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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — 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.

Grenier said the report by Gov. Timothy M. 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 a dormitory that preceded the shooting deaths of 30 more in an academic building. It also said the university's counseling center was too passive in dealing with Cho.

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.

Grenier does not see the Tort Claims Act as an insurmountable obstacle. In fact, said he twice has obtained larger settlements from the state — $1.2 million for the suffocation of a juvenile detention center inmate in Prince William County and $125,000 for the beating of another juvenile prisoner in Richmond.

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 Hammaren, 19, of Westtown, N.Y.; Juan Ramon Ortiz, 26, of, Puerto Rico; Reema Samaha, 18, of Centreville; Nicole R. White of Smithfield; Brian Bluhm, 25, of Detroit; and Michael Pohle, 23, of Flemington, N.J.

Not all families of victims are blaming Tech. David McCain of Hampton, whose daughter Lauren was among the victims, told the Daily Press of Newport News that school administrators "did the best that they could" on April 16.

McCain, a chief petty officer in the Navy, said his military experience has taught him that its impossible to plan for every conceivable crisis.

"Everything happens so fast," he told the newspaper. "Everything changes. There is no plan, because tragedy doesn't follow a plan."