The Virginia Bar Association Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Virginia Law Foundation to support the VBA’s Advocacy Training Project.

The project combines the Model Judiciary Program and the National Moot Court Competition, two enduring programs of the VBA’s Young Lawyers Division. These two annual events make up the YLD’s advocacy initiative, which aims to raise awareness regarding the rule of law and deepen students’ understanding of the legal system. They also provide opportunities for high school and law school students to hone their advocacy and public speaking skills.

This spring’s Model Judiciary Program was the 46th to be held in partnership with the Virginia YMCA and involved students from 13 high schools across Virginia. Jordyn Nesbitt of Gainesville High School was named best overall oral advocate and the winner of the program.

The YLD also organizes the Region IV round of the National Moot Court Competition for law students from Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky. Held each year in November, the most recent event involved teams from 10 law schools. Regional winners the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville advanced to the national competition in New York City. The best brief competition was won by a team from the William & Mary Law School.

The VBA Foundation is one of 35 organizations to receive Virginia Law Foundation grants this year. The 2024 awards totaled $714,200.

The VBA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) entity that conducts and supports charitable goals and educational purposes of the VBA. Some recent programs it has helped to finance include the biennial Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Summit, the Practice Management Advisor program, the Legal Food Frenzy, the Lawyer Wellness Challenge and educational programming coordinated by the VBA Committee on Special Issues of National & State Importance.

The VBA previously received VLF grants for its annual Capital Defense Workshop and the Rule of Law Project it initiated and later coordinated with the Virginia Law Foundation. Last year it also received a $1,300 spot grant from the VLF to help finance the National Moot Court Competition.

The Virginia Law Foundation awards grants that advance its mission to uphold the rule of law, expand access to justice and enhance law-related education. Since the start of the grant program in 1984, it has allocated more than $29.4 million for such projects.