The Library

A pillar of Virginia workers’ compensation law is the requirement that the claimed injury “arise out of” the claimant’s employment. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission and Virginia appellate courts generally interpret this to mean that there must be a “causal link” between the claimant’s job and his injury. That is, if the cause of your injury is unrelated to your job, your injury is not compensable — even if you were injured while you were doing your job. While such a scenario can be difficult for laymen to immediately apprehend, there are many cases that illustrate this principle. For instance, […]

As an employment lawyer who has represented Virginia businesses for 25 years, I have a different perspective from those persons who advocate that employers stop asking applicants to check a “box” if they had a prior criminal conviction. I recommend that Virginia employers “keep the box.” To understand this issue better, there are two primary legal concepts to consider. First, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) proclaims that an employer risks a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act if it fails to hire an applicant based solely on the fact that he disclosed a prior conviction […]

Two partners set out on their own to create a business from scratch, intending to embark on an adventure and fulfill the American dream. Making a little money wouldn’t hurt either. In the midst of start-up efforts, planning for a split-up or even a management deadlock is rarely at the top of the entrepreneur’s to-do list. However, the longer it takes to address succession issues, the more difficult it may be to reach a mutually acceptable arrangement. It is therefore important for every closely held business owner to devise an “exit strategy” tailored to his or her needs. For ease […]

This article, written by Gentry Locke attorneys William R. Rakes, Gregory J. Haley, and Abigail E. Murchison, was a Virginia CLE presentation to attendees of an event sponsored by the Advanced Business Litigation Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia on June 21, 2014. Due to the length of the article, it is provided in PDF format here. Introduction The topic of trying breach of contract cases from the defense perspective is huge. This outline addresses recurring themes and topics in defending these cases. The content reflects the personal experiences of the authors and the “lessons learned.” Many of the comments below may […]

Litigation is often anything but civil. Instead of opposing counsel working together to resolve pre-trial issues and get to the merits of the case so that a jury or judge can resolve a dispute, a lawyer’s ego will often turn a case into something other than a dispute between two parties. Parties sometimes encourage this type of litigation by hiring a “tough guy” to represent them. This can lead to messy litigation, increased costs and a great deal of wasted energy and effort. Because of this, Virginia state courts are sanctioning both parties and counsel on a regular basis these […]