‘Tis the season for celebrating with holiday parties, lunches and happy hours. Over the coming weeks, businesses will gather their teams to celebrate the holidays and the conclusion of what was hopefully a successful year. Company parties are a great opportunity to foster camaraderie, to show appreciation to staff or clients, and to celebrate your

Most of us have signed one; nearly all of us have at least seen one.  The Little League asked for one before it would allow your child to play; the high school football coach sent one home with your son; your recreational softball league wants every member of every team to sign one. Yet waivers

Depositions are often the most anxiety-inducing aspect of the litigation process.  A deposition is commonly used to force the opposing party, or non-party witnesses, to answer questions under oath.  Some of the questioning may be only investigatory, while much of it may be openly antagonistic. The depositions are recorded by a court reporter’s transcription, and

It’s probably the most commonly asked question during initial discussions with anyone considering filing, or having to defend against, a lawsuit:  “Once I pay my lawyer, can I get that money back from the other side?” The answer is often a surprising “no.” The legal system in many countries, including England, operates on the principle

For the sixth year, Super Lawyers magazine has honored Patrick Henry as one of Virginia’s “Rising Stars” in the field of business litigation. Super Lawyers selects its honorees using a patented multiphase selection process, in which peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research. The “Rising Stars” selections are limited to less than 2.5%

On March 7, 2019, the Labor Department released a revision of its previously abandoned, 2016 proposed rule changes governing overtime qualification.  Currently planned to take effect January 1, 2020, the changes are expected to add over a million workers to the ranks of those for whom overtime pay will be required.  The proposed changes include

Nearly 30 years after its passage, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act continues to grow in scope and use, even without legislative additions.  For its first few decades, the ADA was used principally to raise employment discrimination claims, and to challenge the accessibility of business facilities.  But advocates for the disabled continue to innovate in

For many years, the rules governing lawsuits in our state courts generally provided that if an opposing party failed to respond to written discovery requests, the party seeking discovery could ask the trial judge to order compliance.  More strenuous relief, like getting the noncompliant party’s case dismissed or its defenses barred, had to wait until

A well-drafted contract is essential to the operation of any business.  But even when a business owner acts prudently and retains a lawyer to draft a contract form, later changes in the law may make that contract non-compliant with evolving law and regulations.  For this reason, forms should be reviewed every so often. Changes adopted

While many employers routinely include post-termination restrictions on employment in their written employment agreements, Virginia’s courts have historically treated non-compete clauses as restraints of trade.  For this reason, they begin with a presumption of unenforceability.  But that presumption can be overcome, and the non-compete enforced, if the employer can demonstrate that its particular clause was