past forty (40) years, lower courts have disagreed on whether the ADEA’s requirement for an employer to have at least twenty (20) employees applied to small local government agencies. Many courts have held that government agencies with less than twenty (20) employees were not covered by the ADEA. This decision issued on November 6, 2018 involves a case brought after a local fire […]

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Employers: Update Your Summary of Rights Form for Background Checks

Articles November 2018

Pursuant to new regulations, employers must disclose additional information to applicants and employees before conducting background checks. In May 2018, Congress enacted the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). The Act requires consumer reporting agencies to provide “national security freezes” to consumers free of charge. The Act also extended the 90-day period to one year for which national consumer reporting agencies must include an initial fraud alert in a consumer’s file. The Act also provides that whenever the Fair Credit Report Act (“FCRA”) requires an entity to provide a consumer with a “Summary of Consumer Rights,” […]

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