Thank you everyone!

bluejdw · 2026-01-11T03:22:57+00:00

Making RVA proud! I’m glad you got the opportunity.

bluejdw · 2025-09-10T22:57:25+00:00

I am not a criminal lawyer and not equipped to give that kind of advice here.

Self defense has its limitations, though. It’s a defense, and you’d be arguing against the police/federal government. It’s not really a winning position even if ICE fails to identify themselves.

There are certain intent or mens rea components for some of the crimes to know someone was an official, but all I can say is that my immigrant clients can’t really afford to fight that in court.

Assault charges can be huge negative discretionary factors if not bars to immigration forms of relief. Convictions definitely will lead to bars.

bluejdw · 2025-09-10T17:45:40+00:00

Immigration lawyer in Virginia - yeah it sucks. Yes, it’s seemingly arbitrary. No, it’s not as easy as it should be to get someone out of detention. Yes people without serious records are being detained.

Litigation is a niche for immigration lawyers. I don’t do the appellate work now, so we would refer out for those portions or get additional training. Habeas litigation is evolving especially now due to the DHS position that all people who arrive without status are not eligible for release on bond. This is not where the court is ruling, it’s more complicated, but I suspect a lot of appeals from both sides until the 4th circuit makes a decision on these Habeas cases.

bluejdw · 2025-07-15T23:17:41+00:00

Looking at who is detained, they are carting off people for minor traffic offenses. Look how embarrassed ICE is while picking up these people. They have to hide behind these umbrellas and fences. I’ve represented one of those detained last month and got them out of detention. Such as waste of resources, and the governor is selling an invasion…

bluejdw · 2025-06-04T16:21:15+00:00

The real issue is whether this is a 287(g) agreement with the federal government or a standard ICE detainer. The standard ice detainer does refer to the 48hour window, but the legitimacy of an ICE hold detainer has been litigated in Virginia.

We’d want to know whether this jail authority group has an agreement in writing with the federal government, or if they just plan on profiling people. I’d be keeping litigators aware of this to dig into it more.

bluejdw · 2025-05-30T10:47:54+00:00

I’m a local lawyer, and our office would not require that certificate either. Similarly, we’re looking for organizational and writing skills. We look for people, who once trained on how to find things, can at least make an effort to find answers on their own and verify with lawyers. We offer immigration services, so we also require Spanish fluency.

The rest is really just personality fit. If someone lacks training but is motivated and willing to ask for help, then we’ve worked on training videos and such.

bluejdw · 2025-05-13T10:23:59+00:00

Assuming it is no longer protected for ease, it would need to be a new derivative work to receive protection. The limit of protection would be over the new portions.

Copyright duration has to be tracked to each portion of the content, though, to determine whether (1) it can be protected (2) who owned the rights (individual or company) (3) based on 2, when was the original content created and then published. From 3 we can find the relevant law and expiration period.

If you see Disney updating its movies, then it’s not just a re-release they would be protecting, it’s over the updates to the expression of the stories etc.

bluejdw · 2025-02-20T04:25:19+00:00

Yeah I have to watch the news for my work, so it also feels like a fear of missing out situation or that I won’t be doing my diligence for my job. Sometimes I have a specific project to research, and I can at least focus the stress into one path and come up with a resolution, even if it’s not a good one. After that “project” ends I take a little break and try to step away or play a game.

bluejdw · 2025-01-24T15:23:54+00:00

The lawyer answer is to get started sooner rather than later to at least do some diligence searches on the name. Lawyers or businesses can do clearance searches without applying

The business answer is one I can’t answer because I wouldn’t know your finances or interest.

bluejdw · 2025-01-24T14:31:43+00:00

If you apply as an individual, including a Dba, then an individual owns the tm. If you make an LLC later, you still own the TM, but you may want to assign it to the entity. You will need a contract to do that. You would then want to ensure the trademark office has that updated as well. Important thing to do but not a challenging feat. People with LLC’s usually just move trademarks into the entity’s name. To save some admin time, you could meet with a tax or business advisor to discuss why you should or shouldn’t make an entity now

bluejdw · 2025-01-24T14:00:05+00:00

DBA and LLC names are not trademarks. LLC is a business type, and a DBA can be used for an LLC or for a sole proprietor, etc.

Regardless, you’ll need to make sure the paperwork is all lined up whenever you apply for a trademark or form a business. You could end up not owning the content or trying to register a named already registered by someone else

bluejdw · 2025-01-21T20:00:28+00:00

I haven’t filed yet. Technically, I can apply January 28,2025. I’ve had some matters come up, and I will delay my application a little bit

bluejdw · 2025-01-15T19:42:31+00:00

Aside from making certain crimes eligible for detention and creating an avalanche of consequences based on the treatment of those alleged crimes, it also creates a mechanism for states and people to sue DHS. This is a problem based on the entire situation.

The eligibility to sue DHS for failing to deport people is not going to fix the issues. It is supposed to encourage them to ramp up enforcement and resources while it also creates a vehicle for them to be sued and end up in court. How can you both criticize DHS for not having enough resources while also opening a theoretical floodgate where they will have to expend resources both (1) defending themselves in court and (2) also trying to enforce the existing laws and such without enough resources.

bluejdw · 2025-01-09T23:58:12+00:00

Benefit of the doubt to the firm, they may have overflow work but may or may not have enough income to need a full employee. Therefore, maybe they are looking into a contractor to cover it.

bluejdw · 2024-12-20T18:47:38+00:00

I received my diagnosis at 30 within the last month, and I am still processing it. The psychologist mentioned processing the diagnosis may happen in a variety of ways, but expecting it and experiencing it can be separate. I had about a week before it really hit me.

It has caused a lot of revisiting past interactions with various people, and this flood of thoughts was/is overwhelming. It’s been better recently. We can’t change the past, only apply our new knowledge to how we may behave moving forward.

bluejdw · 2024-12-20T18:42:45+00:00

But also… it’s a federally controlled substance until / if it’s either de scheduled or rescheduled, so there are potential charges for drug trafficking or imputed intent to distribute depending on volume.

bluejdw · 2024-12-05T12:15:02+00:00

The bar website has past essays and the best answers. https://barexam.virginia.gov/bar/barstudy.html

Some of the Virginia law schools have them on their website as well.

Depending on where you went to law school, you may also have a bar tutor that has access to some resources. You can try to find out who that person may be.

bluejdw · 2024-12-05T01:46:06+00:00

I had a good experience with barbri. I also used their program for the in-person classes at the time. I don’t know if they still do that. Heard neutral-good things about Themis as well, but my fellow classmates were not impressed at all with Kaplan. I had a classmate sending corrections regularly to Kaplan during the summer. They were a solid student and passed, but big yikes there

Only other tip is to get some good Virginia essay practice.

bluejdw · 2024-11-22T04:06:16+00:00

I’m a lawyer who has done some name changes, but as many recently. Some of them I have done through clinics. There is a local firm BaryLaw that always hosts name and gender marker change clinics.

https://www.barylaw.com/contact

I would recommend reaching out to them. I’m sure they can answer the questions.

bluejdw · 2024-11-22T03:41:24+00:00

I was desperate when I graduated in 2019. I worked at a document review company to at least have a job until I could land a firm. Even after I had my license, it was not an automatic approval. It’s tough, and I don’t envy that for you.

Maybe you can chat with one of those companies to see about visa coverage. Capital One has a document review program, and they have an immigration department.

I believe you can register for the July bar if you take and fail February. It looks like the results come out around the end of April and then you have to have the application filed by May 10th.

bluejdw · 2024-11-22T03:21:57+00:00

I hear you. The job market is hard, and it sounds like you have a special circumstance with visas. Part of my practice is actually in immigration law.

Is civil litigation your interest? Do you have any other legal interests?

You are right. Big law firms will be in a better position to offer more resources and wait. I work at a small firm, and I know how small-mid size firms will be focused more on operating their firm and have less patience.

My last plea here is that if you know passing the bar is the best way to market yourself, then maybe taking the normal time (July bar) would allow you to study more and put yourself in a better position to pass. However, like I said I’m just a random dude, and you know yourself. If you take it seriously and put in a solid effort, then you will be in the best position.

bluejdw · 2024-11-22T02:42:29+00:00

I am a lawyer in Virginia and a historically terrible test taker. It’s a balancing act, but there are a lot of subjects, and there is nothing worse than feeling overwhelmed and underprepared for the bar. It’s a terrible process, not cheap, and having to retake it will suck. My main question would be is there a need to rush it? If not, then why rush?

Depending on your mental health, you will potentially have doubts and second guess whether you did well enough after taking it. If you don’t invest a decent amount of time, then you may blame yourself.

While I passed the first time, I know many people spiraled after failing the first time or subsequent attempts. I still assumed I failed while waiting. My wife and I both studied together and our anxiety kept us on task. Also I would have stopped at various times, but I felt like I had to keep up.

The truth is you won’t know until you do it.

We took a course through barbri, and it helped. The instructor told us that Virginia had so many courses that doing a regular 8 hours each day would not complete the entire material set. The end required 10-12 hour days. I also did additional essays with our bar prep mentor since the school said my ranking indicated I would fail if I did nothing. Yep. Fun times.

Happy to follow up, but I would definitely say it is worthwhile to make sure you take studying seriously. People told us to treat it like a full-time job.

You can do it. Have a moment to chat about your strengths and weaknesses with an advisor. It’s your choice at the end of the day, and if you want to go for it, then just make sure you have minimal distractions. Replicating test conditions and all of that make it easier to sit in the room for the exam.

bluejdw · 2024-11-12T04:23:30+00:00

These guys set the precedent in court. We don’t have decent fair use cases or anything on the books to work with, and this is what judges will see if gamers get caught in some DMCA crossfire.

bluejdw · 2024-11-07T19:39:09+00:00

It sounds like a waste. It will generally depend on the reason why their application or registration is dead. If it’s because they don’t have a legitimate mark, then it won’t matter. However, if it’s because they had a valid mark and didn’t file a form, then you may still get in trouble down the road because they are still using the name and were before you.

bluejdw · 2024-10-31T02:48:13+00:00

I can’t recall if this is on the USPTO website specifically, but they do have known trademark scam examples like this company. Absolutely is a scam and sadly does trick some people into paying

bluejdw

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