The law firm shuffle

The rainy fall has ushered in an unseasonably high amount of firm-hopping.

Cantor Arkema will be dropping its business practice, sticking with just personal injury. The firm has been renamed Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana Buckner. Two of the former lawyers are leaving for a firm up the street, and four others are heading to a larger business law firm. The new firm has a place-holder website up here. Read more

Law firm layoff rumors run rampant, but bark worse than bite

Urban myths always spread the same way. And with 4,030 lawyers practicing in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield, the local legal scene is about the size of a big high school, which makes the rumor mill that much fiercer. Read more

Getting stiffed

Hurry up and wait. That’s the only option for local businesses owed money by bankrupt Circuit City and LandAmerica.
More than 1,000 entities are owed money by Circuit City, according to a list of creditors filed with the bankruptcy court in Richmond, and the money from a liquidation sale might not yield enough money to pay them all.

“It’s highly unlikely that unsecured [creditors] will be paid 100 cents on the dollar. It’s hard to tell right now what the percentage will be, but it looks like it won’t be much,” said William Gray, a bankruptcy lawyer with Sands Anderson Marks and Miller who is representing a number of shopping centers and builders with claims against Circuit City. Read more

State starts program to guarantee souring biz loans

Governor Tim Kaine has authorized the state to guarantee a total of $3 million in existing small business loans for Virginia businesses.

The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority quickly approved a new program to work with banks and guarantee existing loans of up to $500,000 on the condition that banks loosen some of the terms of the loans. It was announced at the end of last week. Read more

Will the number of bankrupt Richmonders (and businesses) keep rising?

One Richmond bankruptcy lawyer says personal and business bankruptcy filings are likely going to rise higher in coming months as credit remains tight and the economy sluggish. Read more