RICHMOND -- A prominent personal injury lawyer in Washington, D.C., said Thursday that his firm has been hired to represent the families of seven Virginia Tech shooting victims in possible wrongful death lawsuits against the state.

Peter Grenier said he expects the firm will be retained by an additional three or four families. No lawsuits have yet been filed stemming from the April 16 shooting deaths of 32 students and faculty members by Seung-Hui Cho, who then killed himself.

"It's very early to discuss the precise legal theories," Grenier said. But he said the lawsuits generally are expected to claim negligence and federal civil rights violations.

Other attorneys are also planning legal action on behalf of different clients.

Ed Jazlowiecki of Connecticut said he has been retained by a Roanoke family he declined to identify. "We're ready to file," he said. "We're just lining up the defendants."

Grenier said the report by Gov. Tim Kaine's panel that investigated the shootings supports negligence claims. He added there is other compelling evidence not in the report, including an English professor's statement that Cho's violence-laced writings had her so scared that whenever she had to meet with him she used a "code word" to secretly alert security.

The panel criticized Tech for being slow to alert students about the shootings of two people in West Ambler Johnston Hall that preceded the shooting deaths of 30 more in Norris Hall.

"I think the school and authorities were guilty of gross negligence," Jazlowiecki said. "They could have probably stopped it with the first two. What was done was totally inadequate. They owe more to the students and their families."

A third lawyer, who said he has been contacted by more than one family of a shooting victim, said he is still evaluating a possible lawsuit.

"While the panel's report was comprehensive in many respects, there are significant areas left unaddressed that we need to know more about," said Robert Hall, a Reston lawyer.

Hall declined to elaborate on those areas or to name his potential clients.

Because Virginia Tech is a public university, any lawsuit would name the commonwealth of Virginia as the defendant. The state, its institutions and employees are largely protected from civil lawsuits by "sovereign immunity" -- a doctrine rooted in a monarchical tradition that allowed grievances against the king only if he said it was OK.

However, Virginia government has waived sovereign immunity in a limited fashion through the Tort Claims Act, which permits damages of up to $100,000 for bodily injury caused by the state's negligence.

Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who would represent the state in any lawsuits stemming from the Tech massacre, had no comment, spokesman Tucker Martin said.

Meanwhile, other state officials are considering establishing a fund to compensate families in exchange for their agreeing not to sue.

"The governor has had some very preliminary discussions with legislative leaders to just explore ideas for how we might address the needs of many of these families going forward," Kaine spokesman Kevin Hall said.

Grenier's firm is representing the families of students Matthew Gregory Gwaltney, 24, of Chesterfield; Caitlin Millar Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y.; Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz, 26, of Puerto Rico; Reema Joseph Samaha, 18, of Centreville; Nicole R. White, 20, of Smithfield; Brian Roy Bluhm, 25, of Louisville, Ky.; and Michael Steven Pohle Jr., 23, of Flemington, N.J.

Not everyone is convinced the panel's report lays the groundwork for a lawsuit.

"I think it's going to be a very tough case," said Fredric Zinober, who specializes in negligent security cases for the Washington, D.C.-based firm Zuckerman Spaeder.

Apart from the question of whether Tech would be protected by sovereign immunity, Zinober said a plaintiff would also face the difficult task of proving that Cho's attack was foreseeable by the university.

While the report cites a number of actions by Cho that seem to indicate he was a threat, Zinober said the legal test will be what the school knew at the time -- not by what is known now with the benefit of hindsight.

"Although they are critical of the university for not connecting the dots, I don't think they are coming out and really chastising the university for not being able to foresee this happening," Zinober said.

Staff writers Mike Allen and Laurence Hammack contributed to this report.