Virginia Tech has received approval from the state attorney general's office to hire another attorney in the wake of the April 16 shootings.

Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said the new attorney will help the university handle the increased legal workload as a result of the shootings. Between the panel appointed by Gov. Tim Kaine to investigate the incident to Freedom of Information Act requests from media for university documents, the university's legal resources have been stretched, Hincker said.

"The legal department is one of those departments that's getting hammered," he said.

No lawsuits related to the shootings have been filed against Tech. In any given year, Tech deals with five to six cases of active litigation. But legal counsel handles many other working issues that don't become lawsuits, Hincker said.

Tech has two full-time attorneys and one part-time attorney on staff. Hincker said the new attorney will work full time and probably not handle much of the shooting-related work the office is dealing with. Those matters will be left to University Counsel Kay Heidbreder and Mary Beth Nash, Tech's other full-time legal counsel, Hincker said.

The university is conducting a search with the attorney general's office. No salary for the position has been established. The cost of the new attorney will be borne by the university, Hincker said. The position will be permanent, though there's no specific date set for the new attorney to start.

-- Greg Esposito