Governance
The Clients’ Protection Fund paid almost $400,000 to victims of lawyer malfeasance in the last fiscal year.
 
The Clients’ Protection Fund Board seeks comments on proposed amendments to raise the caps on awards to former clients to $100,000 for losses due to lawyer malfeasance. 
The VSB has been asked to evaluate candidates for a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Virginia to be created by the retirement of Justice William C. Mims on March 31, 2022.  

 
Volunteers are sought for VSB Disciplinary Board vacancies.
 
Supreme Court of Virginia oral arguments will continue to be held remotely.
 
The Supreme Court of Virginia amended MCLE Rule to include elimination of bias.
 
The Supreme Court of Virginia issued its Twenty-Seventh Emergency Order due to COVID.
Discipline
Disciplinary hearings are public meetings and may be viewed as they occur by following the disciplinary docket and then checking the VSB calendar for the livestream details for a particular date.
Morris Andrew Bander, license revoked, effective August 4, 2021.
Martin Michael Brennan Jr., license revoked, effective August 10, 2021.
Randall Sousa, license revoked, effective August 10, 2021.
Charles John Covati, license revoked, effective August 26, 2021.
Christopher Broughton Shedlick, license suspended, effective August 23, 2021.
Matthew Howard Swyers, license suspended, effective August 25, 2021
Michael Steven Arif, license suspended, effective August 26, 2021.
Alexander Harkness Bell, public reprimand, effective August 11, 2021.
Andrew Robert Sebok, public reprimand, effective August 11, 2021.
Timothy Paul Sceviour, public reprimand, effective August 19, 2021. 
Private discipline:
Compliance
The Mandatory Continuing Legal Education compliance deadline is October 31, 2021. Log into the VSB Portal to review your MCLE record. Now is also the time to apply for non-approved courses and complete your MCLE requirement.
 
Reminder: Of the 12.0 CLE hours required each year, 2.0 must be in ethics or professionalism and 4.0 must be from live, interactive programs. The live requirement has not been waived for this reporting period. A list of approved teleconferences and webcasts is available on the MCLE website under "Current Virginia Approved Courses." Other CLE opportunities here. If you have questions, please contact the Regulatory Compliance Department at (804) 775-0577 or MCLE@vsb.org.
Pro Bono / Access to Justice
Charles Phillips
Esteemed Salem litigator Charles "Charlie" Phillips has received the 2021 Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award for his exemplary work through Blue Ridge Legal Services providing pro bono legal aid to underserved Virginians.

As one of his pro bono clients wrote: "Charlie Phillips saved my life. He is a noble gentleman."
The Virginia State Bar Access to Legal Services Committee has awarded the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation the 2021 Frankie Muse Freeman Organizational Pro Bono Award, which is named for the famed civil rights leader and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The 2021 Pro Bono Conference will be virtual due to COVID and takes place on October 20. Registration is open. Please contact Crista Gantz or 804-775-0522 with questions.
The Virginia Lawyer Referral Service NEEDS LAWYERS throughout the state and in ALL areas of law practice. Join today, and start getting prescreened referrals. Please contact Toni Dunson at dunson@vsb.org for more information.
YLC Wins National Awards | SLC News | Free CLE
Congratulations to the Young Lawyers Conference (YLC) for receiving the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s prestigious 2021 Award of Achievement for best comprehensive programs.  
 
Additionally, the YLC won the 2021 Award of Achievement for a Single Project: Diversity, for the Time to Talk Townhall Web Series, a joint project with the Diversity Conference.
The Spring 2021 Senior Lawyer News was emailed in June. Please take the time to review some wonderful remembrances of: Zane Dale Christian; The Hon. Eleanor S. Dobson; Malcolm Pitt Friddell; John Wesley McClintock Jr; and Alexander H. Slaughter, as well as articles on a full range of important and relevant topics. Thank you to all our contributors.

The CLSBA has scheduled a live Solo & Small-Firm Practitioner Forum on Friday, October 15, 2021, at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville. Register here. We hope to see you there!
Our sections, conferences, and committees are sponsoring webinars, events, and include CLE opportunities. View a list of CLEs and events.
Virginia Lawyer's December issue celebrates Virginia’s eight historic and influential law schools. If you have a fun, poignant, or memorable photo from your law school years in Virginia, please forward with a caption to Dee Norman at norman@vsb.org.
 
Only Virginia Lawyer reaches all 50,000 lawyers, judges, and law schools in Virginia and across the country. Our rates are the best in years. Contact Dee Norman for more information.
Stay connected to your Bar:
The VSB continues to provide essential services to Virginia’s lawyers and the public.
The VSB office at 1111 E. Main Street is closed to visitors. If you need to reach a staff person, please send an email or call the appropriate contact person.

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