The Virginia Bar Association values every VBA member. But once a year a special group of members takes the spotlight: a new class of Life Members.

On July 21, the 2023 Life Members were inducted in recognition of their 40 years of continuous paid membership in the VBA. Inductees, who are at least 70 years old, receive free VBA membership for life.

Twenty-one longtime VBA members attained Life Member status this year. All received a special invitation to attend the VBA’s 133rd Summer Meeting in Hot Springs, Virginia, last month. Their names appeared as part of a slideshow shown while banquetgoers dined. During the program, they were invited on stage.

"Tonight, I have the privilege of recognizing a small but very special group of VBA members by inducting them into the 2023 Class of Life Members of the VBA," President Benjamin D. Leigh told the audience.

The VBA pays tribute to the loyalty and commitment of these members, who understand and appreciate the mission of the VBA and its importance to the legal profession and the public in Virginia.

The newest Life Members join more than 500 existing Life Members of the VBA.

The 2023 Class of Life Members, by region and with the name of law firm where applicable, follows:

 

Arlington
Elizabeth R. Cheyney – Elizabeth R. Cheyney LLC

 

Charlottesville
Professor Richard J. Bonnie – University of Virginia Law School

 

Chase City
Katherine Axson Keel

 

Fairfax
Peter D. Greenspun – Greenspun Shapiro, PC
Sharon D. Nelson – Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Douglas J. Sanderson – McCandlish Lillard
Dickson J. Young – Whitestone Young, PC

 

Norfolk
Mark T. Coberly – Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC
Robert L. Dewey – Willcox & Savage, P.C.
Charles E. Land – Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
Daniel R. Weckstein – Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC

 

Richmond
Susan C. Armstrong – Armstrong Law Firm, PLLC
Irvin V. Cantor – Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci
Hon. Wyatt B. Durrette Jr. – Durrette, Arkema, Gerson & Gill PC
John Epps
Lewis F. Powell III – Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
M. Bruce Stokes – M. Bruce Stokes, P.C.
George P. Whitley – TowneBank

 

Roanoke

Nan Coleman

 

Tysons Corner
John S. Pachter – Smith Pachter McWhorter PLC

 

Out of State
Leonard W. Pojunas Jr. – Austin, Texas