At the 134th Annual Meeting banquet Jan. 19, the VBA will recognize Scott C. Oostdyk with the Roger D. Groot Pro Bono Publico Award in appreciation of his outstanding pro bono and community service.

Oostdyk, a partner with McGuireWoods LLP, serves on the VBA’s Pro Bono Council and has co-chaired it.

An active member of the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission since his appointment in 2014, he is the VBA Board of Governors liaison to the commission.
He was an organizer of the biennial Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Summit that the VBA coordinates with the Supreme Court of Virginia. These events highlight the importance of pro bono service and recognize lawyers who provide these services. The seventh summit meeting is scheduled to occur this year.

More than a decade ago, Oostdyk and the VBA were instrumental in the creation of JusticeServer, an online platform that connects pro bono lawyers with the needs of legal aid groups. Since 2017, according to the JusticeServer website, 2,200 lawyers have directly benefited more than 64,000 people through cases originating in about 40 legal aid organizations.

Oostdyk also played a lead role in developing the Richmond Triage Project, in conjunction with the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society and Firms in Service, to provide support for legal aid using JusticeServer. He then led the effort to expand the project to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Firms in Service is a group of regional law firms and legal departments that organized to coordinate their pro bono efforts. The VBA supported the initial Richmond initiative in its expansion in Virginia.

Oostdyk is the 17th recipient of the Pro Bono Publico Award. First given in 1987, the award was renamed in 2006 for Roger D. Groot, the 2005 honoree. Groot taught at the Washington and Lee University School of Law for 32 years and was a driving force in the VBA’s Capital Defense Workshop. Groot also served on the VBA Board of Governors from 2001 to 2005.

Previous recipients of the honor include George H. Hettrick, Professor Robert E. Shepherd Jr., John D. Epps, James M. Hingeley, Lori D. Thompson and Life Member G. Andrew Nea Jr.

Oostdyk joined the VBA in 2007 and is a member of the Civil Litigation and Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law sections.