Virginia Bar president considers attorney trust audits
Headline Legal News
The president of the Virginia State Bar is proposing random audits of lawyer trust accounts.
Lawyers use trust accounts to temporarily hold real estate proceeds or retainers until they are disbursed to a third party or -- once a fee is earned -- to the lawyer.
It is a severe violation of professional conduct for a lawyer to mingle trust account money with personal funds or operating money.
But it does happen.
According to the state bar, a Virginia Beach attorney had his license revoked after he wrote 72 checks that he couldn't cover from 2002 to 2005. The checks totaled $3.3 million.
Bar president and Norfolk lawyer Howard Martin Junior says will make the audit proposal to the bar's executive committee next month. The American Bar Association recommends that every state conduct random audits to protect the public.
Related listings
-
ICE raids and their uncertainty scare off workers and baffle businesses
Headline Legal News 06/19/2025Farmers, cattle ranchers and hotel and restaurant managers breathed a sigh of relief last week when President Donald Trump ordered a pause to immigration raids that were disrupting those industries and scaring foreign-born workers off the job. &ldquo...
-
Getty Images and Stability AI clash in UK copyright trial testing AI's future
Headline Legal News 06/05/2025Getty Images is facing off against artificial intelligence company Stability AI in a London courtroom for the first major copyright trial of the generative AI industry.Opening arguments before a judge at the British High Court began on Monday. The tr...
-
World financial markets welcome court ruling against Trump's tariffs
Headline Legal News 05/29/2025Financial markets welcomed a U.S. court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.U.S. futures jumped early Thursday and oil prices rose more than $1. The U.S. dollar rose agains...
Victorville CA DUI Lawyers - Drunk Driving Defense Attorney
If you fail a sobriety test or have a blood alcohol level above 0.8%, you are considered to be driving under the influence in which you will be arrested. During this time you will be read your Miranda rights and it is crucial to exercise your right to remain silent. As they say, “anything you say can and will be held against you in court.” The courtroom takes no mercy on drunk drivers and any statement you make during your arrest will only damage your case. The charges you are facing for a DUI range from fines, a 12-month suspension on your license and worst-case scenario, prison time. Your attorney will be able to analyze your situation to decide the best way to go about your case. Our Victorville CA DUI Lawyers attorneys know the tricky ways to challenge all of the DUI tests and know how to claim improper collection of evidence. We will be able to negotiate on your behalf and free you from charges and help you keep your drivers license. The DUI process can last up to several months, we can make this process easier on you.