ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 22, 1996 TAG: 9608220036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Jeff Rudd, a high-profile Roanoke lawyer who rose to prominence as the valley's first regional drug prosecutor, has surrendered his law license, ending charges filed against him with the Virginia State Bar.
A summary of the complaints against Rudd, filed Wednesday with the Virginia Supreme Court, includes allegations that he mishandled the case of a client he represented in a divorce and collection matter, and that he often canceled hearings in other cases without informing his clients.
Rudd's failure to file an answer in one proceeding resulted in a judgment against his client, the summary alleged, and in other cases his clients never were made aware of settlement offers from opposing counsel.
An investigation into those charges became a moot point Tuesday, when the state bar's disciplinary board accepted Rudd's voluntary surrender of his law license.
Reached Wednesday as he was closing his solo practice on Campbell Avenue Southwest, Rudd said his decision to leave the profession had nothing to do with the complaint against him, which he said was filed nearly a year ago.
"My decision is on a much deeper level, and it involves a disenchantment with the practice of law that has grown over the years," Rudd said. "It's a reflection of something that has been troubling me ever since the first day I started to practice law."
The lack of uniformity in some judges' decisions, the different treatment afforded to people who are represented by counsel as opposed to those who are not, and an "elitist" attitude among some lawyers were just a few of the reasons Rudd cited for his disenchantment.
"We do not live in a society in which justice is handed down consistently on a day-to-day basis, and, frankly, this may be just one more example of that," he said, referring to objections he had with the wording of the complaints against him.
But Patricia Rios, clerk of the bar's disciplinary system, said Rudd's voluntary surrender of his law license is tantamount to admitting the allegations against him are true.
No further action will be taken, Rios said, because the harshest action the bar could have taken would have been to revoke Rudd's license.
Rudd could petition the Supreme Court to reinstate his license after five years. But that's not likely, he said. He said he might pursue a doctorate in philosophy or perhaps write a book about his soured view of the legal system.
After being appointed the Roanoke Valley's regional drug prosecutor in 1988, Rudd quickly gained a reputation for his intense courtroom style. When he left the office in 1991, lawyers and judges were describing him as one of the valley's most talented and aggressive trial lawyers.
In one jury trial, he responded to a defense attorney's closing argument by ripping off his suit coat and tossing it to the side, saying he had never heard so much hot air from one lawyer.
Rudd's quick temper sometimes had him pacing the courtroom and jabbing a finger at the defendant's face one minute, only to use his knowledge of the law to quote Supreme Court justices and famous philosophers the next.
Since entering private practice, Rudd has been involved in several high-profile cases. He represented the family of Andrea Walnes, a Virginia Tech student who disappeared and was found dead. And he defended a Pulaski man charged with the capital murder of a shoe store manager, persuading a jury to convict the man of first-degree murder instead.
He also was known by some for his radio advertisements on WROV. In the ads, Rudd said he often told his clients to get ready to "rock and roll" just before entering a courtroom, and referred to himself as "Dr. Intensity."
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB