• Conference Documents: Information will be available as listed below. 
  
  Equipment Requirements & Connection Expectations Click here to make sure your equipment is set up properly to avoid connection issues.
  Conference Agenda Click here for a printable agenda
  Presentation Download Click here for available materials
  MCLE forms - Forms were sent to registrants by email on Thursday, October 22. 
  Conference Evaluation Evaluation was sent to registrants by email.
  Registrant List Click here for roster
  Scavenger Hunt Game Board Click here for the game form

• NEW NEW NEW! Engagement Opportunities LGA is excited to share several attendee engagement opportunities available during our conference and brought to you by Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. and Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLC.
  
  Q&A Engagement Break! Congratulations to Heather Lewis! Thank you to the over 60 registrants for their participation!
  
  Trivia Happy Hour! Congratulations to Team Hampton! Your prize is bragging rights!
  
  Virtual Awards Ceremony! Congratulations to our LGA award winners!
  
  
• NEW NEW NEW! Virtual Exhibit Hall! Congratulations to Adam Kinsman, Laura Carini, Lisa Seward, Keisha Dillard-Brady, and Tara McGe

SCHEDULE

LGA hosted a two-day virtual conference program. We have added several opportunities for attendees to engage with one another. 

THURSDAY, October 15, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

8:30 a.m. – Conference Connection Opens

9 - 10:30 a.m. – General Session | 1.5 CLE

TOPIC #1: Dillon’s Rule and the authority of local governments to protect the public in an emergency

Description: The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide civil unrest present challenges to local governments to act to protect the public and preserve the peace. But local government authority to take action is constrained by the Dillon’s Rule. What are the parameters of Dillon’s Rule authority to respond to public health and safety challenges at the local level? What are the sources of this authority, who may exercise it, and how? What standards of review apply when local actions are challenged in court? Is the authority of cities and towns distinct from that of counties? The first panel will review Dillon’s Rule and the police powers of Virginia local governments. Finally, what are the constitutional limitations that should be considered when exercising local police power?

Moderator: Dori Martin, Assistant City Attorney, City of Fredericksburg

Speakers:
Kathleen Dooley, City Attorney, City of Fredericksburg
Rysheda McClendon, County Attorney, Stafford County
Victor Glasberg, Attorney, Victor M. Glasberg & Associates

10:30 - 11 a.m. – Q&A Engagement Break

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions | 1 CLE each

TOPIC A: Homelessness Challenges for Localities and Residents

Description: Panelists will discuss diversionary strategies for minimizing homelessness.  Panelists will also discuss case law regarding enforcement measures such as panhandling. Finally, the session will cover enforcement strategies that comply with the law.

Moderator: Tori Eisenberg, Assistant City Attorney, City of Virginia Beach

Speakers:
Andy Friedman, Director of Housing & Neighborhood Preservation, City of Virginia Beach
Brandi Law, Deputy City Attorney, City of Hampton

TOPIC B: "Collect"ing Legal Issues with Treasurers

Description: This session will focus on giving members the tools they need to effectively work with and represent their local Treasurer’s Office. Panelists will provide a primer on the duties and authority of local Treasurers, and discuss hot button issues regarding collection of local taxes, including business license and real estate taxes. Panelists will also discuss best practices, and share practice tips for attorneys engaged in representation of Treasurer’s Offices.

Moderator: Erin Swisshelm, Assistant County Attorney, Frederick County

Speakers:
Kevin Appel, Legal Counsel, Treasurers’ Association of Virginia
John Rife, Partner, Taxing Authority Consulting Services

12 - 1 p.m. – Lunch Break 

1 - 2:30 p.m. – General Session | 1.5 CLE

TOPIC #2: Governmental Immunity – Past, Present & Future

Description: The session provides a holistic examination of immunity beginning with a primer on the origins and progression of sovereign and qualified immunity defenses and how those immunities are discussed and evaluated in today’s public arena. Next the session will examine the current status of the law including discussion of recent case law involving a variety of public sector employees including, but not limited to, law enforcement.  The session will conclude with practical guidance on what local government attorneys need to be able to address challenges to immunities and how legislation on changing/limiting immunities affects actions taken by local governments. 

Moderator: Phyllis Errico, General Counsel, Virginia Association of Counties

Speakers:
Dean Kim Van Essendelft, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Regent University School of Law (formerly with Virginia Beach City Attorney’s Office)
Jim Cales, Attorney, Furniss, Davis, Rashkind, and Saunders, PC.
Wirt Marks, Assistant City Attorney, City of Richmond

2:30 - 3 p.m. – Email Break

3 - 4 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions | 1 CLE each

TOPIC C: COVID in the School Yard: Balancing the Need to Educate with the Need to Stay Safe

Description: This session will review the CARES Act as it relates to schools; after-school programs during a virtual school environment, and the host of issues related to those programs; and conflicts of interest relating to a locality office representing both the locality and the School Board.

Moderator: Laura Carini, Assistant City Attorney, City of Roanoke

Speakers:
Kami Lannetti, Deputy City Attorney, City of Virginia Beach

TOPIC D: Stormwater Strategies

Description: This session will address federal, state, and local laws and regulations related to stormwater with an emphasis on stormwater program funding. It will include considerations and restrictions applicable to local governments that are developing approaches to increase resilience and modernize their stormwater infrastructure.

Moderator: Bonnie Brown, Deputy City Attorney, City of Hampton

Speakers:
Chris Pomeroy, President, AquaLaw
Andrea Wortzel, Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

4 p.m. – Adjourn

5 - 6 p.m. – Virtual Happy Hour Trivia! Registration required. 

FRIDAY, October 16, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

8 - 8:50 a.m. – Practice Groups – Employment Law and Eminent Domain practice group meetings

9 - 9:50 a.m. – Practice Groups – Local Taxation Law & Social Services Law practice group meetings

9:50 a.m. – Conference Connection Opens 

10 a.m. - 12 p.m. – General Session | 2 CLE (Ethics)

TOPIC #3: Practicing Ethically During and After the Pandemic

Description: This program will address ethics issues facing lawyers practicing during and after the pandemic, including: core duties, such as communication, competence and diligence; confidentiality issues (especially involving technology use) when practicing remotely and at  home; unauthorized practice of law and multijurisdictional practice issues; special ethics challenges in pandemic - driven practice areas (such as trust and estates,  and bankruptcy) and processes (such as remote depositions and mediations); maintaining professionalism while serving clients.

Moderator:  Lola Rodriguez Perkins, Sr. Deputy City Attorney, City of Hampton

Speaker: 
Sharon Pandak, Partner, Greehan, Taves, & Pandak, PLLC.
Tom Spahn, Partner, McGuireWoods

12 - 12:30 p.m. – Lunch - Scavenger Hunt game forms due at noon.

12:30 - 1 p.m. – 45^th Anniversary Celebration & Awards Program - Video feed will be available for ALL LGA members and guests to view. 

1 - 2:30 p.m. – General Session | 1.5 CLE

TOPIC #4: Contracting in the time of COVID & Beyond

Description: This General Session will cover three main issues:

1. What you need in your contracts in light of COVID-19.
    a. Force Majeure Clauses
    b. Termination for Convenience
    c. Supply Chain Interruption
2. What if Litigators Wrote Contracts?
    a. Mandatory provisions
    b. Provisions that are most likely to be contested
3. Contracting – the Procurement Process & Perspective
    a. How It Really Works
    b. The Intersection between Legal Issues & Practical Issues

Moderator: Matt Britton, County Attorney, King George

Speakers:
Michael Bevis, Chief Procurement Officer, City of Norfolk Finance Department
Matt Britton, County Attorney, King George
Brendan Hefty, Shareholder, Hefty, Wiley & Gore

2:30 - 3 p.m. – Email Break - Scavenger Hunt winners announced

3 - 4 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions | 1 CLE each

TOPIC E: Strategies for Avoiding and Resolving Real Property and Title Issues

Description: Local governments are often faced with challenges in matters involving real estate title issues. This program will provide an overview of some of those issues which can impact local government properties and offer effective strategies for how best to avoid and resolve them. These will include discussions involving: easements, boundary lines, partition, adverse possession, reformation of deeds and other instruments, judgments, corrective affidavits, equitable subrogation, bona fide purchasers for value, statutory automatic subordination of certain deeds of trust, reverters, document of rescission, intestate succession, practical issues with title examinations, research tips and best practices.

Moderator:  D. Rossen Greene, Partner, Pender & Coward

Speakers:
Jim Windsor, Attorney, Kaufman & Canoles
Vivian Seay Giles, Counsel, Sands Anderson
Steve Blatt, Town Attorney, Town of Shenandoah

TOPIC F: Workplace Safety and COVID-19: Understanding Virginia’s Emergency Temporary Standard

Description: In the midst of a global pandemic, local governments rely on their workforce to continue to provide essential services to their communities. Virginia was the first state in the nation to implement regulations applicable to many employers, including local governments, which require the exercise of safety measures in the workplace to prevent or slow the spread of COVID-19. This panel will address the development of these regulations, known as the Emergency Temporary Standard, as well as strategies and considerations related to implementation and enforcement of the Emergency Temporary Standard.  

Moderator: Karla Carter, Assistant City Attorney III, City of Suffolk

Speakers:
William Hutchings, Jr., Deputy City Attorney, City of Suffolk
Courtney Malveaux, Attorney at Law, Jackson Lewis
Donald D. Anderson, Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General

4 p.m. – Adjourn

[Return to top]

                     

            

          

      

            

           

[Return to top]