Roanoke Bar Association PAST President's Blog

New Edition of the Newsletter

2009-06-18T09:14:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to the new edition of the "Roanoke Bar Review." As many of you know, Sharlene Sherman, the Gentry Locke staffer who produced the newsletter for many years, suffered a health crisis and had to retire. Since I had Microsoft Publisher on my computer, I volunteered to produce the issue. I used one of Sharlene's issues as a template, so she still deserves credit for the sharp layout.

Laying out the issue was an interesting experience. Years ago I was an editor of the W&L Law news and physically laid it out with "sticky paper" at the offices of the Lexington News-Gazette. Doing it 100% on computer is a lot easier, but is still time-consuming and frustrating (at least for me).

The content of the issue is very good, congratulations to editors Linda Gustad and Bryce Hunter. It really lays out all that we have going on.

Until a few years ago the newsletter was only available in "hard-copy;" now the dominant distribution method is direction to the website PDF. We still have about 50 members who pay a premium to be "paper" members; these members still get the old meeting postcards, letters, and hard copies of the newsletter.

Please read the newsletter and let me know what you think.

RBAF Gala and Law Day Celebration

2009-05-04T11:22:00.002-04:00

The Gala took place Friday night and it seemed to me that it was a big success. Congratulations to our honorees Bob Glenn (Bo Rogers Lifetime Achievement Award) and Wade Anderson (Young Lawyer of the Year). We had a professional photographer present; you can look at his gala photos online here. Click on "View Events and Purchase," select "RBA Foundation Gala" and enter password "roanokebar."

Thanks also to the Oliver Hill Foundation, with whom we will split the proceeds of the gala. They were a wonderful addition to the night, and the memory of Mr. Hill really brought home what the Rule of Law is all about.

Oliver Hill House Dedicated on May 1

2009-05-04T10:54:00.004-04:00

The Oliver Hill House dedication was a lovely, well-attended event. Several RBA members were present. The Roanoke Times and Virginia Lawyers Weekly covered the opening.

The Photo is by Peter Vieth and was taken by him for the VLW Blog. (Peter let me know if I am in trouble for copying.)

History of the Roanoke Bar Association Display Case

2009-04-29T17:14:00.004-04:00

Today Cathy Caddy and I put the finishing touches on the RBA display case. You can see it for yourself in the Law Library. It looks really cool if you turn on the lights on the power strip behind it.

Thanks to Cathy Caddy for both the idea and the execution.

The picture is also by Cathy. Click on it-- it is HUGE.

Oliver Hill Open House

2009-04-23T08:03:00.002-04:00

On May 1, the date of the Gala, don't forget the Grand Opening of the Oliver Hill House. Here is an article on the State Bar website about the open house, which will take place from 1-4 PM.

Griff Dodson and the Senior Lawyers Conference

2009-04-19T09:57:00.002-04:00

The new "Virginia Lawyer" has a great piece by Richmond attorney Frank Brown, Jr. about the Virginia State Bar Senior Lawyer's Conference. It begins with an account of the life and achievements of our late Member (and Past President, 1953-4) E. Griffith ("Griff") Dodson Jr., who passed away in May of 2001 and uses his life as a template for what the Senior Lawyers Conference, established in June of 2001, has accomplished. Once again, a Roanoke Bar Association Lawyer leads the way.

Here is a link to the article.

Mistrial by iphone

2009-03-17T15:52:00.003-04:00

Here's a New York Times story about jurors doing research on cases with their mobile devices and causing mistrials.

Gearing Up for the Gala

2009-02-05T08:12:00.002-05:00

The 2009 Roanoke Bar Association Foundation Gala and Law Day Celebration is set for Friday May 1 at the Hotel Roanoke. The fundraising and awards event will benefit the Roanoke Bar Association Foundation and the Oliver White Hill Foundation. Our keynote speaker will be Dean Rod Smolla of the Washington and Lee University School of Law. Nationally, Law Day 2009 will be honoring the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Locally, we will also honor Roanoke's native son Oliver White Hill, the "Renaissance man of the Civil Rights Movement."

Here is our web page with details. We are eagerly seeking ticket buyers, table sponsors, and other sponsors. Contact me if you can think of a potential sponsor.

General Assembly Update

2009-02-04T09:03:00.003-05:00

The Virginia General Assembly is currently in session. It is hard to get a day to day picture of the goings on at any session; this year there seems to be little reporting other than guns, tobacco, and very non-specific "budget shortfall" stories. The best place I have found to get updates of the session is Richmond Sunlight. The session is blogged, there are daily minutes, and there are links and comments.

RBA Rule of Law Project-- SIGN UP ASAP

2009-01-24T13:22:00.004-05:00

The following is an excerpt from an email from Mike Pace, President of the Virginia Bar Association and Past President of the Roanoke Bar Association:

The Virginia Bar Association is sponsoring an exciting new project funded by the Virginia Law Foundation, beginning with a pilot program in Roanoke City, Salem and Roanoke County middle schools on February 18, 2009. The purpose of this project is to better educate middle school students in Virginia about the rule of law in America, and the need to protect it in order to preserve the rights and freedoms we enjoy as American citizens. The VBA Rule of Law Project is consistent with the Virginia Standards of Learning, and is funded by a grant from the Virginia Law Foundation.

We need 35 lawyers or judges to make it work. It is unlikely, however that all volunteers will be able to commit to teaching all of the classes with one teacher. To do this comfortably, we need 50 - 60 volunteers.

Each volunteer is asked to attend one training session on either February 3, 4 or 12 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the sixth floor Conference Center at Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, SunTrust Plaza, 10 Franklin Road, S.E., Roanoke, Virginia.

Please contact Mike Pace by Thursday, January 29 if you would like to volunteer.

The Roanoke Valley Drug Court

2009-01-16T08:49:00.002-05:00

I had the pleasure of attending my second Roanoke Valley Drug Court graduation this week. The Roanoke Times was there to cover the event. As you may know, the Drug Court takes applications from certain eligible non-violent felony offenders, who are given the opportunity to have their charges dismissed in return for a minimum eight months of intensive monitoring, counseling, 12-step programs, and payment of fines and restitution.

Roanoke's drug court was the first in the Commonwealth, and was started by Judge Diane Strickland. The Roanoke Valley Drug Court has the most participants of any drug court in the state. The Court is a proven success, with a re-arrest rate of less than half the re-arrest rate of non-participants.

Although the Drug Court is facing support shortages, due to budget cuts from the Department of Corrections, the Court is still a going concern with plans for the future. The Drug Court could face further budget cuts during this legislative session, so let your legislator know your position on the issue.

Save the Dates

2009-01-13T19:21:00.003-05:00

We kicked off 2009 with a very good meeting featuring Jay Warren of WSLS, an anchorman who happens to be a pretty astute political reporter. Jay's visit generated some long overdue media coverage for one of our membership meetings (Thanks to Hank Bostwick for the piece). We have a lot going on this year; please get these dates on your calendar:

February 10: Membership meeting with Professor James I. "Bud" Robertson
February 18: RBA Members teach the VBA's Rule of Law Classes in area schools
February 27: Roanoke Bar Association Bench-Bar Conference
March 10: Membership Meeting with Dr. Gerald R. McDermott
April 14: Membership Meeting with Annual Legislative Update
May 1: Roanoke Bar Association Foundation Gala and Law Day Celebration

Mike Pace's Great November

2008-12-09T08:58:00.002-05:00

Check out this post on the Virginia Lawyer's Weekly Blog for details. Here is the Gentry Locke press release on the same topic. Mike was President of this Association in 2000-2001.

Santa in the Square

2008-12-08T14:20:00.003-05:00

Monday December 8, 6-8 PM, Center in the Square. The third annual event. Thanks to our members for their supporting contributions of time and money. Here is a link to the official RBA page for the event.

Our Newsletter

2008-11-17T10:16:00.003-05:00

The latest issue of the Roanoke Bar Review has just been released. It is (as always) very well done and packed with information. The publication is principally distributed via PDF link (here is a link to issues back to 2003), but our "paper" members receive a published copy. A number of Judges in Southwest Virginia receive copies as well. Please take the time to read it-- it will bring you up to speed with the VBA's Rule of Law program, with Youth Court, Book Buddies, Santa in the Square, and many of our other activities. Please don't neglect the "President's Column," which I wrote about the Association's need for volunteers, particularly for the W&L Community Law Clinic at the Oliver Hill House.

November CLE

2008-11-13T09:45:00.003-05:00

The Association's November CLE is set for Friday November 21 at noon at the Higher Education Center. The topic is Federal Civil Procedure: Overview and Examination of Key Differences Between Federal and State Practice. The seminar is bargain priced at $25 for 1 hour of credit; I suspect that you will find that the written materials alone will be worth far more than that to you. The seminar will be taught by Travis Graham of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore.

Here is a link to the RBA site's page, with online registration. Please make plans to attend.

November 11 Meeting

2008-11-06T09:56:00.005-05:00

Get ready for a big meeting on November 11, featuring keynote speaker the Honorable M artin Clark, Judge of the Twenty-Seventh Circuit Court, who presides in Patrick and Henry County Circuit Courts. Judge Clark, of course, is the New York Times best selling author of three novels, the latest being The Legal Limit. I have read all of the Judge's books, and they are all well worth reading, but the The Legal Limit is my favorite. Ram's Head Books will be selling the book at the luncheon.

The meeting will also feature a memorial resolution for our very distinguished member, and my law partner, Jane S. Glenn, who died last November 20. Jane's family will be joining us for the meeting.

Bob Rider Web Seminar

2008-10-28T09:51:00.004-04:00

Our member Bob Rider is going to host a webcast on Thursday October 30th from 2-3 PM called "Get Discovered-- How to Drive Quality Leads With a Web Site." From the press release:

Are you currently generating high quality clients from your law firm's Internet presence? Attend our live, one-hour Web cast and learn first-hand, from a practicing attorney and a 30 year veteran in the legal industry, how you can stand out from your competition and generate the high quality clients you're looking for.

Register today for this online event.
This Web cast will show you how the following elements are essential to generating better cases, more cases and a professional Internet image.
• Visibility: Attracting qualified leads through search engines and online directories
• Design: Going beyond good looks to encourage visitors to stay on your site
• Content: Relevant content to maintain interest and increase conversion likelihood
• ROI: Evaluating your return to determine the most effective usage of marketing dollars

Here is the registration link, and good luck to Bob, who I don't think needs to "go beyond good looks."

UPDATE: Bob's seminar is archived on the web-- click here to see it.

Historical Society of Western Virginia Goes Online

2008-10-23T16:36:00.002-04:00

Our member Bill Hackworth wrote to let me know that the Historical Society of Western Virginia has a new "virtual museum" online-- here is the link. Click on the Virtual Museum link at the top of the page. I have looked around a little and the collection is pretty impressive-- clearly a lot of work has gone into scanning documents and photographs. This is a great way to make a hard to search collection searchable and accessible.

Washington and Lee Students Will Serve Poor Elders at Hill's Boyhood Home

2008-10-21T13:35:00.005-04:00

The new October 2008 Virginia Lawyer magazine (official publication of the Virginia State Bar) has a great article with more details about the Washington and Lee Community Law Center at the Oliver Hill House.

W&L Community Law Clinic at the Oliver Hill House

2008-10-21T11:43:00.003-04:00

The new W&L Community Law Clinic at the Oliver Hill House is set to open very soon. Here are details from Washington and Lee. Please read the article to get the full picture. Note that ""Volunteer mentor attorneys from the Roanoke Bar Association, in addition to law school faculty, will review students' work and provide feedback and guidance."

Here is the Virginia Lawyer's Weekly piece on the Clinic.

Dean Smolla will speak about the new Clinic at our membership meeting in December.

Please volunteer today. Email or call Roy Creasy at 342-072.

A Treasure Trove of Old Roanoke Pictures

2008-10-10T08:44:00.005-04:00

I started looking for a Christmas card image today and ran across this incredible collection of old photos and postcards of Roanoke. WARNING: If you start to look at this, you'll be out of commission for hours. The image reproduced above is from page 77; it depicts Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street, looking south, in 1932. If you click on the picture you will get an enlargement. Note the Colonial American Bank at 204 South Jefferson Street, with clock.

CLASS

2008-10-09T10:27:00.003-04:00

This is an article from the PilotOnline about a ten year old program in Virginia Beach called Virginia Lawyers Advocating Spousal Safety, or "CLASS." Accordign to the article, "roughly 150 attorneys volunteer a Friday morning every six months to argue for spousal-abuse petitions." This looks like a great program. The City of Virginia Beach web page lists it here, along with their CASA program.

We have a lot of volunteer programs in our area; the bar is involved in some (but far from all) of them. There are a lot of needs to fill. I will try to blog about worthy things that other Virginia lawyers do, so that we can constantly evaluate the services we provide and the needs in our community.

Guardian UK: The View from Roanoke

2008-10-07T08:05:00.005-04:00

A British journalist with the London newspaper The Guardian, Gary Younge, is in Roanoke to cover the US Presidential election. Here is a page with all of his articles and videos. Our member Tony Russell is featured in a photo on the page. Read the articles and watch the videos for a very interesting picture of a small city no one in England has ever heard of.

Mr. Younge says (in his introductory video) "There's nothing remarkable about Roanoke; that's why we're here. Its an average American town. But distinct, in many, many ways."

Mr. Younge started his reporting on September 30 and says he plans to report from Roanoke for two weeks. If you only have time to read one of the articles read this one. And the introductory video is great as well.

Thanks to the Star City Harbinger for the link.

October 14 Meeting

2008-10-02T10:28:00.001-04:00

Our next membership meeting at the Shenandoah Club will feature Dr. Todd Peppers of Roanoke College. Dr. Peppers is a 1990 W&L Graduate, a U.Va. law grad, and a Ph.D (Emory University) in Political Science. He practiced toxic tort law in Atlanta before entering academia. He is the author of Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of Supreme Court Law Clerks ,which has been highly praised by no less an authority than Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit: “This is a meticulous work of historical scholarship, tracing the evolution of the Supreme Court law clerk from its beginnings in the nineteenth century up to the present day. Refreshingly free of the gossip, politics, and rumors that have disfigured previous accounts of this important institution, the book manages to be not only scrupulous, but fascinating."

This is going to be an excellent program. Congratulations to our excellent Program Chair and President-Elect, Roy Creasy, who has managed to line up four top-notch published authors in Governor Holton, Professor Pepper, Judge Martin Clark, and Dean Rod Smolla, in our first four speaking slots.

September 9 Meeting Report

2008-09-10T14:41:00.002-04:00

We had one of the best RBA Luncheon Meetings I can remember on Tuesday. Our featured speaker was Governor Holton, who was even better in person than in his excellent book. We also had the opportunity to honor the memory of Judge Coulter. The meeting was well attended (107 RSVPs), and was particularly well-attended by our judges.

Welcome New Member

2008-09-10T14:38:00.002-04:00

At the September 10 board meeting, the application of new member D. Adam McKelvey was approved. Adam is with Crandall & Katt and we welcome him to the Association.

Proposed Dues Increase

2008-09-07T11:15:00.003-04:00

At the Board of Directors meeting we are going to consider increases to dues and application fees for the Association. If approved, this will be the first such increase in 10 years.

Current Dues: $60 with email notifications; $75 with paper notifications

New proposed dues: $8o with email notifications; $95 with paper notifications

Application Fee: Old: $8; New proposed fee $25

Reinstatement Fee: Old $10, new $25.

Let me know your thoughts.

Roanoke as a Model for State School Accreditation

2008-08-21T07:03:00.003-04:00

Our new member (and former Patrick Henry High teacher) Hank Bostwick, with co-writer Sarah Geddes, has written a Roanoke Times editorial addressing school accreditation tied to graduation rates. Take a look.

Interview with Bill Poff

2008-08-19T08:13:00.002-04:00

Today's Roanoke Times has a profile of William B. Poff of Woods Rogers, this association's most recent Frank W. "Bo" Rogers Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and the "dean of Roanoke litigators." Mr. Poff's thoughts on firm loyalty and lawyer advertising are (in my opinion) particularly worth reading. Take a look at the online version even if you read this in print-- there are many additional quotes and audio clips not included in the print version.

Welcome New Members

2008-08-06T15:35:00.003-04:00

At our Summer Meeting on August 1 the Board of the RBA approved the following new members:

Henry G. Bostwick II, Legal Aid Society of the Roanoke Valley. (Hank is a former member of the Patrick Henry High School faculty and one of the founders of the Star City Harbinger).

Patice L. Holland, WoodsRogers.

Kendra L. Roberson, LeClairRyan

Welcome.

Governor Holton

2008-07-30T09:39:00.001-04:00

The Roanoke Times today has a strong piece on Governor A. Linwood Holton, who was, by any measure one of the bravest politicians of the latter half of the twentieth century. Governor Holton took a strong stand against "massive resistance" to school integration, and led the state by example, sending his own kids to integrated Richmond City schools. He revivified the Republican party in Virginia in the process. And he came to Roanoke to practice law for twenty years while launching his political career.

Governor Holton has written a memoir, Opportunity Time, which was published earlier this year.

We are very pleased to announce that Governor Holton will be the speaker at our bar year-opening meeting on September 9. Thanks to President-Elect Roy Creasy for securing a wonderful speaker. We anticipate having the Governor's book for sale at the meeting.

Governor Kaine's Appointment Conundrum

2008-07-29T08:47:00.000-04:00

This is a a very interesting article by Professor Tobias from Richmond Law School. Professor Tobias says that the General Assembly has "indicated that they will not commit in advance to supporting [Governor] Kaine's judicial choices," and he suggests that the Governor look to temporary appointments (drawn from law schools and the senior bar members) for the SCC opening, the unfilled Circuit court openings and the Supreme Court opening.

I have yet to see any speculation about the pending appointments and Governor Kaine's possible candidacy for Vice-President. (He is "very very high on the VP shortlist" as of this writing.) One would think that such political considerations could have an effect on how the Governor handles these appointments.

The Oliver Hill House

2008-07-22T06:36:00.003-04:00

Today's Roanoke Times covers the re-zoning approval of the Oliver Hill House at 401 Gilmer Avenue SW. Mr. Hill (as you probably know) is Roanoke's most famous and revered native, a pioneering lawyer and "Renaissance Man of the civil rights movement." The Oliver White Hill Foundation purchased the childhood home of Mr. Hill a few years ago. The rezoned house (as the Times article explains) will contain a legal aid center, overseen by a new Washington and Lee graduate and staffed by law students. This Association is committed to help. Look for a bar luncheon program with foundation head Clarence M. Dunnaville, Jr., Esquire and W&L Dean Rod Smolla this fall.

If you want to know more before the fall contact W&L Assistant Dean Mary Z. Natkin.

Addendum: Right after typing this post I noticed that a new Capital Square monument featuring Mr. Hill was dedicated yesterday.

Facebook Picture Increases Sentence

2008-07-19T09:21:00.002-04:00

Here's a story about a Providence RI drunk driving defendant who had some unfortunate photos posted on Facebook used against him in sentencing. In my civil practice, I am running across more and more twentysomethings who post pictures and blog entries that conflict with their testimony. A savvy attorney will keep an eye out for such evidence, and/or encourage their own clients to remove this sort of thing.

GPS can beat a radar gun

2008-07-18T09:16:00.002-04:00

I thought this was interesting-- a telemetric GPS that generated a log was used to beat a radar gun-generated speeding ticket in a Santa Rosa, California Court. The hardware manufacturer is publicizing it. Here's a more detailed newspaper article that verifies the story. Note also that the unit was used by parents to perform surveillance on their kid.

A similar story played out last year when Martinsville Attorney Phil Gardner won a case with a motor vehicle crash data recorder. Here is his article on that topic.

Supreme Court Anticipation

2008-07-18T08:38:00.001-04:00

Here's a good roundup of the nominees, their endorsements and their prospects from the Star City Harbinger.

Display Case

2008-07-15T09:57:00.004-04:00

Late last week we found an antique oak display case on Craigslist and the Board approved its purchase for $300. It was a steal. We are going to set it up in the Courthouse, in either the atrium or the law library, and fill it with historical artifacts from the RBA.

Currently it is in the conference room. The cardboard on top is glass shelving. I will let you know when it is finally placed and ready for display.

Consider the Source

2008-07-14T16:28:00.002-04:00

It is rare to see a discussion of the substantive merits of a Supreme Court decision in the op-ed columns of the Roanoke Times. The new Second Amendment decision, District of Columbia v. Heller, has spawned such a discussion. On July 6th the Roanoke Times published a column critical of the decision by Professor Erwin Chemerinsky. (Oddly, the article is no longer available on the RT website; here is a link from the LA Times. ) I don't know much about Chemerinsky's politics, but when I was in law school his treatise on Federal Jurisdiction was considered to be the finest, clearest and best piece of legal writing available anywhere. The book read like a novel, and not like Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake-- more like The Firm or The DaVinci Code. You could read it and know the material in a way that is rarely experienced by a lawyer or a student. Today the book is in its fifth edition and if you believe the Amazon reviews it is still excellent. The man is an incredibly gifted writer. Anyway, today's paper has the thoughts of Stephen Williams, "a rising sophomore at Patrick Henry College" on Professor Chemerinsky's column. Here is a link to his piece. Mr. Williams is to be commended for taking on one of the premier legal minds of his era; however, he may want to reconsider his "half-hearted chuckle" in light of Chemerinsky's qualifications.

Another New Blog

2008-06-19T16:27:00.004-04:00

Roanoke City Councilman Dr. Dave Tinkle has started a blog. www.davetrinkle.com. (Actually, it looks to me like more of a full-blown website, not just a blog.) Here's an interview about it.

Faddish though it may be, I think that organizational leaders ought to blog. I've already gotten a little bit of feedback and comment from this one, which has been very much appreciated.

Unlike some thinner, low-rent blogs (such as this one) Councilman Trinkle's is packed with information. In particular, the "Roanoke 2012" page is worth a careful read to anyone who wants to think about Roanoke's future.

Remarks

2008-06-10T09:41:00.001-04:00

I am very honored to have been elected to serve as the 84th President of the Roanoke Bar Association. This Association dates back to 1925. The papers of Mr. J. M. Kincanon contain a handbook of a predecessor organization called the Bar Association of Roanoke City Virginia, which was published in 1911.

This Association was originally a formed or to assist the courts in the execution of justice, to maintain the ethical standards of the Bar, to promote good fellowship that the Bar, to own and maintain libraries, and to do generally any and all things that may be helpful to the courts or bar. The 1925 handbook also included a code of ethics and a schedule of minimum fees.

Over the years there have been a few changes to the purposes. For example, now we assist the City with the Library. The Codes of Ethics has been taken over by State Bar. Minimum fee schedules violate the Sherman Act since Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar. 421 US 773

I have been a member of this Association in the early 1990s. I became active in this Association in about 1997. I checked with my then-new employers Brian Jones, Jane Glenn and asked them if they minded if I helped out with a bench Bar committee. They told me, and I quote “Do whatever you want-- that's okay with us.” I was only following their example. At the time Jane was on BOTH the State Bar Executive Committee and the Board of the VADA , and Brian was one of Virginia CLE and the VADA’s most heavily used lecturers and authors. Al Wilson and I had some success with the Bench Bar conference and in 1999 I received a letter from then President Will Dibling asking me to serve on a new Young Lawyers Committee. I am not the first president of this Association who has served on that committee and I am certain I will not be the last. I hope that all of you will encourage your young and new lawyers to sign up for that committee.

Two of the Presidents with whom I have served on the board’s executive committee have been selected as the State Bar's local Bar leader of the year-- Gene Elliott and Steve Higgs. The rest of the Presidents with whom I have served probably should have been Local Bar Leader of the Year, but I think the State Bar needs to spread it around. The number of successful programs sponsored by our Association and its related foundation has exploded: Barrister Book bodies, Youth Court, the James N. Kincannon scholarships, Senior Citizen Law Day, Santa in the Square, Wills for Heroes, and the Gala. That is not a complete list. And it is going to grow.

This is a great Association not because of its leaders-- this is a great Association because its members, individually and in the aggregate, are quality, competent people dedicated to the law and to community service in all of its many forms.

This association is your Association. In the newest corporate lingo, it is "radically transparent." My contribution to the radical transparency will be a Roanoke Bar Association President’s Blog. If you would like to find it go to the associations website at www.RoanokeBar.com. Click on news. Then click on notes from the President at the top of that page. Please keep in mind that the blog is not the product of a committee, it is merely my attempt to tell you about where this Association has been and where it is going. You can comment on the blog if you want. You can call me and you can e-mail me.

Welcome Judge Clemens

2008-04-28T08:56:00.005-04:00

From a Friday, April 25, 2008 Roanoke Times email update: "Chris Clemens has been chosen to temporarily fill the vacated General District Court judgeship of Julian Raney, who retired. Clemens, a Salem attorney and city councilman, said he learned today that circuit court judges in the 23rd division chose him over his chief competitor for the job, Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell. Clemens will serve in a circuit that includes Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem, until the next General Assembly session. State legislators, who deadlocked over filling the position this year, are scheduled to make a permanent appointment during their next session. Clemens has 30 days to take an oath for his temporary appointment. In the meantime, Clemens said he will help find jobs elsewhere for his employees and other attorneys for his clients. Once he takes the oath, he will no longer be eligible to serve on Salem's city council."

Judge Clemens received the nomination of the Roanoke BarAssociation. Pursuant to our bylaws (Article XXVII Section 10): "Active members of the Association, except members of the General Assembly not participating in the meeting, shall be pledged to the support of the person thus endorsed."

Congratulations to Judge Clemens, and I hope that the General Assembly will do the right thing next year and appoint him to a full term.

Supreme Court rules in Wilton-Peakwood case

2008-04-20T10:58:00.004-04:00

In a case of local interest to both lawyers and local government, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled on Friday on the challenge to the development on top of Peakwood Drive. The Court held that the Peakwood residents who challenged the City's grant of certain exceptions to the developer lacked standing. Here is the decision (link to PDF). Here is the Roanoke Times article. The article reminded me to add a link to Steve Emmert's excellent Virginia Appellate News site. I have also updated the Virginia Lawyer's Weekly Blog to its new address. It looks like the address change has been accompanied by an increased posting frequency.

News from the April 8 Meeting

2008-04-09T08:44:00.004-04:00

Our member Peter Vieth has joined the staff of Virginia Lawyer's Weekly. Peter attended our membership meeting yesterday (April 8 2008) at the Shenandoah Club and wrote this post on the VLW Blog about the remarks of Senator Ralph Smith, who told the Association (at least I think he told the association) that bar association endorsements of judicial candidates should not be considered, because such endorsements are the functional equivalent of "picking your own boss." This is an interesting and novel position, particularly when one considers that bar endorsements are not legislative appointments.

Going Live Early

2008-04-08T14:24:00.001-04:00

Today the Board of the Association agreed to allow me to go live with this blog (temporarily called the "President-Elect's Blog" until June). It will be linked to the official site of the Roanoke Bar Association. Welcome and have a look around.

Book Review

2008-04-02T13:05:00.003-04:00

Over Spring Break I had a chance to read Roanoke, Virginia, 1882-1912: Magic City of the New South by Rand Dotson. (Link is to Amazon). The Roanoke Times published this article about Mr. Dotson and the book when the book was published in December of last year. The book was very well done, and a lot more readable than I was expecting (considering that it was based on a PhD. dissertation). I reviewed the book on Amazon, if you are interested in my impressions. Lawyers are not very prominent in the book, but there are a couple of facts that I need to mention in chronicling the history of our Bar.

Roanoke's First Black Attorney: "Andrew Jackson Oliver, the city's first African-American Attorney, opened a practice in 1890. He and his wife Susan, a graduate of Hampton Institute and a teacher at the Third Ward "colored school," lived on First Street Northwest. Oliver's office, in the white business section of downtown, also housed his real estate and development firm, the Roanoke Building and Land Company." (Dotson at 110).

1890's Lawyer Baseball Team: In a section concerning Roanoke's love for baseball in the 1890s, Dotson mentions that "local lawyers challenged the city's printers to a game." (Dotson at 113).

History of the Roanoke Bar Association-- An Introduction

2008-03-24T10:30:00.001-04:00

During my term, one of my blog features will be posts about the History of the Roanoke Bar Association. The Association as currently established dates back to 1925. (Here is a list of Presidents (PDF link) back to that date.) However, there were predecessor organizations, also called the Roanoke Bar Association. I will go back as far as I can.

A key source for these posts will be A History of the City of Roanoke, by Raymond P. Barnes. The book was published in 1968. Mr. Barnes (I believe) was a retired Roanoke Times reporter who was given access to the archives of the Roanoke Times. His book is an incredible resource, long out of print. (I googled it this morning and saw a copy on sale for $237). There are copies in the Main Branch of the Roanoke Library, but I don't believe that they circulate. Allegedly, it is scheduled to be reprinted, with a new index, by the History Museum of Western Virginia in the near future. Mr. Barnes was a man of his times (pre-WWII, often pre-WWI), and the book is replete with racial and other attitudes of his times-- I warn you if you are easily offended by such things.

Here is a little "pre-history:" of the Roanoke Bar Association:

Roanoke County was founded in 1838. The County seat was (and of course is) Salem, and the County's first courthouse was built there in 1839-40. According to the Court Order books on Wednesday, March 17, 1841: "It is ordered that the courts for the county be held in the new court house after the present term, that said building having been completed and received by the court. And it is further ordered that the Clerk of the Court cause to be kept in two or more conspicuous places about the building a notice that that it will be considered a contempt of the court for an individual to cut, write upon, or otherwise deface the Bar, Bench or any other part of said building and that such conduct will be punished by a fine of not less than $5.00." (Barnes at 29.)

Barnes notes that "Edward Johnston, John T. Anderson, Francis Henderson, Alexander F. Etheridge, James B. Watts and John B.I. Logan, gentlemen, qualified to practice in the Court. Barnes describes the new Courthouse as "constructed of brick with a two storied central building in the center faced with tall white columns."

Barnes tells us that "Court Day was one of the few opportunities offered farmers to socialize with friends from every part of the county. Court was held only four times a year, but the opening day of each term found farmers in carriages, gigs, on horse back or afoot, county seat bound. On such days, taxes were paid, lawyers consulted, horse (sic) traded and new equipment purchased. Old friends met and swapped news and new friendships, or enemies, were cultivated. Salem in those days had taverns and on Court Day all rooms were taken and the tap room crowded. Here candidates for office campaigned and now and then heated political debates could be heard. While good papers from Lynchburg, Washington, Richmond and elsewhere were available, local news was dished out on Court Day which was carried to the utmost boundaries of the county. Court Day was such a delightful institution it is regrettable that it was abolished around 1902." (Barnes at 30).

In the next installment we'll move on to 1888, the year Roanoke was founded.

First Post

2008-03-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first, test post on the new Roanoke Bar Association President's Blog. Welcome. This blog will not go "live" until I take office in June. I will enable comments and check the email. If the board approves I will ask that it be linked to the official Roanoke Bar Association website. I will not be running every post by the Board, so please do not consider any post on this blog to be an official position of the Association.