John E. Falcone, Retired

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Phone (434) 455-5936

Fax (434) 847-0141

VCard

Profile

John has been a trial lawyer since 1978, when he began his career as a prosecutor in the Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. When he left that office in 1980 to enter private practice, he had attained the rank of Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney and gained extensive jury trial experience. Since entering private practice, he has extensive experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in the Federal and State courts of Virginia, as well as in appellate courts.

John now handles civil litigation matters, employment law, and media law issues. His employment law practice includes counseling management, litigation services, and handling employment claims with administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Virginia Employment Commission, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Some of the many employment issues he handles include discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, noncompetition disputes, wage and hour claims, breach of contract, and employee benefits. John also assists employers with the preparation and revision of employee handbooks, employment contracts, severance agreements, noncompete agreements, and other forms of planning designed to avoid employment disputes. To keep his clients informed, John also regularly updates PLDR’s Employment and Labor blog concerning recent developments in employment law.

John’s media law practice includes the representation of newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. He assists clients with Freedom of Information Act issues, subpoenas to reporters, and defamation claims. He also represents television stations seeking to obtain access into courtrooms for their video cameras and audio recording equipment. His representation of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters for many years has involved court appearances in many courts throughout Virginia, including trial and appellate courts.

Experience

Reported and Unpublished Cases

Inge v. Procunier, 580 F. Supp. 1342 (W.D. Va. 1984)
Inge v. Procunier, 758 F.2d 1010 (4th Cir. 1985)
In re Harbour, 845 F.2d 1254 (4th Cir. 1988)
Snead v. Commonwealth of Virginia , 11 Va. App. 643 (1991)
In re Virginia-Carolina Financial Corporation, 954 F.2d 193 (4th Cir. 1992)
In re Worrell Enterprises, Inc., 14 Va. 671 (1992)
C-T of Virginia v. Paine-Webber, Inc. (In re C-T of Virginia), 124 B.R. 700 (Bankr. W.D. Va. 1993)
Davis v. Unifirst Corporation, 1995 U.S. App. LEXIS 33090 (4th Cir. 1995)
Denio v. Asplundh Tree Expert Company, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 18886 (4th Cir. 1996)
Quarles v. Smith, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5847, 1997 WL 217594 (W.D. Va. 1997)
Quarles v. Smith (In re Quarles), 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13992 (W.D. Va. 1997)
Turner v. Department of Social Services at Veterans Hospital, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 27688 (4th Cir. 1997)
Quarles v. Smith (In re Quarles), 1998 U.S. App. LEXIS 26851 (4th Cir. 1998)
Barrett v. Applied Radiant Energy Corporation, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21185 (W.D. Va. 1998)
United States v. Sanders, 104 Fed. Appx. 916 (4th Cir. 2004)
Dawson v. Brandsberg, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73512, 2006 WL 2915234 (W.D. Va. 2006)
Pre-Fab Steel Erectors, Inc. v. Stephens, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26548, 2009 WL 891828 (W.D. Va. 2009)
Jordan v. Gobo, Inc., 393 Fed. Appx. 118 (4th Cir. 2010)
Jordan v. Gobo, Inc., 479 Fed. Appx. 453 (4th Cir. 2012)
Jordan v. GoBo, Inc., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64152, 2012 WL 5464991 (W.D. Va. 2012)
Virginia Broadcasting Corporation v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 286 Va. 239 (2013)
Jaggars v. Sandy Spring Bank, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119875 (W.D. Va. 2014)
Jaggars v. Sandy Spring Bank, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48792, 2015 WL 1648556 (W.D. Va. 2015)
CVLR Performance Horses, Inc. v. Wynne, 792 F.3d 469 (4th Cir. 2015)
Harvey v. Gobo, Inc., 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34903 (W.D. Va. 2017)
Lim v. Tisack, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120635 (W.D. Va. 2017)
Littlejohn v. City of Lynchburg, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148630 (W.D. Va. 2017)

Honors & Affiliations

Honors

Virginia Lawyers Weekly "Go to Lawyers in Employment Law" (June, 2021)
Lynchburg Business Magazine Top Lawyers of Greater Lynchburg for Labor and Employment Law (2018/2019)
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of AV-Preeminent
Lynchburg Business Magazine Top Lawyers of Greater Lynchburg for Employment Law and Commercial Litigation (December, 2016)
Lynchburg Living Magazine Top Lawyers of Greater Lynchburg for Employment Law and Commercial Litigation (January, 2017)
Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa – College of William & Mary (1975)

Professional Affiliations

Virginia State Bar
Lynchburg Bar Association – Secretary-Treasurer (1988-1992); President-Elect (1992-1993); President (1993-1994); Board Member (1995); Member (1996-Present)
Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Virginia State Bar Special Committee on Media, Bench, and Bar Relations
Virginia Legal Aid Society - Pro-Bono Outside Counsel

Community Affiliations

City of Lynchburg Electoral Board – Member (2003-2013); Chairman (2011-2013)
Free Clinic of Central Virginia – Board Member (1996-Present)
Lynchburg Daily Bread – Board Member (2013-Present)
Meals on Wheels
Woman’s Resource Center
Lynchburg Regional Society for Human Resources Management
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church - Personnel Committee; By-Laws Committee

Publications & Presentations

Publications

Employment Law in Virginia: The Basics, VIRGINIA STATE BAR, GENERAL PRACTICE SECTION (2012)

Presentations

Panelist, Virginia State Bar CLE, “Media Law” (1992)
Panelist, Prolegia CLE, “Preventing Legal Malpractice” (2004)
Panelist, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance CLE, “Preventing Legal Malpractice” (2008)
Panelist, Virginia Employment Commission Business Expo (2014)
Speaker, Annual Lynchburg Regional Society for Human Resource Management, “Employment Law” (2009-Present)
Speaker, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance, “Employment Law” (2011-Present)
Speaker, Lynchburg Bar Association, “Employment Law” (2011 & 2015)
Speaker, Virginia Association of Free Clinics, “Employment Law” (2014)
Speaker, Annual Lynchburg Morning Rotary Club, “Employment Law” (2010-Present)

Practices

Education

University of Virginia School of Law, J.D. (1978)

College of William and Mary, B.A. in Government (1975)

Bar & Court Admissions

Virginia State Bar

United States Supreme Court

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia