Legal Articles

In the twenty-fifth episode of our firm’s video web series, a special Halloween edition which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten are joined by special guest Kerin Daly to discuss a topic of interest to many of our clients: what do I…

In the twenty-fourth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss federal criminal cases, and how our firm’s experience on both the prosecution and defense side gives us an edge in defending our clients against…

In the twenty-third episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss election law in Virginia, and the impacts that the COVID-19 epidemic has had on elections in 2020. Voting is a fundamental right, and whether…

In the twenty-second episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss our administrative law practice. In many instances, cases are heard not before judges but before administrative tribunals – one prominent example is student conduct…

Grand juries are one of the more unique features of the United States’ criminal justice system. While regular (or “petit”) juries decide whether a particular defendant is guilty of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, grand juries decide whether criminal charges should be brought in the first place. Grand juries are essential to not only…

In the twenty-first episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss the United States Supreme Court, and the ways in which the nation’s highest court affects our practice even in Roanoke, Virginia, and surrounding areas.…

In the twentieth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss deadlines in legal cases, formally known as statutes of limitations. In criminal prosecutions, statutes of limitations require the prosecution to charge a defendant within…

In the nineteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss arbitration, a method of alternative dispute resolution involving a private decision maker (the arbitrator) instead of the public court system. Often, business contracts will…

In the eighteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss depositions, an important and powerful discovery tool that we utilize in many if not all of our cases. As we explain in the video,…

In the seventeenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss alternative dispute resolution, namely mediation. While many of our cases go to trial, once a case has progressed significantly enough, the parties will often…

In the sixteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss our experience with zoning cases. As we explained in greater detail in a previous article, zoning cases are often complex and, with strict procedural…

In the fifteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss the importance of experts in medical malpractice cases, and what the law requires with respect to experts in such cases. As we explain, in…

Fishwick & Associates is pleased to announce a new program through which our firm will be contributing to charitable causes, starting with Feeding Southwest Virginia (a member of Feeding America). As discussed in the below video by firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten, every time someone…

In the fourteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten are joined by special guest Patrick Siewert to discuss how we gather evidence and prepare for cases in a digital world. We have frequently worked…

In the thirteenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss our Criminal Law practice, from investigation and interviews to pre-trial motions to trial itself. To keep up with our video web series, you can…

In the twelfth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss how courts are operating during the COVID-19 epidemic, including postponement of jury trials, hearings by phone or videoconferencing, and safety precautions for in-person appearances.…

In the eleventh episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, firm investigator Isaac Van Patten, and future law student and lawyer Kerin Daly are joined by a very special guest, our senior associate Carrol M. Ching, to discuss some of the…

In the tenth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr. and associate attorney Daniel J. Martin discuss legal research and its importance in representing our clients as effectively as possible. To keep up with our video web series, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we…

In the ninth episode of our firm’s video web series, which can be viewed below, firm owner John P. Fishwick, Jr., associate attorney Daniel J. Martin, and firm investigator Isaac Van Patten discuss qui tam cases, which are most frequently brought under the False Claims Act. As we explain, qui tam (short for the Latin phrase qui…

Broadly speaking, defamation is any false communication that damages a person’s reputation. That simple definition, however, belies the complexities of defamation law, especially in Virginia. For instance, what is a communication? Who must prove that the communication is false? Must the communicator have known of the statement’s falsity? When is a person’s reputation damaged? How…