New Edition of the Newsletter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Get ready for a big meeting on November 11, featuring keynote speaker the Honorable Martin 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

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

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

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.