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When I was in law school I had the opportunity to clerk at the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). It was an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity. Back then, DOJ, in my humble opinion, was awe-inspiring, the sine qua non of the legal profession, the tip of the legal spear. I had the privilege of working with a small, dedicated group of attorneys and historians that formed the now defunct Office of Special Investigations or “OSI.” The sole purpose of… Read More

In a noteworthy recent decision, the defense team at Setliff Law was instrumental in winning summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in a trip-and-fall case against a large national retailer. The court held in that case that under the undisputed facts, the alleged problem with the floor on which the plaintiff’s decedent fell was open and obvious and, therefore, not actionable. This decision adds to a growing body of precedent in Maryland holding that… Read More

Many federal courts around the country are reimposing restrictions to protect the public as COVID-19 numbers continue to skyrocket. Many courts reopened amidst the pandemic with increased safety protocols in place, but now the Eastern District of Texas, among other U.S. district courts, have paused or postponed grand jury proceedings and jury trials to respond to current spikes in COVID-19 cases. Most recently, a judge in the Eastern District of Texas (Sherman, Texas) paused a federal multiple day jury trial… Read More

There is something powerful about a recorded statement. President Richard Nixon, Washington Mayor Marion Barry, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Pentagon employee Linda Tripp, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, and lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen are all notorious names associated with secret recordings. Politics has taught us that recording people can help us catch the dirt, and modern technology has made recording easier than ever. In defense and claims work, recorded statements are often used early in claims to capture a potential… Read More

On December 16, 2020, the EEOC released guidelines concerning Covid-19 vaccines in anticipation of their imminent availability. In general, the EEOC has advised that employers can require employees to receive a Covid-19 vaccine or provide proof of vaccination in order to return to or attend the workplace. In certain circumstances, an employer can bar an employee who refuses a Covid-19 vaccine from the workplace. The EEOC released answers to various questions regarding the workplace and Covid-19 vaccines, summarized below: Is… Read More

“Enemies List” - Not a good idea in Virginia unless you want to be sued On November 6, 2020, Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez tweeted: “Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future.” In response, Hari Sevugan, former Democratic National Committee press secretary and ex-deputy campaign manager for Pete Buttigieg, tweeted: “. . .WH staff are starting to look… Read More

In GEICO v. Moore, the Supreme Court of Virginia memorably held that “[c]ontracts of insurance . . . are not made by or for casuists or sophists, and the obvious meaning of their plain terms is not to be discarded for some curious, hidden sense, which nothing but the exigency of a hard case and the ingenuity of an acute mind would discover.” 266 Va. 155, 164, 580 S.E.2d 823, 827 (2003). That phrase succinctly captures Virginia jurisprudence on interpreting… Read More

The Dirty World of Staged Trucking Accidents – And How to Protect Your Fleet On November 10, 2020, a New Orleans personal injury attorney, Danny Patrick Keating, Jr. became the 33rd defendant charged in an ongoing investigation by the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana into crime rings that stage accidents with tractor-trailers and commercial carriers. https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southcentral/2020/11/10/590210.htm. Charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, Keating, if convicted, faces a maximum term of five years imprisonment… Read More