From November 7-14, 2012, Nathan Olson attended the Virginia State Bar’s 39th Annual Midyear Legal Seminar in Rome, Italy. Lawyers and judges throughout the Commonwealth gathered in the “eternal city” for seminars, networking, and sightseeing. Notable participants included the Honorable Elizabeth B. Lacy, who retired from the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2007; current Justice, the Honorable S. Bernard Goodwyn; Arlington County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge, the Honorable George D. Varoutsos; and the current President of the Virginia State Bar Warren David Harless.
Nathan attended the Family Law Section seminar entitled: Making a Silk Purse Out of a Sow’s Ear: Rehabilitating Your “Less Than Perfect” Client Through the Use of Pretrial Discovery, presented by Richard E. Garriott, Jr. of Richmond, Virginia. The three hour seminar included discussions on client selection and navigating your way through an investigation of your client by Child Protective Services. Participants also discussed how judges across the judicial districts vary in their decisions to appoint (or not appoint) Guardians ad litem in custody cases. The ethics portion of the seminar focused on ethical dilemmas attorneys face when dealing with difficult clients.
Participants also attended the Comparative Law Symposium luncheon lecture, where they had the rare opportunity to discuss the differences in the American and Italian legal systems. Two Italian prosecutors, a professor of Italian law, and three civil attorneys highlighted the panel discussion, moderated by Paul W. Jacobs of Richmond, Virginia.
When not in seminars, participants took advantage of various tours of Rome and surrounding areas. Visits to the Vatican City, the Coliseum, cooking classes, and visits to various wineries made for great memories.
Early reports are that the 40th Annual Midyear Legal Seminar will take place in Barcelona, Spain in early November 2013.