Monday, April 22nd, 2013
On April 22, 2013, Gentry Locke Partner Todd Leeson presented a session entitled “Working Smarter with your Employment Lawyer” to HR professionals attending the 2013 Virginia State SHRM Annual Conference at The Homestead Resort. Todd provided attendees with practical advice and recommendations to ensure that a company’s communications with its employment counsel are efficient and effective.
Sunday, April 21st, 2013
On April 14, The Roanoke Times published companion articles on the front page of the Sunday Business Ticker section entitled “A harsher workplace” and “When technology makes work harder,” written by Alana Semuels of the Los Angeles Times.
On April 21, 2013, The Roanoke Times published an alternate view that was written by Gentry Locke attorney Todd Leeson. Todd serves as the legislative director for the Virginia State SHRM Council.
Read the full article here.
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
The Virginia law firm of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP is pleased to announce that Managing Partner Monica Taylor Monday has been named to the Class of 2013 “Influential Women of Virginia” by Virginia Lawyers Media, publishers of Virginia Lawyers Weekly and the Virginia Medical Law Report.
The awards program, now in its fifth year, recognizes the outstanding efforts of women in the Commonwealth in all fields, including law, business, health care, education and the arts. The honors are given to individuals making notable contributions to their chosen professions, communities, and society at large. The honorees will be celebrated at a gala luncheon on May 16 at the Richmond Marriott in downtown Richmond, Va.
Monday, a partner at Gentry Locke who became Managing Partner of the firm in January 2013, chairs the law firm’s Appellate practice group and frequently writes and lectures on appellate issues. She currently serves as Chair of the Appellate Practice Committee of the Virginia State Bar Litigation Section, is a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, is a Virginia Representative for the Fourth Circuit Rules Advisory Committee, and is a member of The Virginia Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section Council.
For a full list of 2013 “Influential Women of Virginia” honorees, visit valawyersweekly.com.
Monday, March 11th, 2013
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has released the new Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Rev. 03/08/13), which can be found at the article link below. Employers have until May 7, 2013 before they are required to use the new Form I-9. However, we recommend that employers begin training hiring managers to use the new form as soon as possible.
Until now, employers were advised that it was still permissible to use the old versions of the Form I-9 (which expired in June 2009 or August 2012). This will no longer be acceptable as of May 7, 2013, when employers will need to use the new Form I-9 to be in compliance.
Please note: This page is provided for general informational purposes only and is a marketing publication of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP. It is intended to alert visitors to developments in the law and is does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. You are urged to consult your own lawyer concerning your situation and specific legal questions you may have.
Tuesday, March 5th, 2013
As you may recall, the FMLA was amended in 2008 and 2010 to provide certain protections to military families and airline flight crews. The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a Final Rule on these amendments that will take effect on March 8, 2013. As a result of these changes, employers are required to post a new version of the FMLA notice poster. Covered employers are required to post this new version of the FMLA notice by March 8, 2013. The poster may be accessed at the following link:
https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmlaen.pdf
Please contact John Thomas, Todd Leeson or any member of the Gentry Locke employment practice group if you have questions.
Please note: This page is provided for general informational purposes only and is a marketing publication of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP. It is intended to alert visitors to developments in the law and is does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. You are urged to consult your own lawyer concerning your situation and specific legal questions you may have.
Monday, February 25th, 2013
Federal prosecutors have dropped numerous felony charges against a Gentry Locke client, the former president of major defense contractor, in exchange for a favorable plea to a misdemeanor paperwork violation.
On February 22, 2013, in an article titled “Feds Drop Gun-Buying Case Against Ex-Blackwater Execs”, Law360.com reported that “North Carolina federal prosecutors on Thursday dropped all remaining charges against three former Blackwater Worldwide Inc. executives who they had accused of acquiring firearms to give as gifts to the king of Jordan
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP’s team of attorneys is disappointed that the Government has decided, after four years, to pursue an indictment against Stewart Parnell on charges stemming from the operation of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) in connection with the salmonella outbreak of 2008.
At this point, we will evaluate the charges that have been filed against Mr. Parnell and will prepare for a vigorous defense. There is little doubt that as the facts in this case are revealed, it will become apparent that the FDA was in regular contact with PCA about its food handling policy and was well aware of its salmonella testing protocols. Representatives of State and Federal agencies made regular visits to the PCA facility in Georgia over the years and months prior to the salmonella outbreak and such agencies were aware of and made no objections to the testing policies or protocols in place.
While Mr. Parnell and others associated with PCA have to date remained silent on the circumstances surrounding the Government’s salmonella investigation, as this matter progresses it will become clear that Mr. Parnell never intentionally shipped or intentionally caused to be shipped any tainted food products capable of harming PCA’s customers.
For more information, contact attorney Bill Gust (Gust@gentrylocke.com) or attorney Tom Bondurant (Bondurant@gentrylocke.com).
Monday, February 4th, 2013
Mike Pace, Gentry Locke attorney and past managing partner of the firm, was lauded as a “Good guy” in an article written by Virginia Lawyers Weekly publisher Paul Fletcher.
In his “Publisher’s Notebook” article titled “Good guy: Mike Pace”, Fletcher writes:
On Jan. 25 in Williamsburg, the VBA bestowed its highest award, the Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award, to Pace for his service to the association and for his signature achievement, the Rule of Law Project. Past recipients include such luminaries as Baliles himself (who presented the award), Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr.; 4th Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory; and Supreme Court Justices Harry L. Carrico, Leroy R. Hassell Sr. and Elizabeth B. Lacy, among others.
Pace was typically modest when he accepted the award, saying he did so on behalf of all the people who had been involved in the project.
But his idea remains bold. The stated mission of the VLF/VBA Rule of Law Project is nothing less than “to change fundamentally the way the rule of law is taught in America’s schools.”
Thanks to Pace, they are on their way. Well done, sir, well done.
Read the full article at the link below.
Friday, January 25th, 2013
Pace, founder of the Rule of Law Project, receives Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award
Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP is pleased to announce G. Michael Pace, Jr., has been 
recognized by The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) as the recipient of its Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award. Pace, managing partner of Gentry Locke Rakes and Moore until December 31, 2012, and the 2008 president of the VBA, received the honor at the VBA’s 2013 Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, Va. from Jan. 24-26. The award recognizes exceptional service and contributions to the bar and public at large.
Pace is recognized for his exceptional work in creating the Virginia Law Foundation/Virginia Bar Association Rule of Law Project (www.ruleoflaw-vba.org), which educates middle school students about the importance of the rule of law as the foundation for equality, justice, fairness and stability in all civil societies, particularly in America. The Project has become a national and international model for rule of law education, which led to the creation of the Center for Teaching the Rule of Law located at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia.
“It is with great pride that we pay tribute to Mike with the Association’s highest honor,” said Hugh M. Fain, III, president of the VBA. “His work to create and establish the Virginia Law Foundation/Virginia Bar Association Rule of Law Project is a contribution that will continue to impact the bar and the public now and for years to come. His dedication and service to transform and improve upon the way the rule of law is taught exemplifies the meaning of the service award.”
The signature feature of the Rule of Law Project is partnering judges, lawyers, and teachers to teach middle and high school students the importance of the rule of law as the basis of the rights and freedoms we enjoy so they will become active and engaged citizens as adults.
The World Justice Project featured the Rule of Law Project at the World Justice Forum II in Vienna, Austria, in 2009, and again in at the World Justice Forum III in Barcelona, Spain, in 2011. The American Bar Association Commission on Civic Education has designated the Rule of Law Project as a “best practices” program for adoption by other state bar associations. Dr. Patricia I. Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction, has also recommended the Project for all public schools in Virginia. The Rule of Law Project is already in almost half of Virginia’s 136 public school divisions and an increasing number of private schools, and will be introduced in other states beginning next year.
Pace will join a distinguished list of individuals who have previously received the service award, including former United States Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. and former Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justices Harry L. Carrico and Leroy R. Hassell, Jr.
Pace served The Virginia Bar Association as its president in 2008 and has been a board member of the Virginia Law Foundation. Virginia Lawyers Weekly has named him one of 28 “Leaders in the Law: Statewide” and he recently was named 2013 “Roanoke Lawyer of the Year” in Real Estate and Corporate Law by Best Lawyers and U.S. News. Pace has been listed with Virginia Super Lawyers since 2003 and named to Best Lawyers in America.
In addition to his work with the Rule of Law Project, Pace serves on the boards of LEAD Virginia, the Business Leadership Fund, the Business Council, the Roanoke Regional Partnership, SunTrust Advisory Board, and other civic and charitable boards. He is a trustee of Hampden-Sydney College and a past president of the Hampden-Sydney College Alumni Association. He serves as an adjunct professor at Roanoke College and Washington and Lee University School of Law, where he founded a practicum for third year law students that is now implemented statewide.
Pace is a member of The Virginia Bar Association (2008 president), the Virginia State Bar, the Roanoke Bar Association (2000-2001 president), the American Bar Association, the National Conference of Bar Presidents, and a member and a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation. He is also a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Roanoke Law Foundation. Pace is a member of the National Council for the Social Studies, the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, and the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators.
The image above is courtesy of The Virginia Bar Association
Thursday, January 24th, 2013
The Virginia Law Foundation (VLF) inducted Gentry Locke Partner Bruce C. 
Stockburger and 16 other Virginia lawyers into its 2013 Class of Fellows. The VLF holds its induction dinner each year in connection with The Virginia Bar Association winter meeting. This year’s induction was held on January 24, 2013 in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Induction as a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation is a special honor conferred by the VLF Board on selected Virginia attorneys, law professors, and retired members of the judiciary who are deemed to be outstanding in their profession and in their community.
Bruce Stockburger has 35 years of experience at Gentry Locke, providing business owners with sophisticated tax and business advice that includes multi-generation wealth preservation techniques such as family limited partnerships, intentionally defective grantor trusts, generation-skipping trusts, charitable remainder and lead trusts, qualified personal residence trusts and business succession plans. He has served as counsel to many physician group practices, including the largest multi-specialty physician organization in Virginia for 15 years.
In addition, Bruce has represented numerous municipalities, not for profit organizations, and private developers in structuring state and federal tax credit financing transactions (historic rehabilitation, low-income housing, and New Markets tax credits) and handles tax-exempt financing of manufacturing facilities, tax-free and taxable mergers and acquisitions, and structuring sales of substantial assets.
The Virginia Law Foundation promotes the rule of law through philanthropy, access to justice, and law-related education. For more information, visit www.virginialawfoundation.org or www.gentrylocke.com/stockburger.
