Insights & News

Litigating a civil dispute in Fairfax County Circuit Court is intimidating to many lawyers, even though the court publishes a manual on its procedures. While there are a number of rules and requirements that the court uses in order to efficiently handle its very large docket and while continuances are heavily disfavored, there are a number of advantages to litigating there, such as the court’s calendar control procedures. Every weekday that the court is open, litigants in Fairfax can appear before a calendar control judge to seek various types of relief. The most common request is probably a continuance, but […]

In 2015 the Supreme Court struck down the sign ordinance of the small town of Gilbert, Arizona. In that case, a pastor of a local church sued to overturn the town’s regulations of signs that preferred specific types of signs over the church’s signs. The Supreme Court agreed with the pastor and in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, it held that when a sign ordinance is not content neutral, i.e. when what is printed on the sign will have some effect on whether or not it is allowed or given special treatment, then the ordinance must meet the high burden […]

Admit it: you’ve given little thought about how to stop hackers from taking over your car. Sure, you lock your doors and hope that a thief doesn’t hot-wire your ignition, but now hackers are the new danger on the horizon, with the rise of the smart car. In fact, the annual Law Vegas-based hacker convention, DefCon, has been allowing its attendees to try their luck at hacking into cars for a number of years already. As a result of this threat, international regulators have issued guidance to manufacturers on how to protect drivers’ privacy and safety (see article here). There […]

There are many factors to consider when deciding whether to hire an expert witness for your case. Before deciding whether you should hire an expert, you first must determine if you can hire one. Virginia case law limits the type of expert testimony that can be used as evidence at trial. You should consult an attorney for advice that is specific to your particular case, but here are five things that are important to know before hiring an expert witness: The subject matter to which an expert can testify is limited. Experts may only testify to information about which “a […]