Stephen traveled to New Orleans in late March to judge the American Association for Justice’s Student Trial Advocacy Competition (STAC). STAC is an annual, nationwide mock trial competition for law students. This year’s batch of students was incredibly impressive, according to Stephen: “The law students were dynamic, well prepared, and amazingly composed.” The winners were… Read More
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Posts Categorized In: Skinner Law Firm Blog
Stephen Speaks at Virginia Trial Lawyers’ Association Conference
In March, Stephen gave a talk at the Virginia Trial Lawyers’ Association Conference, which was held at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Stephen spoke about representing diverse clients, especially in personal injury cases, and how to deal with avoiding unfair bias with juries. Andrew and his wife Kathy also attended the conference,… Read More
3M to Stop Manufacturing PFAS
In late December, 3M announced that it would stop manufacturing PFAS by 2025. If you’ve been following our coverage of PFAS for a while, you’ll know that this is a huge step forward for all of us. “PFAS” are a category of chemicals that have many uses in products as disparate as firefighting foam and… Read More
National Guard and Reserves Not Getting Reduced Interest Rates
Did you know that National Guard and Reserve service members are eligible for reduced interest rates when they’re on active duty? Unfortunately, they’re not always getting what they’re entitled to. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Reserve and National Guard members called to active duty are paying an extra $9 million in interest every… Read More
Skinner Accident and Injury Lawyers Offices Get a Refresh
In 2020, when most Skinner Law Firm employees were working from home because of the pandemic, Stephen and Andrew decided to finally start a renovation project that had been on their “one day” list. Since clients and mediators and court reporters and opposing counsel were not coming to the office every day, they knew this… Read More
Stephen Gets Win for Consumers in Appellate Court
Skinner Law Firm had a big win in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond for a client who is battling abusive debt collection practices. Our client, who was the victim of identity theft, fought to set aside a judgment that was fraudulently obtained. After setting aside the judgment, our client filed suit against… Read More
Hair Straighteners and Cancer
A recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found an association between the frequent use of hair straighteners and uterine cancer. People in the study who’d used hair straighteners frequently (defined as at least four times in the past year) were approximately three times more likely to have gotten uterine cancer… Read More
Forced Arbitration
“A forced arbitration clause is a get-out-of-jail card that takes away consumers’ day in court, forcing them into a tribunal that is often biased, secretive, and lawless.” Forced arbitration is a bad trend. According to the National Association of Consumer Advocates, forced arbitration is when a company “requires a consumer or employee to submit any… Read More
Skinner Law Firm Wrap Party
The greatest joy of the holiday season is bringing happiness to others. This month the entire Skinner team got together to do just that. Giving back to others is a deep-seated value for the Skinner Firm and family. For many years now, the SLF team has arranged holiday donations for area kids through partnerships with… Read More
Blood from a Turnip
You may have heard the phrases “you can’t get blood from a turnip” or “you can’t get blood from a stone.” The source of these phrases is murky, but the meaning is not: you can’t do the impossible and expect results. In terms of our work at Skinner Law Firm, these two phrases are unfortunately… Read More