Rooms at The Greenbrier are selling like hotcakes! Be sure to get your room at the VTLA rates (which include the massive Greenbrier buffet breakfast AND dinner at any of the outlets*) by calling and reserving today.

To reserve a room at The Greenbrier, call 855-453-4858 and be sure to mention you are with the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. Our room block expires when it’s full or by February 18th so be sure to get that done soon.

Yes, there’s often an asterisk or small print: there IS a $60 per person surcharge for dinner in Prime 44 steakhouse. All meal plan dinners include three courses - typically an appetizer, main course and dessert but you can order two appetizers and a main course for example, or if you’re feeling wild, go ahead and just order three desserts!

This member-get-a-member campaign wouldn’t work without the generous support of these member firms who donate the prizes, so huge thanks to you for your part in growing the VTLA family!

• Cantor, Grana, Buckner, Bucci, Richmond
• Bricker, Anderson & Johnson, Richmond
• Sossei Law, Richmond
• Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, Richmond
• Blankingship & Keith, Fairfax

Kick off is Friday, February 6!

Come talk strategies and issues facing Workers' Comp claimant attorneys at our Retreat, February 6-7 in downtown Richmond. Register here now!

Take a look at the gametime plays (can you tell yet that it's Super Bowl weekend?) for the retreat:

• Multi-jurisdictional issues
• A Neutral’s View—observations from a mediator
• Case law update
• Defense panel: willful misconduct
• Independent contractors and occupational accident insurance: There may be options
• Goode v. VCU, et al, turned the post-third party recovery world upside down
• How to win your case with technology
• Legislative update
• Update from the Commission
• The Intersection of Law and Professional Responsibility: The ethical representation of clients in Workers’ Compensation
• The rapidly changing world of WCMSAs

While you’re making your game plan, wear your favorite team jersey and bring your favorite game time app recipe as well. 

Join the team and be at the Retreat!

Full details on the registration page.

Things you never knew (or forgot)
January 22, 4-5 pm
Register here

Medical Expense Benefit Coverage (“MedPay”) is a powerful tool. Make the most of it with this one-hour webinar next week:

• What is MedPay?
• What and Who Does MedPay Cover?
• Stacking
• Who Should MedPay Be Paid To?
• Bad Faith
• Defense Tactics

The program will be presented by Ryan Walker of Marks & Harrison and moderated by Gobind Sethi, our Education Chair. We will take time for your questions, general or specific, so bring ’em with you! 

NEW THIS YEAR!
This webinar is part of a new way of staying up to date in your practice - VTLA’s Learning Lab.

Instead of a day-long seminars covering a wide variety of issues, we are offering practical targeted information in bite-size pieces every month, available from wherever you are with experts in specific topics. Watch for February’s program on DMEs and send us ideas if you have something you’d like to hear.

Have you seen work this year from an outstanding Virginia journalist reporting on criminal or civil justice issues that has increased public awareness and understanding? Let us know so we can consider them for our 2025 Excellence in Journalism Award. 

Nominate a reporter by emailing the entry to Jonathan Sanford at VTLA by January 31. For more information on the award, its objectives, and eligibility, please click here.  

Every fall, we launch a member-get-a-member campaign to encourage you to bring a friend to join VTLA. Thanks to everyone who took part in this effort in 2025 and added to our VTLA family!

As promised, we held a drawing among all of you who recruited a new member and congratulations to the following members who won one of the prizes (it was a Northern Virginia sweep - later this year, we’re looking at you, Southwest, Central and Tidewater!):

• Callie Kyhl, Manassas - a VTLA Convention registration

• Kate Beurmann-O’Neill, Manassas - Hydroflask

• Leila Kilgore, Fredericksburg - $200 Gift Card 

• David Hilton Wise, Fairfax - $200 Gift Card

• Elaine Singerman, Springfield - $200 Gift Card

• Jason Zellman, Fairfax - $100 Gift Card

Wednesday, January 28
8:30 am -1:00 pm 
In Person or Virtual

Join us for the ultimate insider experience at the Virginia General Assembly.  Sign-up today for VTLA’s Annual Justice Day and let your voice be heard!  

Our hybrid Justice Day will begin with a presentation of issues by our legislative team and invited legislators. You are invited to join us in person to walk up to the General Assembly building and return for lunch.  Can’t make it to Richmond? Please join us for the morning presentations (until 9:30) and contact legislators on your own. Learn from our legislative team about how to be how to be a citizen lobbyist and to provide important support for the work of VTLA.  

There is no charge for this event, and no experience is necessary - we will give you what you’ll need!

Happy new year!

With the roll of the calendar to a new year, we turn our VTLA focus to the General Assembly, our Convention, and a number of great educational offerings of all sizes and shapes. 

See the next article for information on our annual Justice Day. Watch for details coming soon on a fantastic Convention waiting for you at The Greenbrier in March. Registration is officially open and ready for you here. Keep reading for more!

• David Ashe
• Shelby Clark *
• Christopher Davis
• Erin V. Duncan*
• Barbara Anne Fuller
• Maurice Gothe
• Patrick James LaBella
• Carl Lewis Moore
• Luisa Ramirez Huertas
• Sidney Murphy*
• Camryn Nellon*
• Madison Revis*
• Theseus Schulze
• Eryn Lee Scott
• Joanna R. Steele
• Martin Anthony Thomas Jr.
• Tan Vo*
• Montana C. Willis

*Paralegal member

Have you renewed your VTLA membership for 2026? It’s easy to check (and easy to renew if you haven’t) by logging in to our website and clicking on MyVTLA. You will see a quick and easy link there to renew if you haven’t already.

The end of the year also marks the end of this year’s Member-Get-A-Member campaign. Do you know a colleague who isn't a member yet? (Just check our website!) Ask them to join you as a member and tell us in the process that you have referred them. Members who bring in a new member get put into a drawing for some great prizes early next year!