Young Lawyers Boot Camp This Friday, Women's Section Forum, Meet the Board, and more... 

VADA Defense Line November 2022

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

As I reflect on Thanksgiving, I wish to express my gratitude for the members and leaders of this organization. Sherma, Amy, Molly, your Board, and your Section Chairs are hard at work to make this a productive and successful year for the VADA.

It is not too late register for our Young Lawyers Boot Camp, which will be held at Drive Shack Short Pump on December 2, 2022. This is a must-attend event for any associate new to a civil defense practice.

Looking ahead to 2023, please mark your calendars and make plans to attend our Deposition Workshop (March 3-4, 2023 at University of Richmond), our Spring Sections Seminar (May 3-5, 2023 at Hotel 24 South in Staunton), and our 2023 Annual Meeting at the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront on October 25-27, 2023.  Details on these and other events will follow over the course of the year.  Please stay tuned to our website, Defense Line newsletter, and social media platforms for more information.

I look forward to seeing you at a VADA event soon. In the meantime, I wish all of you and your families a healthy and happy holiday season.

Julie S. Palmer
VADA President, 2022-23

This Friday!

Spots remain for our 2022 Young Lawyers Boot Camp! Slated for this Friday, December 2, at Drive Shack Richmond, this valuable one-day seminar gives newer attorneys the practical information needed to practice civil defense law here in Virginia. Learn from seasoned members of the defense bar and members of the judiciary. Topics this year include:

  • Your Role as Second Chair
  • Your First Jury Trial
  • Judicial Advice for New Lawyers
  • Tips for Practice in the Eastern District of Virginia

and much, much more! For complete Boot Camp details, and to reserve your seat, click here. We hope to see you there!

DEPOSITION WORKSHOP
March 3-4, 2023
Jepson Alumni Center at University of Richmond

This two-day workshop will teach you the skills needed to (1) face down a bullying senior plaintiffs’ attorney; (2) handle a lying deponent; (3) pull the information you need out of a reticent deponent; (4) ensure that what you discover in depositions is admissible in court; (5) use the latest in technology to build an air-tight case; (6) depose experts effectively; (7) handle sympathetic or minor deponents; and more!

The second day will be spent in four-person breakouts in which each new attorney will play the parts of deponent, defense attorney, plaintiffs’ attorney, and observer. At each stage of the depositions, senior coach-attorneys will critique performances and make suggestions.

Registration will open soon -- put the dates on your calendar now.

VADA BY THE NUMBERS

We're proud to recognize the 11 members of the Board of Editors of VADA's flagship publication The Journal of Civil Litigation! Pictured above are: Chair, John Eure of Johnson Ayers & Matthews in Roanoke; Editor-in-Chief, Kent Sinclair, Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia School of Law; Heather Bardot and Dawn Boyce of McGavin Boyce Bardot Thorsen & Katz in Fairfax; Matthew Joss of Herbert & Satterwhite in Richmond; VADA President Julie Palmer of Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman in Richmond; Richard Samet of Florence Gordon Brown in Richmond; Brian Schneider of Spotts Fain in Richmond; Joshua Treece of Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black in Roanoke; Patricia Turner of Spotts Fain in Richmond; and Managing Editor, Molly Terry.

Thank you, all, for your leadership and your service to VADA!

Introducing our Regional Directors for 2022-23! Beginning in the top row, from L to R, are: Blue Ridge, Lauren Darden of Wharton Aldhizer & Weaver; Capitol, Taylor Brewer of Moran Reeves Conn; Potomac, Britton Wight of Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman; Southwest, Chris Dadak of Guynn, Waddell, Carroll & Lockaby, P.C.; and Tidewater, Darlene Bradberry of the Newport News City Attorney’s Office. Thank you to each of you for your leadership and your service to VADA!

We are excited to announce that we have created a VADA Women’s Section Listserv.  This Listserv is private and not connected to the VADA website.  Only members of the Women’s Section may request to join the Listserv, and Amy Gilbody and Sherma Mather have exclusive rights to add any current member to the Women’s Section. To join the Listserv, please email Sherma at smather@vada.org or Amy at agilbody@vada.org.

We hope the Listserv will be a space for us to share thoughts, ideas, concerns, and questions, for the benefit of the group. 

Please reach out with ideas for the Women's Section to Chair Rachel Horvath and Vice Chair Taylor Brewer.

Be sure to bookmark VADA Upcoming Events so you don't miss out.

December 2
Young Lawyers Boot Camp
Drive Shack Richmond

2023

March 3-4
Deposition Workshop
University of Richmond

May 3-5
Spring Sections Seminar
Hotel 24 South, Staunton

TBD Summer 2023
Paralegal Seminar
Zoom

October 25-27
Annual Meeting
Marriott Resort Virginia Beach Oceanfront


This NOVA native and married father of three is a live music buff who hopes to catch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Dublin, Ireland, this coming Spring.  His advice to new attorneys?  Make connections!  For this and more on this month’s VADA Spotlighted Member, click here.

MIssed A Webinar
or Meeting?

Did you know that many VADA Lunch & Learn webinars and online programs are available to watch on-demand? Click here to see the library of available content, which can be found in the members-only area of our website.

Journal of Civil Litigation
Fall 2022 Edition

The Fall 2022 edition of The Journal of Civil Litigation is hot off the presses.  It includes four feature articles:

  • Kevin Streit explores the “eight-corners” rule and discusses when an insurer may rely on extrinsic evidence to contest coverage.
  • Anthony Cottone addresses duties potentially imposed on mental health professionals to warn or protect third-party victims, and the legal implications of such duties.
  • Megan Wagner and Margaret Skinner “weed through” Virginia’s evolving marijuana laws, focusing on their effect on employment in the Commonwealth.
  • David Timm analyzes pre-litigation procedures associated with procurement claims against counties under Virginia law.

Plus, there are twelve judicial opinions from around the Commonwealth.

Many thanks to our Managing Editor, Molly Terry; our Editor-in-Chief, Kent Sinclair; our Chair of the Board of Editors, John D. Eure; and the rest of the Board of Editors for consistently producing such a quality journal. 

VADA members receive the Journal as a benefit of their membership.  Members can search current and past journals, including by keyword, on our website.

Meredith Cramer
Kiernan Trebach

Jacqueline Cullom
Alexandria City Attorney’s Office

Nicholas Dudley
Wharton Aldhizer Weaver

Andrew Dye
Penn Stuart

Heather Fields
Nelson Mullins

Andrew Fox
Wharton Aldhizer Weaver

Emily Gindhart
Wharton Aldhizer Weaver

Geneva Gnam
Kiernan Trebach

Gifford Hampshire
McGavin Boyce Bardot Thorsen Katz

Brandi Howell
Kiernan Trebach

Andrew Mullen
Parrish Snead Franklin

Ryan Nelson
Kiernan Trebach

Hunter Rush
Flora Pettit

Kara Schmidt
McGavin Boyce Bardot Thorsen Katz

Alexandra Smith
Caskie Frost

Staying Safe While Exercising in the Dark

Taylor D. Brewer
Moran Reeves Conn

When our professional lives comprise most of the daylight hours (and then some), we often find ourselves exercising in the dark, especially in the fall and winter.  Below are some ideas for staying safe while running or biking in the dark this season: 

  1. Invite a friend;
  2. Wear identification;
  3. Stay alert – leave headphones at home;
  4. Take a device that tracks your whereabouts (such as a watch with GPS capabilities, Apple air tag, or phone with Find my Friends app);
  5. Leave valuables (such as jewelry) at home;
  6. Vary but know your route;
  7. Wear reflective gear (such as a headlamp, light-up vest, and neon accessories);
  8. Carry pepper spray, a whistle, and/or a personal alarm; and
  9. Let someone know your anticipated return time.


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    VADA’S Mission

    The mission of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys is to develop and support Virginia attorneys engaged in a civil defense practice in the professional and ethical representation of their clients through education, communication and fellowship.

    Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys
    1915 Huguenot Road, Ste. 301
    Richmond, VA  23235
    804-649-1002 | www.vada.org

    Executive Director: Sherma Mather
    Director of Meetings: Amy Gilbody
    Journal of Civil Litigation Managing EditorMolly Terry

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