Five DiMuroGinsberg lawyers named 2016 Virginia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

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Super Lawyers recognizes lawyers who have distinguished themselves in the practice of law and who stand out in their respective practice areas. Less than 5% of the state’s lawyers receive this honor.

DiMuroGinsberg congratulates our 2016 Virginia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

  • Ben DiMuro for Business Litigation
  • Nina Ginsberg for Criminal Defense
  • Michael Lieberman for Business Litigation
  • Stacey Rose Harris, a Rising Star in Business Litigation
  • Sara Sakagami, a Rising Star in Business Litigation

Ex-Fairfax Police Officer pleads guilty to manslaughter in shooting death of John Geer.

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Adam Torres, the former Fairfax police officer who was charged with murder in the August 2013 shooting death of John Geer, plead guilty today to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors and the defense had agreed to a 12-month sentence for Torres, who has been in jail without bond, but Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Robert Smith declined to accept that deal. Instead he asked for a standard pre-sentencing report and scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 24. By then, Torres will have served 10 months. If Smith decides to reject the 12-month sentence, Torres can withdraw his plea and the case would be set for trial with another judge.

Geer’s family expressed “mixed emotions” regarding the plea. Geer’s daughters released a statement through their attorney, Michael Lieberman. “It would be easier to give in to our personal feelings and cry out for Torres to be further punished…there can be no doubt that we are entitled to use this trial as an outlet for our pain, to express our fury that our father was taken from us. However, we are called and reminded by that pain to avoid inflicting the same upon other children just to satisfy our emotions. It is rare that the easy choice is the right choice, and while we’ve lost our father, we must strive for both justice and mercy. Where Torres failed to show prudence and mercy, we will show him and his family both.”

Click here for full article

Officer who shot John Geer took himself off the streets three times due to marital stress.

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The Washington Post reports that Adam Torres, the Fairfax County Police Officer who shot and killed John Geer on August 29, 2013, had asked to be taken off the streets three times in the year preceding the August shooting because he was distraught over problems with his marriage.

The Post reports that transcripts show that almost immediately after Torres fired the fatal shot, he told the officer who had been speaking with Geer, “that he’d had an argument with his wife before he came to work.

“I don’t think he should have been out there,” said Mike Lieberman, the lawyer for Geer’s family. “You have three times in a year where he himself says he’s unable to go out on the street. When you have an officer saying that, that should send out all sorts of red flags.”

Click here for the full article.

Nina Ginsberg on NPR panel discussion

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On March 15, Diane Rehm talked with a panel of guests about the debate over extending statutes of limitations for sexual assault.

To help rape victims seek justice, some states are changing laws to allow prosecution decades later. Some criminal defense attorneys say this will lead to the conviction of innocent people. DiMuroGinsberg attorney, Nina Ginsberg offers her view as part of the panel discussion on the Diane Rehm show.

Click here to listen to the panel discussion.

Protecting your Trade Secrets

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DiMuroGinsberg attorney, Jayna Genti’s article, “Protecting your Trade Secrets from Former Employees” discusses a recent Virginia case involving a terminated employee who was able to remotely access the business’s computers. In this case, by the time the company learned of the unauthorized access of its computers and servers, substantial harm had already occurred.

Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to make sure the barn door stays closed and pre­vent former employees from gaining unauthorized ac­cess to your computer system and stealing valuable trade secrets. To learn more about the steps every company should take, read the article here.

Aarhus University in Denmark presents “ Criminal Defense in America”

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DiMuroGinsberg attorney, Andrea Moseley to discuss police shootings and participate in a panel on Criminal Defense in America in Demark on April 13.

Andrea focuses her practice on defending individuals and companies accused of white collar crimes, financial fraud, copyright and trademark Fraud,  RICO matters, internet crimes,  money laundering, international monetary offenses, importation and distribution of narcotics and professional liability and ethics.  She has represented hundreds of clients at trials in both federal and state criminal cases and has won acquittals on charges of murder, grand larceny, D.W.I., indecent exposure, assault on a police officer, drug distribution and possession, immigration fraud, and various sex offenses.

Click here for information on this Aarhus University event.

Pro Bono: Balancing Justice v. Economic Award

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Nathan Veldhuis’ notable pro bono case, In re Cesar Chumil, to be presented at the upcoming Virginia Trial Lawyers convention,  April 1, 2016.

There are some cases trial lawyers take which need to be taken – not for the economic rewards, but in the interest of justice.  The Cesar Chumil case was one of those cases.

Cesar Chumil spent over 20 years in various mental institutions, 18 of those spent in seclusion.  He was originally from Guatemala and spoke primarily Spanish.   Two weeks after his lawyers were able to have him moved to a less restrictive environment closer to his family in 2009, he died of undiagnosed colon cancer.  The pro bono administrative efforts took 5 years.  It was our position the use of seclusion and restraint and the failure to provide him services in his native language (through a translator) infringed on Mr. Chumil’ s 14th amendment rights and violated state law.

Read the full case summary here.

What HR can do to prevent workplace violence?

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News reports of yet another workplace shooting have become all too frequent in our media-saturated world. The seemingly constant reports of shootings makes clear to all employers the inconvenient truth that no workplace is totally immune from the possibility that a violent incident will occur. What are your obligations to protect your employees from acts of violence, and what steps should you take to make your workplace as safe as possible?

Jonathan Mook’s article in Diversity Insight discusses your obligations with regards to OSHA, the ADA and the National Labor Relations Act and outlines how to put an effective violence prevention plan in place in your workplace. link:
http://blogs.hrhero.com/diversity/2016/02/14/what-hr-can-do-to-prevent-workplace-violence/

Employment Law Challenges for 2016

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“2016 Federal Employment Law Outlook” was the subject of a webinar presentation by DiMuroGinsberg partner, Jonathan R. Mook, on January 5, 2016 for Business & Legal Resources. Jonathan’s presentation addressed such key federal agency initiatives as:

  • The DOL’s proposed new overtime regulations;
  • The EEOC’s strategic enforcement plan focusing on criminal background checks, protections for LGBT employees, and the expansive definition of disability under the ADA;
  • The steps the OFCCP is taking (1) to require government contractors to publicly report labor and employment law violations, (2) to eliminate pay disparity for women and minorities, and (3) to require the hiring of disabled persons and veterans; and
  • Recent NLRB actions to significantly reduce the timeframe for union elections, to challenge employer social media policies, and to expand the scope of joint employer liability.

Given the impact these agency initiatives will have on employers, it is critical that employers keep abreast of federal agency actions throughout 2016. If you would like to receive a copy of Jonathan’s presentation, please contact him at jmook@dimuro.com.

Five DiMuroGinsberg attorneys to be listed in the 2016 Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine.

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Super Lawyers recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the practice of law and who stand out in their respective practice areas.  Less than 5% of the state’s lawyers receive this honor.

Congratulations to our Virginia and Washington DC Super Lawyers:

  • Bernard J. DiMuro for Business Litigation
  • Nina J. Ginsberg for Criminal Defense
  • Michael Lieberman for Business Litigation
  • Stacey Rose Harris, a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation
  • Sara M. Sakagami, a “Rising Star” in Business Litgation