Home > Public Resources > Virginia State Bar Public Protection Programs
Many Virginia State Bar programs are dedicated to helping lawyers carry out their professional responsibility to protect clients and the public. They serve to prevent or redress harm done in the practice of law or the rendering of legal services. These efforts include:
Professional Regulation – The VSB investigates and prosecutes complaints about Virginia-licensed lawyers. To file a complaint: (804) 775-0570 or http://www.vsb.org/site/regulation/inquiry/
Clients’ Protection Fund – This fund, created with the contributions of Virginia lawyers, is the payor of last resort to help clients recover losses that result from lawyer dishonesty. For information: (804) 775-9426 or http://www.vsb.org/site/public/clients-protection-fund/
Fee Mediation / Arbitration – These programs, offered throughout the state, help resolve disputes over lawyers’ fees. For information: (804) 775-9423 or http://www.vsb.org/site/public/fee-dispute-resolution-program/
Insurance Disclosure – The VSB requires lawyers to report on their annual dues statement whether they carry legal malpractice insurance. The VSB has a process for endorsing an insurance provider to ensure that Virginia lawyers can obtain affordable coverage. For the insurance status of individual lawyers: (804) 775-0530, , or http://www.vsb.org/attorney/attSearch.asp
Trust Account Overdraft Notification – Banks notify the VSB when attorney trust accounts have insufficient funds, so the bar can detect patterns of financial mismanagement. This information is used internally by the professional regulation department.
Unauthorized Practice of Law – enforces laws that prohibit legal practice in Virginia without a Virginia license. For a UPL complaint form: http://www.vsb.org/profguides/upl/upl_form.pdf
Disaster Response — Attorneys provide pro bono disaster related legal services through a program jointly sponsored by the VSB and Virginia Bar Association young lawyers groups. Details on this and other disaster services: http://www.vsb.org/site/members/disaster-resources/
Planning for Lawyer Retirement, Death, or Disability – Richmond attorney Frank O. Brown Jr. travels throughout Virginia to present a program on how clients and practices can continue to be protected when a lawyer retires, suffers a disability, or dies. The program is offered by bar associations and other lawyer groups.
Virginia Lawyer Referral Service – The VSB links clients in need of legal advice with nearby attorneys who have agreed to offer a half-hour consultation for $35. Information: (800) 552-7977 or http://www.vsb.org/site/public/lawyer-referral-service/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services – The VSB financially supports Lawyers Helping Lawyers, an independent nonprofit program that helps members of the legal community who have addictions or mental health problems. LHL helps attorneys manage their illnesses so they can maintain ethical, productive practices. Information: (804) 644-3212 or http://www.valhl.org/
Access to Legal Services – The VSB does not offer pro bono or low-cost legal services, but it works to ensure that those services are available and of good quality for people of limited means. The VSB also coordinates volunteer opportunities for lawyers to fulfill their ethical obligation to support pro bono. For a list of resources: http://www.vsb.org/site/pro_bono/resources-for-the-public/
Lawyer Misconduct Information – The public disciplinary records of individual Virginia lawyers can be obtained by calling the VSB’s clerk’s office at (804) 775-0539. To find out if a lawyer is licensed and in good standing with the VSB: (804) 775-0530 or .
Public Protection Task Force — This task force evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the VSB’s public protection efforts and recommends improvements.
Public Protection Conclave — VSB President Manuel A. Capsalis convened the bar’s first-ever Public Protection Conclave on July 11, 2008. The conclave brought together the leaders of the bar’s protection efforts. For a report on the conclave: http://www.vsb.org/site/news/item/leaders-examine-public-protection-efforts/
Third-party Insurance Notification — The VSB Public Protection Task Force is discussing a proposed requirement that insurance companies notify clients when the company issues a check in a case and sends it to the client’s lawyer. Adherents suggest that such a policy might help the bar detect thefts sooner.
Emergency Legal Services Following a Disaster — The VSB has proposed rules designed to alleviate the legal chaos that Gulf Coast states experienced after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One proposal would permit lawyers from a state where disaster has occurred to set up temporary practice in Virginia so they can continue to help clients in their home state. The other proposal would allow out-of-state lawyers to come to Virginia and offer pro bono assistance to Virginians who are victims of disaster. The proposed rules are under consideration by the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Random Review of Lawyer Trust Accounts — A VSB committee is considering a proposal for random reviews or audits of attorney trust accounts to educate lawyers about ethical account management and detect problems early.
Mandatory Legal Malpractice Insurance — In October 2008, the VSB’s governing council considered and rejected a proposal that would require lawyers in private pratice who regularly represent the public to carry legal malpractice insurance. http://www.vsb.org/site/news/item/proposed-insurance-requirement/; http://www.vsb.org/site/news/item/council-101708/
Multijurisdictional Practice — The VSB has proposed rules to regulate attorneys from other United States jurisdications and other countries who want to practice in Virginia courts – a situation that has become commonplace in this age of electronic communication and businesses with clients worldwide. The Multijurisdictional Practice Task Force has completed its work; its proposals are before the Supreme Court of Virginia for consideration.
Updated: November 20, 2008