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Why “reasonably calculated” language must be changed.

The scope of discovery is improperly stretched by insurance companies and defense attorneys to gain overly broad access to plaintiffs’ medical records, according to an article recently published as part of the “Practice Tip Series” on the Virginia State Bar website.  “Reasonably Calculated: Confusion Over the Scope of Discovery” was authored by Sickles, Frei & Mims attorney Matt Perushek.

Perushek argues that “reasonably calculated” language should be removed from Virginia Rules as it has been removed from Federal Rules.  In 2015, Federal Rule 26 was amended to remove “reasonably calculated” because the phrase was used by some, incorrectly, to define the scope of discovery.

Partner Gary Brooks Mims has been appointed by Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons of the Supreme Court of Virginia to the faculty for the Virginia State Bar Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course. The course is mandatory for all members of the Virginia State Bar.

The course must be completed within 12 months of becoming an active member of the Virginia State Bar, as established by the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1987.  The course faculty is drawn from “among the best judges and lawyers in Virginia who have a deep commitment to the principles that underlies the Rules of Professional Conduct and inspire professionalism in the practice of law.”

Fairfax, VA, United States — Monday, August 15, 2016 — Sickels, Frei and Mims, L.L.P. attorney Gary Brooks Mims was recently selected as 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law in the Washington, D. C. metropolitan region.

Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.

Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.

McDonald’s Hot Coffee– Lesson for Trial Lawyers
The telling of stories is a natural way for people to learn and convey ideas. In fact, it is so natural that at times people will complete lessons they think they have learned by inventing facts that fit their perceived story. This is particularly problematic for trial lawyers. If you tell an incomplete story to a jury–someone will complete it for you and do so through their own experiences, real or perceived. Once a juror has completed your story, it becomes the only story and will guide that juror’s thinking and communication with his fellow jurors.
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Matthew (Matt) graduated magna cum laude from George Mason University School of Law in May 2012. Immediately upon graduation he served as law clerk to The Honorable Michael F. Devine, Judge, Circuit Court of Fairfax County. Matt will be involved in all aspects of the firms civil litigation practice.

On December 14, 2012, a 36 year old man entered a primary school in central China, intent upon injuring school children. He was apprehended after injuring 20 students, with no fatalities. Two days later, a 20 year old man entered an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut with the same intent–but with hugely different results. In Newton, Connecticut, 20 children and 6 adults were killed and the police were unable to apprehend the shooter before he fatally shot himself.
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(Fairfax, VA – Nov. 1, 2013) — Fairfax personal injury law firm Sickels, Frei & Mims has earned a Top Tier, National ranking in the medical malpractice category by US News and World Report’s annual edition of top law firms. The firm is also listed in the top tier ranking in the Washington, DC metropolitan area for medical malpractice and personal injury, for both defendants and plaintiffs.

The firm has been recognized by US News since the inception of its Best Law Firms rankings in 2010.
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The partners of Sickels, Frei & Mims were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 (Copyright 2012 by Woodrd/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).
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In a case that redefines employment law in Virginia, the State Supreme Court recently issued a definitive ruling on the scope and breadth of not to compete covenants. In Home Paramount Pest Control v. Shaffer, et al., the court agreed with Sickels, Frei & Mims partner Charles Sickels that the employer’s non-compete restriction was overbroad and unenforceable because it effectively restricted former employees from performing any activity whatsoever for any competitor of the former employer’s. Further, the Court said that the Covenant was not reasonably limited to protect only the employer’s legitimate business interests. The Court noted that the law of non-compete agreements had evolved in Virginia since 1989 in Paramount vs. Rector when it had upheld an identical covenant. Sickels represented Paramount in that case. The Court examined the function component of the restrictive covenant to determine whether the covenant was reasonable and no more restrictive than necessary. The restriction in the employment function with a new employer must be related to the functions the employee performed with the former employer.

Read the full opinion: HOME PARAMOUNT PEST CONTROL COMPANIES, INC. v. JUSTIN SHAFFER, ET AL., No. 101837, November 4, 2011, OPINION BY JUSTICE WILLIAM C. MIMS.pdf

As reported by the Associated Press, the case of The Estate of Daniel Kim versus Virginia Tech, wasn’t about the money, it was about the change in protocol to help students who were in danger of committing suicide. See: In a family’s grief, determination to force university to tell parents of suicidal students