Civil Discovery in Virginia (Online Seminar)

A pre-recorded streaming video replay from the September 2017 webcast, Civil Discovery in Virginia .

An integral part of any case plan—and some would say the key part of that plan—is discovery. Liability and defense theories, themes, and strategies must guide and be guided by discovery. The quality of the discovery of a case has a substantial impact on whether the case settles and on the outcome of the trial. Indeed, most who refer to themselves as trial lawyers are in reality pretrial lawyers, practicing their profession mostly in their offices, conference rooms, document depositories, and other locations rather than the courtroom. Courtroom appearances in modern practice are usually limited to motions of various variety.

This seminar will provide an overview of rules, procedures, and practices related to civil discovery. Utilizing relevant chapters from the 2017 edition of the Civil Discovery in Virginia handbook, our expert speakers, all of whom are also authors of the handbook, will highlight those aspects of discovery most relevant to the practitioner. There will be something for everyone, whether new to the profession or an old hand at trials: rich, instructive content, as well as best practices and useful tips.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

MODERATOR: Wyatt B. Durrette, Jr., DurretteCrump PLC / Richmond

Wyatt Durrette, Jr. is first and foremost a trial lawyer. He is the editor for Virginia CLE^®’s handbook Civil Discovery in Virginia. In 2010 he received the prestigious Hunter W. Martin Professionalism Award from the Richmond Bar Association. He was selected by his peers to be included in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property and carries Martindale-Hubble’s top rating of AV Pre-eminent, is listed in Virginia Business magazine’s “Legal Elite,” is named as one of fifteen Leaders in the Law for 2007 by Virginia Lawyers Weekly, and named each year among the Top One Hundred Super Lawyers in all practice areas. Mr. Durrette is a member of the Boyd Graves Conference, a group of leading lawyers and judges functioning as an arm of The Virginia Bar Association to recommend legislation to the Virginia General Assembly to improve Virginia’s civil practice. He also served as chairman of the Business Torts and Commercial Litigation Sections of the American Association for Justice and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, respectively.  Mr. Durrette focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation including antitrust. His trial experience includes representation of both plaintiffs and defendants in federal and state courts across the country. He is regarded by his colleagues as particularly effective in cases where fact patterns tend to be complex and records or witnesses numerous. He gives personal attention to a wide variety of matters handled by the firm as well as serving as a resource for attorneys managing cases in which he has no direct role. Mr. Durrette maintains close ties within the professional community, and is often consulted by lawyers in other firms. His trial experience includes serving as lead counsel in a case considered to be “perhaps one of the most complex cases litigated [in Virginia] in the modern era.”

FACULTY

Hon. D. Arthur Kelsey, Supreme Court of Virginia / Richmond

Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, author of Chapter 11 of the Virginia CLE^®’s handbook Civil Discovery in Virginia, is a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia.  He previously served as a judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals and a trial judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.  Prior to his appointment to the bench, he practiced as a litigation partner with Hunton & Williams.

Meghan A. Podolny, Hunton & Williams LLP  / Richmond

Meghan Podolny is an associate in the firm's litigation practice and a central member of the Information Governance & eDiscovery group providing state-of-the-art data management and eDiscovery advice and services to a wide variety of corporate clients. Her experience includes developing enterprise-level information governance best practices and working with clients to respond to the challenges of electronic discovery. Her litigation practice focuses on complex commercial litigation matters, including class action defense, securities and fraud litigation, financial services matters, internal investigations, and electronic discovery and data governance issues. Ms. Podolny advises clients on the development of tailored protocols to streamline a company's discovery preparation and response to control costs associated with electronic information and meet its desired risk level. Ms. Podolny often serves as eDiscovery counsel to assist clients' merits counsel in preparing and responding to litigation discovery. Ms. Podolny is also a frequent speaker and writer on a number of issues related to electronic discovery, data preservation, privilege waiver, and employee communication privacy concerns.

Barrett E. Pope, DurretteCrump, PLC / Richmond 

Barrett E. Pope, co-author of Chapter 6 of Civil Discovery in Virginia, is a shareholder in the Richmond-based firm of DurretteCrump PLC.  During three-and-a-half decades in private practice, he has represented clients in a variety of commercial disputes in federal and state courts and in mediations.  He received a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia in 1975 and a J.D. from the University of Richmond in 1981, where he was a member of the Law Review and the National Moot Court Team.   Mr. Pope has been included for a number of years in The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation and in Super Lawyers magazine in Business Litigation. Virginia Business magazine has named him among the “Legal Elite” in Civil Litigation.  Mr. Pope has written numerous appellate briefs and argued before the Virginia Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is listed among The Best Lawyers in America in Appellate Practice.  In addition to practicing law, he has served as DurretteCrump’s managing director for the past seven years.

Jonathan M. Wilan, Baker & McKenzie / Washington, DC

Jonathan Wilan is a Washington, DC–based litigation partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP.  His practice over the last 19 years has focused on internal investigations, complex class action litigation, cybersecurity, and electronic discovery.  Mr. Wilan is a frequent speaker on complex issues related to information management and data-focused investigations.  He is a 1997 graduate of Harvard Law School and a 1994 graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park.

Thomas W. Williamson Jr., Williamson Law LC / Richmond

Thomas W. Williamson, Jr., author of Chapter 9 of Civil Discovery in Virginia, is a 1972 graduate of Virginia Military Institute. He received his law degree in 1976 from T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, where he was a member of the University of Richmond Law Review. Mr. Williamson is a partner in the law firm of Williamson Law LC, Richmond, Virginia.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (President 1995-96), The Virginia Bar Association, the American Bar Association (Litigation Section), the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Richmond Bar Association, the Richmond Trial Lawyers Association, and John Marshall Inn of Court (President 1995-96). Mr. Williamson has lectured and written extensively on civil procedure, civil trial tactics, expert witnesses, product liability, and medical malpractice. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America.