Registration Required!
October 24, 2024
NPBA Members: Free
Not yet NPBA Members: $30.00 (1 CLE Credit)
Summary:
1. What is Defamation in Virginia?
a. Basic summary of defamation (includes libel and slander)
b. Elements of Defamation
c. Two primary types of defamation in Virginia:
i. Defamation Per Se
ii. Defamation Per Quod
2. Defamatory Publication
a. Publication element of defamation
b. What qualifies as a publication?
c. Intent
d. What the statement actually heard and understood by third parties?
3. Actionable Statements
e. Statements must be false.
f. Defamatory Sting
i. Reputational damage
ii. Professional damage
a. Defamation Per Se vs Defamation Per Quod
i. Rule in Virginia that all defamation is either per se or per quod.
4. Defamation and the First Amendment
g. Intimately connected.
h. Opinion and true statements protected.
i. Different standards for public officials, public figures, and private individuals.
j. Crucial U.S. Supreme Court Cases
5. Defenses to Defamation
k. Privileges
i. Litigation privilege, qualified privilege, statutory privileges.
l. Opinion
m. Truth
n. Innocent Construction
o. Ecclesiastical Abstention
22 Person Limit due to capacity
Presenter(s):
Kole F. Donaldson, Attorney, Wolcott Rivers Gates
Kole F. Donaldson is an attorney with Wolcott Rivers Gates and focuses his practice on civil litigation. Kole received his Juris Doctor from William & Mary Law School in May of 2022 and was admitted to the Virginia Bar in October of 2022. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2019 from Hampden-Sydney College, where he studied history and religion. He joined Wolcott Rivers Gates in 2023. Prior to joining the firm, Kole completed a clerkship at the Norfolk Circuit Court, assisting the Judges with case preparation and court administration. He interacted daily with judges, court staff, attorneys, and litigants, making him comfortable with the litigation process, court procedure, and effective methods of preparation for civil hearings and trials.
The Hon. Everett A. Martin, Jr., Norfolk Circuit Court
Judge Martin joined the VBA member in 1990 and is a former VBA Board of Governors judicial representative. He also has served on the Civil Litigation Section Council and as vice chair of the Judicial Section.
The Carrico award honors the longest serving chief justice and longest serving member in the history of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Recipients - one a year - have "demonstrated exceptional leadership in the administration of the courts while exhibiting the traits of integrity, courtesy, impartiality, wisdom and humility." All appellate, circuit and district court judges are eligible for nomination.
Judge Martin became a judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court in 1990 and was elected as a judge in Norfolk Circuit Court in 1995. Earlier, he was in private practice and served as an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Norfolk.
In addition to his contributions to the VBA, the award recipient has served on the Supreme Court's Ad Hoc Committee on Local Rules, which produced the uniform scheduling order and Rule 4:15; the Circuit Court Forms Committee; and the Law Council of his undergrad and law school alma mater, Washington and Lee University. He also serves on the invitation-only Boyd-Graves Conference.
As a judge, he has presided over more than 450 jury trials, contributed to legal scholarship in Virginia law journals, served for nearly 30 years as a bar examiner for the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners, and participated in numerous conferences and educational programs, including at VBA events.
Judge Martin received the Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award May 11 at the annual meeting of the Judicial Conference of Virginia.
Number of CLE hours: 1 Ethics
Areas of Law: Tort Defense/Civil Litigation
Must be present at the start of the CLE program until the end in order to receive credit(s).
*Application for approval for this course or program is pending with the Virginia Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board.
