The courthouse where you file your case is called the venue. The rules about venue are the rules about which courthouse you should file your case in. In divorce cases, venue is generally supposed to be in the city or county where the parties last lived together as husband wife or where the defendant resides. If the parties last lived together in Virginia Beach or the defendant presently lives in Virginia Beach, you can say that venue is proper in Virginia Beach.

Yet many lawyers file divorce cases in Norfolk, even though venue is proper in Virginia Beach. They do this to avoid the law clerk system that exists in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court. In Virginia Beach, a group of law clerks review court orders before they are even given to the judges. Frequently the law clerks reject final decrees of divorce for technical defects. Many lawyers are very critical of this system and believe it slows the process, adds cost, and produces insufficient benefits to justify the added cost and delay. Since Norfolk does not have this system, cases are being filed in Norfolk because the delays and aggravation caused by the law clerk system can be avoided by going to Norfolk instead.