| Archives:
January 2000 Listing of articles from the VBA Journal, 1975-98 |
March 2000
President’s Page: Changes and Challenges |
No more “glass ceilings” for The Virginia Bar Association.
On January 15, during the VBA Annual Meeting in Williamsburg, Jeanne F. Franklin of Alexandria was voted Association President-Elect for 2000, to succeed Anita Poston, now president of the Association.
Franklin, a sole practitioner who concentrates in health care law and serves as a organizational development consultant, is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Virginia School of Law. She has studied at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and holds a certificate in organization development from Georgetown University. She has chaired the VBA Executive Committee, the Committee on the Needs of the Mentally Disabled and the Membership Task Group.
J. Edward Betts of Richmond, a partner in the law firm of Christian & Barton, succeeds Franklin as chair of the Association’s Executive Committee. Betts has chaired the VBA Law Practice Management Section and the VBA Communications Task Group, and has served on the VBA Executive Committee since 1997.
H. Victor Millner Jr. of Chatham will serve as VBA Secretary/Treasurer for
2000. A principal in the firm of H. Victor Millner Jr., P.C., in Chatham, he
is engaged in the general practice of law, and has served on the VBA Executive
Committee since 1998. Millner has chaired the VBA Membership Task Group and
is a member of the VBA Domestic Relations, Elder Law, and Wills, Trusts &
Estates Sections.
Four new members of the VBA Executive Committee were elected in January: E.
Tazewell “Ted” Ellett of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., of McLean and
Washington, D.C., representing the Potomac Region; Heman A. Marshall III, managing
partner of Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove in Roanoke, representing the Southwest
Region; Sharon E. Pandak, Prince William County Attorney, at large; and F. Blair
Wimbush, general solicitor of Norfolk Southern Corporation, at large.
In addition, Justice Elizabeth B. Lacy of the Supreme Court of Virginia was
elected to a third and final one-year term as the judicial representative on
the Executive Committee, and Professor Jayne W. Barnard of the College of William
and Mary’s Marshall-Wythe School of Law was elected to a second one-year
term as the law faculty representative.
Former VBA President and 19th Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney of Fairfax
was reelected to a second term as the VBA’s delegate to the American Bar
Association House of Delegates. Return to Top
I am very proud to serve as the 112th president of The Virginia Bar Association,
but humbled to be measured aside a long series of presidents who have served
this organization ably and well. The VBA has been enriched both by outstanding
leaders and by member-lawyers and judges who are committed to a mission which
has as much vitality and significance in the year 2000 as it did more than 110
years ago when this Association began — to improve the law and administration
of justice and to uphold the standard of honor and integrity in the legal profession.
Much has changed since this mission was first crafted. The roots of the VBA
go back to July 1888 when more than 100 attorneys met in Virginia Beach and
formed the Virginia State Bar Association. (After the Virginia State Bar was
formed in 1938, confusion over the similar names eventually led this Association
to shorten its name to The Virginia Bar Association.) My research has not yet
uncovered a picture of the group which assembled on that day in 1888, but it
is safe to assume that there were probably no women, no minorities and no one
of the Jewish faith among that number! The face of the Association has changed
over the years, as has the face of the legal profession from which we draw our
members.
A few statistics tell an interesting story. The increase in the lawyer population
in this country has outpaced the growth in the general population. In 1951,
there was one lawyer per 695 persons; in 1995, this ratio was one per 303. In
1980, only eight percent of lawyers in the U.S. were women; by 1995, that figure
had risen to 24 percent. Minorities made up only five percent of the nation’s
lawyers in 1980; by 1990, this number had increased to 7.5 percent, but minority
representation among law students had grown to almost 20 percent by 1996. The
ABA reports that of the 39,455 law degrees awarded in 1998 approximately 45
percent went to women and 19 percent to minorities. Although more recent data
is unavailable, we know from law schools that this growth in the number of women
and minority lawyers is continuing.
The profession is also experiencing a lowering of the median age of lawyers.
Susan Murphy, a business and organizational consultant who recently addressed
the National Association of Bar Executives, warned that bar associations need
to understand the new generation of attorneys, dubbed “Generation Xers,”
who now make up approximately 25 percent of the bar and will soon dominate the
population. Murphy’s research suggests that Generation Xers are “impatient,
anti-authority, ‘techies,’ not loyal and totally independent.”
In addition to these changing demographics, there are significant changes in
the way we practice law. Technology is having a profound influence on every
aspect of our practices — from the way we communicate with clients to the
way we perform our research. Technology is both a blessing and a curse. We have
progressed in recent years from mail to overnight delivery services, to facsimile,
and now to e-mail. Legal services are expected to be delivered not only competently
and inexpensively, but also instantly. There is little time for thoughtful consideration
of a client’s problem. Further, our budgets are strained to acquire every
succeeding technological advance.
Market forces present new challenges. The entry of accounting firms into the
practice of law poses a serious challenge for Virginia lawyers. Over the last
few years, the big international accounting firms have acquired law firms in
Europe and Canada and have added legal services to the list of services they
offer to clients. The announced goal of accounting giant Arthur Andersen is
to be the world’s largest law firm.Beyond the obvious economic impact of
these intrusions into the practice of law, they threaten the unique safeguards
which the legal profession provides its clients. Rules regarding conflicts of
interest and confidentiality may be lost in multidisciplinary practice.
The practice of law for Virginia lawyers is changing and will be very different
in the years ahead. This future is unsettling, not only for the lawyers themselves,
but for voluntary bar associations as well. These challenges require that we
reflect on the Association’s mission and how we implement that mission
in the next several years. As stated by former Governor Gerald Baliles, now
chair of the VBA Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance,
“The best way to predict the future is to plan for it.”
The primary focus of my year as your president will be to engage the VBA in
discussion about and planning for its future. The Executive Committee will spend
some focused, uninterrupted time looking ahead and planning how to implement
our mission during the next several years. We will examine both what we do and
how we do it.
We want to hear from the broader membership as well. One of the first opportunities
will be at the Leadership Conference, scheduled for March 23, 2000. At that
conference, the chairs of all our sections and committees, the leaders essential
to the strength of the Association, will be asked to help identify and address
the critical issues facing our Association and its members. In addition, I welcome
your ideas and encourage you to write, call, fax or e-mail your thoughts and
suggestions to me or to the Association office.
As we set the stage for the next millennium, I will do my best to advance the
mission of the Association and to justify your confidence. Return
to Top
Having no calamitous news to report at Y2K, we turn our attention to the practice of law in the 21st century. That practice, like many other aspects of daily living, has been changed by instant access to databases containing historical facts and instant dissemination of information on current events, including the posting of court decisions prior to their having even been printed.
Attendees at The Virginia Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Williamsburg in January were given a preview of current developments being generated by the Land Records Management Task Force, chaired by Jack Kennedy, clerk of the Circuit Court of Wise County and the City of Norton, as well as new Land Records Management Systems which are coordinated with the Geographic Information System (GIS).
In addition, attendees received a Virginia Attorneys’ Web Site Resource Update containing sources of current information from the Virginia Supreme Court, law practice management tips from the American Bar Association and the VBA, sources of substantive law nationwide, and website directories compiled by the New York Times and Fortune.
Courts on the Web
To see the latest in Circuit Court websites, click on www.courtbar.org where you will find everything from general information for the public with respect to permits and filing fees and procedures to a list of the current case load. And if that isn’t enough, meet the judges or see a live view of the Wise Circuit Courtroom with only one additional click. Providing all of this information online doesn’t happen without significant funding, much of which is provided from filing fees currently being collected by Circuit Court clerks throughout the Commonwealth.
Don’t be bashful in urging your clerk to become more involved; the Fund currently has a balance of approximately $9,000,000, according to Kennedy. The current rate for a Premium User in Wise County is only $395 annually.
The site is not limited to the usual users of court records: attorneys, surveyors, realtors, bankers, and abstractors; it has links for the general public to municipal codes, a digital law library, the Virginia Lawyers Weekly, news organizations, and numerous other websites maintained by local organizations.
To determine the current status of websites for your jurisdiction’s clerk and courts, check the Virginia Information Providers Network, www.vipnet.org/vipnet/clerks.
Construction of websites related to the courts and other governmental functions is still very much in progress. The life of the Technology Trust Fund may be extended by the current General Assembly to June 30, 2002, under proposed legislation already introduced. One of the major issues in connection with the Fund is the level of fees which will be charged for Internet access to information posted by the clerks on their websites. The Virginia Association of Realtors has expressed concern over the potential array of charges which could be imposed.
For current statutory authority and requirements for electronic filing of instruments, see Virginia Code Sections 17.1-227.1, 252, and 276. Electronic filing provisions effective until July 1, 2004, are found at Sections 17.1-255 through 258.
Substantive Law Sites
The Virginia judicial system maintains www.courts.state.va.us, which provides up-to-the-minute listings of Supreme Court of Virginia opinions, appeals granted, and argument dockets. Equally important, the site provides links to federal opinions, the Virginia Code, the Administrative Code, and legislation pending before the General Assembly. For instance, the online Sex Offender Registry is included in the State Police link.
A by-product of the annual technology show sponsored by the American Bar Association is a list entitled “60 Cool Sites and Hot Spots on the Internet (And a Few Extras!)” found at www.techshow.com/aba60_90.html.
In addition to numerous substantive law sites, such as www.findlaw.com and www.internetlawyer.com, you will find links to such diverse sites as a reverse telephone number directory, Bartlett’s Quotations, and the Bill Gates Personal Wealth page.
In a quandary with regard to an ethics question? Consult www.legalethics.com for the latest opinions from across the country.
Perhaps the most informative website is that maintained by the Government Printing Office at www.access.gpo.gov which includes, among many others, a link to that most esoteric and usually out-of-date publication, the Code of Federal Regulations.
News and General Information
Finally, if you are looking for the latest in general news, but can’t subscribe conveniently to the New York Times, you can find it free of charge at www.nytimes.com/library/tech/reference. An even broader listing of sites is at www.ceoexpress.com which provides links to all major newspapers, business news magazines, Internet search engines, and online television news. This site even includes a link to IRS and state tax forms.
Conclusion
Now that you are equipped with a map of sites for places to go to find what you want on the Web, we hope we have made your day a bit more efficient and productive through this tour of available websites. For more information on the VBA Law Practice Management Section and its activities, visit us at www.vba.org/division/lpm.htm. Happy surfing!
Editor’s Note: The author, Gant Redmon, Managing Partner of Redmon, Peyton & Braswell, L.L.P., who had never visited a web site as late as January 1999, credits his “vertical learning curve” of the Internet to his associate, E. Andrew Burcher, and his son, C. Gant Redmon III, both “Gen Xers,” an essential ingredient in bringing pre-computer-educated attorneys into the 21st century. Return to Top
While the Internet has made it possible for millions worldwide to access a
wealth of information and technology, it has also created troubling problems
for modern society. At the VBA Annual Meeting on January 14, two general sessions
focused on the topics of online hate speech and cybercrime.
“The best response to hate speech is more speech,” said Rabbi Abraham
Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance.
According to the Los Angeles-based Cooper, there are only about 25,000 to 40,000
extremists in the United States—a small group in the general population.
More problematic, though, are the more than 2000 easily accessible hate-speech
sites on the Internet. “Some of these sites are targeting children as young
as nine or 10 years of age.”
To disastrous results. “[The massacre at] Columbine would not have happened
without the Internet,” said Rabbi Cooper, adding that the Wiesenthal Center
accessed one student gunman’s computer three hours after the shooting took
place. “Harris and Klebold had created a version of the game ‘Doom’
that was a practice session for a mass execution.”
Hate sites allow their creators to have a public presence, yet remain detached
from whatever mayhem may ensue. Such was the case of Midwestern serial killer
Benjamin Smith, who was linked to the World Church of the Creator (“which
really hates Christianity”). When questioned by reporters following Smith’s
shooting spree, World Church leader Matt Hale stated only that Smith had moved
away from the group.
Internet hate sites appeal to such reclusive “lone wolves,” more so
than mass movements. One hate group’s motto is “If there is a threat
to the white race in America, you can do anything,” be it a hate crime
or domestic terrorism.
Without librarians to monitor Internet usage, young students may find themselves
using hate sites for research. Rabbi Cooper described one website, www.mlking.org,
which at first appears to be a legitimate site devoted to the late Martin Luther
King Jr.—but is actually run by extremists to denigrate Dr. King’s
life and work.
The Wiesenthal Center recently persuaded online booksellers to stop selling
Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in Germany, a violation of German anti-Nazi laws.
The Center also helped close 90 hate sites set up through the “Yahoo Club”
website-creation format. “We asked the people at Yahoo.com, ‘Do you
have rules for Yahoo Clubs? Do you have contracts?’ They didn’t know.
“The Web is not a debating society. It’s there for marketing and advertising.
We need to apply pre-Net rules: create a policy and stick to it,” said
Rabbi Cooper. “The Wiesenthal Center is not looking to regulate the Internet,
but it is important to put a crimp into hate sites. Americans have a right not
to do business with those who promote hate.”
To illustrate his perspective, Rabbi Cooper referred to the Old Testament. “The
story of the Tower of Babel makes us question: Should humanity be in the service
of technology, or should technology be in service to humanity?”
In closing, Rabbi Cooper quoted the scholar Maimonides. “It is a mitzvah
(praiseworthy deed) to ask those who come before you in judgment, ‘Are
you interested in compromise?’ If you can get the parties to compromise,
you seek peace and justice. What kind of justice also includes peace? Compromise.”
Online hate speech is alarming enough, but the specters of cybercrime and cyberterrorism
are even more so.
“This is a whole new form of warfare where everyone is a target,”
said James Adams, CEO of Infrastructure Defense, Inc., adding that “one
of the most potent weapons available is a laptop computer... Never in history
has there been a time like this. The technological revolution is marching forward,
but I don’t see government matching its pace.”
James Dempsey, senior staff counsel at Washington’s Center for Democracy
and Technology, pointed out that one important trend of the Internet Age is
that law enforcement officers are now dealing with situations previously left
to national security forces.
Stevan Mitchell of the U.S. Department of Justice referred to the 1997 report
of the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, which
recognized an increasing risk of cybercrime and recommended starter measures
to improve government assurance efforts, enable the private sector to take protective
action, and overcome legal impediments.
Jeffrey Hunker, senior director of the Infrastructure Protection National Security
Council, advocated partnerships as a means of addressing cybercrime issues.
“We are starting a partnership in which we will recruit college students
to concentrate in cybersecurity issues, with the understanding that they will
work for the government for a set number of years. In return, the government
pays for their education.”
He emphasized the need for local, national and international agendas on cybersecurity
issues. “Speed—of technology, of policy—is the key.”
Editor’s Note: In February, less than a month after the cybercrime program
at the VBA Annual Meeting, computer vandals attacked some of the most widely-used
sites on the Internet. Return to Top
As the 2000 General Assembly session reached its midpoint, there were both positive and cautionary notes for the VBA legislative agenda. A full accounting, however, remains over the horizon from the halfway point marking this report.
The major VBA study of the insanity defense in juvenile proceedings resulted in publication of House Document 60, reporting the thoughtful findings of the hardworking study group led by VBA President-elect Jeanne Franklin, who chaired the study with participation by a range of VBA section and committee leaders and a broad-based advisory group (see list of participants below).
Delegate Karen Darner (D-Arlington), a legislative leader in juvenile matters, stepped in at the last minute to sponsor H.B. 1260, incorporating the model bill drafted by Franklin’s study group. Senator Bo Trumbo (R-Fincastle) and Delegate Bob McDonnell (R-Virginia Beach) signed on as co-patrons. The bill would implement a structure responsive to the study’s major finding that there should be such an insanity defense as ruled by the Virginia Court of Appeals last fall.
In light of a generally positive reaction to the study and to H.B. 1260, but recognizing the need for further refinement in the current draft as well as possible Virginia Supreme Court consideration of the Chatman case, Darner and Franklin agreed that carryover of H.B. 1260 until next year was the politic course. Thus, this issue will remain a VBA priority.
The passage of party control in the General Assembly has been marked by some growing pains in the legislative process as Democrats and Republicans adjust to their new minority and majority status respectively. At the midpoint, however, partisanship has been at a moderate level, with the near-record volumes of bills and resolutions perhaps representing more of a difficulty for the Assembly members.
The new Republican leadership early on took an important positive, if interim, step in accord with longtime VBA advocacy of greater merit characteristics in judicial selection by forming a new Joint Judicial Advisory Committee chaired by former VBA Executive Committee member and Virginia Attorney General Richard Cullen.
Members of the committee of lawyers and laymen include former VBA President Phillip Stone as well as a range of other prominent Virginians (see list). The committee engaged its initial service in the process of assisting the General Assembly in choosing a new Supreme Court justice and at least one new Court of Appeals judge. VBA Nominations Committee Chair Tom Farrell (also an Executive Committee member) presented VBA recommendations for the open seats (see lists) to the Advisory Committee. The names were sent to the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees as well.
Merit selection legislation received favorable bipartisan reactions, but bills by Senator Bill Bolling (R-Hanover) and former VBA President and Delegate Whitt Clement (D-Danville) were deferred until next year pending evaluation of the work of the informal advisory committee.
Important VBA initiatives and positions in the areas of business law, civil litigation, construction law and public contracts, criminal law, domestic relations, health, intellectual property, the judiciary, wills, trusts and estates, and those relating to the state budget were still pending at session midpoint and will be covered in the next issue.
On the cautionary side, new state restrictions on legal services, patterned after federal ones, seemed likely of passage. Diligent efforts by legal aid groups and their allies may have averted some of the most onerous restrictions but legal services providers were in a defensive posture this year. Similarly, while increases in court-appointed counsel fees in criminal cases seemed likely to be increased, Virginia will still rank near the bottom in this respect nationally.
Visit the VBA website at www.vba.org to stay informed of General Assembly actions.
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THE VIRGINIA BAR ASSOCIATION HJR 680 ADVISORY TASK FORCE |
JOINT JUDICIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE |
VBA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SUPREME COURT VACANCY VBA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE COURT OF APPEALS VACANCY |
Spring/summer meeting schedule
Amidst the ice and snow of winter, VBA members and staff are already planning
conferences for the spring and summer of 2000.
The spring meeting schedule kicks off this month with the VBA’s annual
Leadership Conference on March 23 at the Crowne Plaza in Richmond. This conference,
for VBA officers and Executive Committee members, section and committee chairs,
and Young Lawyers Division leaders, helps new leaders familiarize themselves
with VBA policies and procedures and offers fresh and successful ideas for section
and committee activities.
April will find two VBA groups heading “south of the border” for gatherings
at The Sanderling in Duck, North Carolina. The VBA Young Lawyers Division Executive
Committee and Council will meet there April 14-16, and the VBA Bankruptcy Law
Section will hold its annual conference there April 28-30. Preliminary information
about the Bankruptcy Law Conference has been mailed to section members; a full
agenda will be sent to them and will be available on the VBA website.
On May 25, the VBA Administrative Law Section and the Administrative Law Advisory
Committee will join forces to hold the annual Administrative Law Conference
at the Crowne Plaza in Richmond. Details and programming will be announced at
a later date.
Because of the American Bar Association holding its millennial two-part Annual
Meeting in New York and London in July (see page 16), the VBA Summer Meeting
will be held August 3-6 at The Homestead in Hot Springs. A highlight of the
Summer Meeting schedule will be a debate between this year’s U.S. Senate
candidates (and former Virginia governors), incumbent Charles Robb and challenger
George Allen.
In addition to these meetings, the VBA Young Lawyers Division is also planning
a number of activities for the spring, including two “Stop the Violence”
training sessions for advocates for domestic violence victims.
For information on upcoming VBA meetings and events, see the Calendar, always
printed on the back cover of the VBA News Journal, or visit the VBA website
at www.vba.org for calendar information and CLE opportunities.
Return to Top
Professionalism presentation is updated
After completing 17 presentations on professionalism and civility to Virginia
bar groups in 1999, the VBA Professionalism Task Force has completed one and
scheduled six more for the first months of 2000.
The ethics hypotheticals, which comprise the basis of the program, have been
reviewed and updated in view of the new Virginia Code of Professional Responsibility,
which took effect in January of this year. Each group requesting a presentation
chooses its own combination of hypotheticals for its program.
In addition to the VBA Annual and Summer Meetings, presentations have been scheduled
for the Northern Virginia Women Attorneys Association and the Newport News,
Augusta County, Lynchburg and McLean Bar Associations.
For information on scheduling a presentation, call (804) 644-0041. Return
to Top
VBA section and committee chairs for 2000
The Virginia Bar Association has announced the chairs of its sections and
committees for 2000.
Administrative Law Section:James R. Kibler Jr., Richmond; Mezzullo
& McCandlish, P.C.
Bankruptcy Law Section: Keith L. Phillips, Richmond; Phillips
& Fleckenstein, P.C..
Business Law Section: Robert B. Webb III, Falls Church;
Reed Smith Hazel & Thomas, P.C.
Civil Litigation Section: Stephen C. Price, Leesburg; McCandlish
& Lillard, P.C.
Construction & Public Contracts Law Section: Fred R. Kozak,
Richmond; Beale, Balfour, Davidson & Etherington, P.C.
Corporate Counsel Section: Henry N. Ware Jr., Richmond;
Cook, Ware & Heyward, P.C.
Criminal Law Section:Prof. Roger D. Groot, Lexington; Washington
& Lee University School of Law.
Domestic Relations Section: Glenn C. Lewis, Fairfax; The
Lewis Law Firm, P.C.
Elder Law Section: Greer P. Jackson, Richmond; Spinella,
Owings & Shaia, P.C.
Environmental Law Section:Don G. Scroggin, McLean; Gabeler, Battocchi
& Griggs, L.L.C.
Health Law Section: Richard L. Grier, Richmond; Mays &
Valentine, L.L.P.
Intellectual Property Law Section: Marshall M. Curtis,
Reston; Whitham, Curtis & Whitham, P.C.
Judicial Section:Hon. Tristram T. Hyde IV, Judge, Lancaster
General District Court.
Labor Relations & Employment Law Section:Thomas M. Lucas,
Norfolk; McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe.
Law Practice Management Section:Janet Singletary Thomas,
Richmond; Williams, Mullen, Clark & Dobbins, P.C.
Real Estate Section:Hugh T. Harrison II, Richmond; Williams,
Mullen, Clark & Dobbins, P.C.
Taxation Section: D. French Slaughter III, Charlottesville;
McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe, L.L.P.
Transportation Law Section: Patrick M. Brogan, Norfolk;
Davey & Brogan, P.C.
Wills, Trusts & Estates Section: Peter M. Huber, Norfolk;
Willcox & Savage, P.C.
Access to Justice Committee: Robert L. Brooke, Richmond;
Mays & Valentine, L.L.P.
VSB/VBA Joint Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution:Barbara
L. Hulburt, Richmond; Access Family Mediation, McCammon Mediation Group,
Ltd. NOTE: Hulburt’s term ends June 30, 2000.
Awards Committee: David Craig Landin, Richmond; Hunton
& Williams.
Commission on the Needs of Children: Prof. Robert E. Shepherd
Jr., Richmond; University of Richmond School of Law.
Communications Group:Hon. John J. Davies III, Culpeper; Davies,
Barrell, Will, Lewellyn & Edwards.
Executive Committee: J. Edward Betts, Richmond; Christian
& Barton, L.L.P.
Committees on Federal Judgeships:
Eastern District, John M. Ryan, Norfolk; Vandeventer Black
L.L.P.
Western District,Robert C. Wood III, Lynchburg; Edmunds &
Williams, P.C.
Committee on Honoring Members & Judges: John S. Barr,
Richmond; McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe, L.L.P.
Judiciary Committee: John Barry Donohue Jr., Richmond;
Reynolds Metals Company.
Committee on Legal Education & Admission to the Bar: Michael
J. Quinan, Richmond; Woods, Rogers & Hazlegrove.
Membership Group: William E. Rachels Jr., Norfolk; Willcox
& Savage, P.C.
Committee on the Needs of the Mentally Disabled:Matthew D.
Jenkins, Richmond; Hunton & Williams.
Committee on Nominations to Virginia Commissions & Appellate Courts:
Thomas F. Farrell II, Richmond; Virginia Power.
Professionalism Group: Thomas E. Spahn, Richmond; McGuire, Woods,
Battle & Boothe, L.L.P.
Section & Committee Development Group: Frank A. Thomas III,
Orange; Shackelford, Honenberger, Thomas, Willis & Gregg, P.L.C.
Committee on Special Issues of National & State Importance: Hon.
Gerald L. Baliles, Richmond; Hunton & Williams.
Substance Abuse Committee: Thomas O. Bondurant, Richmond; Bondurant
& Benson, P.C.
Chairs of Young Lawyers Division committees will be announced in an upcoming
issue. Return to Top
Ingold, Anthony & Gibson lead VBA/YLD
James V. Ingold of Fairfax became chair of the VBA Young Lawyers Division
at the VBA Annual Meeting in Colonial Williamsburg in January.
Also taking office were David N. Anthony of Norfolk, who became chair-elect
after serving as secretary/treasurer in 1999, and C. Vaughan Gibson of McLean,
who was elected secretary/treasurer of the Division after representing the Potomac
Region on the VBA/YLD Executive Committee.
Ingold is an associate with Chadwick, Washington, Olters, Moriarty & Lynn,
P.C., practicing in the areas of civil litigation and community association
law. He is a graduate of Duke University and the College of William and Mary’s
Marshall-Wythe School of Law. He has served on the VBA/YLD Executive Committee
since 1993, and was the Division’s chair-elect in 1999 and secretary/treasurer
in 1998. He has chaired the VBA/YLD Legal Services to the Public Committee and
the Northern Virginia Pro Bono Hotline Committee. He is a member of the VBA
Bankruptcy Law, Civil Litigation and Real Estate Sections.
Anthony is a partner in Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., practicing in the areas
of commercial litigation, local government law, construction litigation and
government contracts. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and Washington &
Lee University School of Law and has served on the VBA/YLD Executive Committee
since 1995. He has chaired the VBA/YLD Professionalism and Civility in Practice
Committee, the ABA Awards of Achievement Committee, and the Tidewater Pro Bono
Hotline Committee. He is a member of the VBA Civil Litigation and Construction
Law & Public Contracts Sections, and of the VBA Professionalism Task Force
Working Group.
Gibson is of counsel with Mays & Valentine, L.L.P., practicing in the area
of real estate finance development. A graduate of the College of William and
Mary and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, she has served on
the VBA/YLD Executive Committee since 1997. In addition, she has coordinated
VBA/YLD liaisons to the VBA substantive law sections, chaired the Northern Virginia
Mentor Program Committee, and co-chaired the Law School Liaison Committee. She
is also a member of the VBA Real Estate Section. Return
to Top
Harman-Stokes is new Potomac Region rep
Katherine Harman-Stokes of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., in McLean was elected
to represent the Potomac Region on the VBA/YLD Executive Committee, succeeding
C. Vaughan Gibson, at the VBA Annual Meeting in January.
Harman-Stokes, co-chair of the award-winning VBA/YLD Domestic Violence Project
and recipient of the Emerson G. Spies Award for enthusiasm and dedication to
the VBA/YLD’s work, is a graduate of American University and the University
of Virginia School of Law.
In addition to the officers, Immediate Past Chair Philip W. Parker of Roanoke,
and Harman-Stokes, the VBA/YLD Executive Committee for 2000 includes Charles
G. Meyer III, Capitol; Christopher Boynton, Tidewater; Melissa Amos Young, Valley;
and at-large members Stephen D. Otero, Stacy C. Taylor, Monica L. Taylor, King
F. Tower, Edward B. Walker, and Mary Catherine Zinsner. Return
to Top
Barnes, Otero receive Division honors
Attison L. Barnes III of Gardner, Carton & Douglas received the YLD
Fellows Award and Stephen D. Otero of Mays & Valentine received the Emerson
G. Spies Jr. Award from 1999 VBA/YLD Chair Philip W. Parker at the VBA Annual
Meeting. Barnes, chair of the Model Judiciary Program Committee, was honored
for his outstanding longtime service to the Division; Otero, a YLD Executive
Committee member who also chaired the Division’s Disaster Legal Assistance
Committee and prepared the VBA/YLD entries in the American Bar Association Awards
of Achievement competition, was recognized for his enthusiasm and dedication
to the work of the VBA/YLD. Return to Top
Copyright 2000 The Virginia Bar Association