Did longtime friends of trial attorney John Edwards give him money to help cover up an extramarital affair so he could keep it secret from his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth? Or to help the former senator from North Carolina with his campaign for election as the nation's president? The answer to that question could help determine whether Edwards violated election law, if a possible federal criminal case against him is pursued, reports the Associated Press. Also importantl would be how much Edwards did or did not know about the situation. However, observers tend to agree with attorney Gregory Craig, who represents…

James Duff, who heads the administrative office of the United States Courts, has announced that he plans to resign his job of five years to join the Freedom Forum as its president and chief executive officer. Duff, 57, was selected after a nationwide search to serve in the top administrative post at at the Freedom Forum, which is known for its First Amendment and media law work as well as its operation of the Newseum in Washington, D.C., according to a U.S. Courts press release and a Freedom Forum press release. “Jim Duff has worked closely with three chief justices…

Not quite two years after leaving BigLaw to form their own boutique, two former partners are celebrating a string of noteworthy victories. Helped by referrals from their former firms, as well as other major partnerships, Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken have a book of business that gives them at least as much high-profile work as they used to have at Shearman & Sterling and Baker Botts, reports Thomson Reuters. Lamken, who also previously worked as an assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, led MoloLamken to victory in three U.S. Supreme Court cases during the last term, the article notes. Meanwhile,…

A 67-year-old Yale Law School graduate with extensive experience as corporate executive in energy companies has been tapped by President Barack Obama to be the next U.S. Commerce Secretary. John Bryson formerly served as chief executive officer of Edison International for 17 years and is currently chairman of BrightSource Energy Inc., which develops solar power plants, reports Bloomberg. Before joining Edison he also helped found the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, and was president of the California Public Utilities Commission. As a business executive and energy expert, Bryson "understands what it takes for America to succeed in…

Anne Lynam Goddard was in the middle of her very first board meeting as president and CEO of the Christian Children’s Fund on an April day in 2007 when she got a phone call. It was her son Colin, who was then a junior at Virginia Tech. The news was chilling. He said he was at a [...]

Dear Editor: Two articles about lawyer discipline in your May 9 issue stand in remarkable contrast to each other. In the first article (“Leesburg lawyer disbarred in Md. for forging papers”), you report that a lawyer tried to help a family of apparently modest means save $10,000 by avoiding probate and engaged in intentional dishonesty in furtherance [...]

Dear Editor: I have read with interest and dismay your May 23 editorial entitled, “A trap hidden in plain sight.” I find it reprehensible that four delegates, who are members of the House Courts of Justice Committee, would go so far to threaten the independence of the judiciary. Competence, education, integrity and experience in the law should [...]

Dear Editor: I must initially state I am writing as a member of the bar of this state and not a government employee, as I am. The article, “Memo to judges: Be ready to discuss Hernandez,” in the May 16 issue, caused me concern as a citizen and a member of the bar. “The accumulation of all [...]

A federal jury has awarded $13.4 million to the developer of the failed Granby Tower site so the property can be used for a proposed $104 million annex to the Walter E. Hoffman Courthouse. The government initially paid $6.2 million for the 1.6-acre site in July 2010 but increased the offer to $9 million before the [...]

The Fairfax Bar Association will incorporate aspects of the Virginia Bar Association’s Rule of Law Program to augment the Court Tour program the Fairfax Bar Foundation has offered county eighth graders for more than a decade. FBA volunteer lawyers will attend 17 eighth-grade civic classes taught by four different teachers at Cooper Middle School. The focus [...]