Entering the third week of the 2012 General Assembly session, 16 of the 19 bills The Virginia Bar Association had introduced on behalf of its various sections and affiliated organizations have advanced through committee. In many cases, they have passed the House or Senate where introduced, according to our lobbying team at Reed Smith LLP. The VBA also is actively supporting, opposing, or seeking to modify a host of other bills before the General Assembly. Read more ...
A Virginia Bar Association panel is answering a invitation from the House and Senate Courts of Justice committees to recommend candidates for the impending vacancy on the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Judge James W. Haley Jr. has announced he will take senior status this year. To be considered by the VBA's Committee on Nominations to Virginia Commissions and Appelate Courts, applicants should submit the Virginia State Bar questionnaire, and submit it electronically with a resume and writing sample to VBA Executive Director Yvonne C. McGhee by 4 p.m. Feb. 1.
As an Association, in 2011 we accomplished many goals and made strides in several areas to advance toward the vision set forth in our 2010-2013 Strategic Plan. The 2011 In Review describes the efforts undertaken last year and the progress made in the strategic areas of advocacy and legislative reform, membership, communications and organizational sustainability. We could not achieve as much as we have without the talent and skill of our members who help raise the bar for the organization as well as the legal profession.
JusticeServer technology to aid Legal Services
Harry M. “Pete” Johnson, III, and Scott Oostdyk, co-chairs of the VBA Pro Bono Committee, were like proud parents at Capital One’s launch of JusticeServer on January 12 at the company’s campus in Goochland County. They and other members of a task force organized after the VBA’s Virginia Supreme Court Pro Bono Summit in 2010 presented a cloud computing system organizers hope eventually can be used nationwide to streamline and improve service to pro bono clients. The system will go into limited service this month as training begins and funds are raised for full implementation. Already, $170,000 has been pledged. Contributors are Capital One, Hunton & Williams, LeClairRyan, McGuireWoods, Murphy & McGonigle, Spotts Fain, Troutman Sanders and Williams Mullen.
Recognizing exceptional young lawyer service, excellence in legal journalism
At the 122nd Annual Meeting, the VBA's Young Lawyers Division honored Dana A. Dews and Rudene Mercer Bascom Haynes for their extraordinary service. Dews received the Emerson G. Spies Award and Haynes accepted the Sandra P. Thompson Award. Also honored were Virginia Business magazine and Virginia Lawyers Weekly for 25 years of being essential resources for Virginia's legal community.
The Virginia Law Foundation inducted 23 Virginia lawyers as its 2012 Class of Fellows at a ceremony January 19 in Williamsburg during The Virginia Bar Association's Annual Meeting. Induction as a Fellow is a special honor conferred by the VLF Board on attorneys, law professors and retired members of the judiciary deemed to be outstanding in their profession and in their community. They are:
Alan D. Albert, Norfolk
Andrea L. Bridgeman, McLean
Stephen D. Busch, Richmond
Marnie E. Byrum, Alexandria
David P. Corrigan, Richmond
C. Richard Cranwell, Roanoke
John W. Daniel, II, Richmond
Alexander F. Dillard, Jr.,
Tappahannock
Elizabeth K. Dillon, Salem
Richard S. Glasser, Norfolk
Robert C. Goodman, Jr., Norfolk
Elizabeth G. Hester, Richmond
John E. Lichtenstein, Roanoke
Kenneth B. Murov, Newport News
Elizabeth P. Murtagh,
Charlottesville
Glenn W. Pulley, Danville
J. Waverly Pulley, III, Richmond
Judith L. Rosenblatt, Virginia Beach
Steven D. Rosenfield,
Charlottesville
Conway H. Sheild, III,
Newport News
Alexander H. Slaughter, Richmond
Mary Lynn Tate, Abingdon
Lewis W. Webb, III, Norfolk
Fain takes a minute to explain how the legal profession is an integral part of our local communities in a “60 Seconds With” feature and video, in the December 26 Metro Business section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Sixth Annual Legal Food Frenzy April 2-13, 2012
Benefiting food banks statewide.
Register to participate at www.legalfoodfrenzy.com before January 31, 2012, and earn a 100-point bonus in the competition. The Young Lawyers Division project aims to have 200 law firms and organizations compete this year and raise the equivalent of 1.5 million pounds of food.
Contact us: The Virginia Bar Association, 701 E. Franklin St., Suite 1120, Richmond, VA 23219 Phone: (804) 644-0041 Fax: (804) 644-0052 Email: thevba@vba.org
The Virginia Bar Association is the independent voice of the Virginia lawyer, advancing the highest ideals of the profession through advocacy and volunteer service.
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Harry M. “Pete” Johnson, III, and Scott Oostdyk, co-chairs of the VBA Pro Bono Committee, were like proud parents at Capital One’s 
At the 122nd Annual Meeting, the VBA's Young Lawyers Division honored Dana A. Dews and Rudene Mercer Bascom Haynes for their extraordinary service. Dews received the 
