Leesburg-based lawyer, others take leadership roles
in statewide voluntary bar organization

The Virginia Bar Association installed Benjamin D. Leigh as its 2023 president Saturday, Jan. 21, during its Annual Meeting in Williamsburg. He is a principal with Troxell Leigh P.C. in Leesburg and focuses his practice on real estate.

He succeeds Victor O. Cardwell, co-chair of the labor and employment practice at Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC and co-chair of the WRVB board of directors. Cardwell, who is based in Roanoke, now serves as immediate past president, another VBA leadership role.

The VBA is the largest statewide voluntary organization of lawyers and judges in Virginia.

Senior Justice William C. Mims of the Supreme Court of Virginia administered the oath of office in front of a stage of all past VBA presidents in attendance. In 2002, Leigh joined with Mims and William H. Atwill to form the law firm Mims, Atwill & Leigh, P.C. The law firm now operates as Troxell & Leigh.

In his remarks upon becoming president, Leigh encouraged all present to take up three resolutions to carry on the VBA’s work: You Belong, Answer the Call and Raise All Bars.

“Many of us joined the VBA seeking to be part of something larger than ourselves or our firms or a practice-area bar,” he said. “Today and this coming year, I would charge each of you to carry the message to others seeking exceptionalism — the message that you belong in the VBA.” In particular, he pointed to three fundamental groups: new and untapped corporate counsel in Virginia, young lawyers of years past, and small- and solo firms. Cardwell during his term as president created a Special Committee on Small-Firm and Solo Practice, which will convene regional meetups in 2023 to promote cross networking and practice enhancements.

To Answer the Call, Leigh pointed to the operation of laws, increased access to justice and advocacy to uphold the independence of and respect for the judiciary. And if members recruit news members who Answer the Call, “then we Raise all Bars,” he said. “We will raise the bar for the individual lawyer. We will raise the bar for the firms needing a leadership academy when the VBA Young Lawyers Division is just that. We will complement the Virginia State Bar and specialty bars by serving as the One Bar for Them All with statewide reach and representation in lobbying. We will raise the bar for the profession.”

Other 2023 officers

In addition to Leigh and Cardwell, two other members begin one-year terms as VBA officers. Elected to leadership roles were:

• W. Ryan Snow with Crenshaw, Ware & Martin, P.L.C., in Norfolk, as president-elect and
• Kimberlee H. Ramsey, president of FloranceGordonBrown, P.C., in Richmond as chair of the Board of Governors.

These officers and the leaders of the Young Lawyers Division, or YLD, make up the voting members of the VBA Executive Committee. The YLD is a group of about 900 attorney members age 40 or younger or otherwise new to legal practice. The YLD members elected a new chair for a one-year term. He is:

• R. Patrick Bolling, a principal on Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC’s labor and employment team, based in Lynchburg. Last year he served as chair-elect of the YLD.

In addition, the chair-elect of the Young Lawyers Division serves on the board. The YLD elected as chair-elect:

• Ann Petros, vice president of regulatory affairs at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions in Arlington. She has chaired the YLD’s Credit Issues Project and ABA YLD Awards of Achievement submissions.

For details about these individuals and new Board of Governors members, please see the 2023 VBA Leadership Slate.

New Board of Governors members

VBA members also elected four Board of Governors representatives to three-year terms. The board, with at-large and regional representatives, manages the business of the association. They are:

• Nupur S. Bal, serving at-large. She is a shareholder with Bowen Ten Long & Bal, P.C., in Richmond.
• Cliona Mary Robb, serving at-large. She is a director at ThompsonMcMullan PC in Richmond and continues on the board after serving three years as Law Practice Management Division chair,
• The Honorable Blythe A. Scott, representing the Tidewater Region. She is the commissioner of the revenue in the City of Norfolk, and
• M. Bryan Slaughter, representing the Blue Ridge Region. A past president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, he has spent his entire legal career at MichieHamlett in Charlottesville.

The Board of Governors also appointed two new representatives to advise it on judicial and government attorney matters. Starting a one-year term that can be extended for up to three years are:

• The Honorable D. Arthur Kelsey, as judicial representative. He is a justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia, and
• Charles H. Slemp III, as government attorney representative. He is chief deputy attorney general of Virginia.

Additionally, the VBA’s Law Practice Management Division, to which all members belong, has a new chair who will serve on the Board of Governors. He is:

• Michael C. Guanzon, a partner with Christian & Barton, LLP, in Richmond.

Board of Governors continuing representatives

Seven other attorneys will continue their roles on the VBA Board of Governors. They are:

• Del. Jeffrey Bourne, Legislative representative, based in Richmond,
• L. Steven Emmert, At-Large representative (Sykes, Bourdon, Ahern & Levy, P.C., Virginia Beach),
• B. Keith Faulkner, Law School representative (president and dean, Appalachian School of Law, Grundy),
• Timothy W. Gresham, Southwest representative (PennStuart, Abingdon),
• Lonnie D. “Chip” Nunley III, At-Large representative (Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Richmond),
• William E. Phillips, Southside representative (Caskie & Frost, Lynchburg),
• Donna M. Rostant, At-Large representative (Jones & Rostant PC, Fairfax).