Why is a White Attorney with No Law License in Virginia in the Way of a Black Family's $3 Million?
🚩WAVY TV on Dec. 26, weeks after a record settlement in the Donovon Lynch case: “… the Estate of Donovon Lynch came to an agreement earlier this month that the city pay $3 million. In a twist however, another attorney is attempting to prevent Wayne Lynch, Donovon’s father, from signing on to it…”
… and then on Dec. 28 a property attorney tried to get involved.
Wait, what?
WHO IS JEFF “OVERSEER?” REICHERT? A glance at PACER at the case of the Estate of Donovon Lynch vs. Solomon Simmons III/Virginia Beach (case number: 2:21-CV-00341) which ended on Dec. 13, shows a suddenly active docket as of last week. A name featured in almost every docket entry: Jeffrey Reichert. In a Dec. 26 statement, Reichert asserted he was the overseer of attorneys on the case. But as WAVY News reported on Dec. 26, Reichert is advocating against the Lynch family receiving the $3 million.
Bottom line: A white attorney with no license to practice law in Virginia is in the way of a $3 million settlement to a Black family 17 months after a $50 million lawsuit is filed? The $3 million settlement is double what Virginia Beach has ever paid in an officer-involved wrongful death case. Though money is not what brings emotional closure when someone is gone forever and one could easily argue a life is worth far more than $3 million, $3 million is a substantial amount of money. The docket in the case verifies that the Estate of Donovon W. Lynch would receive close to $2 million, likely tax free, after expenses.
The docket also reveals that even though Reichert is not an attorney of recored or barred in Virginia, he would appear to be giving legal advice. A Dec. 28 motion by property attorney Joe Sherman to “substitute attorney” demonstrates this.
🚩 Despite having no law license in Virginia, Reichert keeps popping up to either switch attorneys in the case or send media letters reminding them repeatedly that he’s the “attorney in fact” (whatever that means when you have no law license in Virginia), is Jeff Reichert.
In Nov. 2021, 13News’ Dan Kennedy reported that the Grand Jury asked, “for a perjury investigation into Lynch family attorney Jeff Reichert.”
On Dec. 8, 2022, a settlement agreement was reached with the City of Virginia Beach 524 days and six attorneys into a wrongful death lawsuit filed in June 2021 in the case of Donovon Wayne Lynch, 25. On Dec. 26, Reichert attempted to add a seventh attorney, Norfolk property attorney Joe Sherman.
🚩 SEVEN ATTORNEYS SINCE JUNE 2021? The docket verifies that the Estate of Donovon W. Lynch has had seven attorneys connected to the case since June of 2021. That’s an average of an attorney every 65 days. High profile attorney Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, (who has also represented Jay-Z and Megan thee Stallion) was, “terminated on Oct. 13, 2022,” the docket reads.
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