News and Updates   

Henry P. Custis Jr., a VBA member since 1971 and a Life Member since 2016, is the recipient of the 2023 Tradition of Excellence Award from the General Practice Section of the Virginia State Bar. The honor will be presented at the VSB Annual Meeting in June.

Daniel L. Gray, a founding partner with Cooper Ginsberg Gray, PLLC, in Fairfax, was elected to the VBA Board of Governors at its spring meeting. He is the Potomac District representative on the 22-member board, and fills a seat left vacant. The governance committee unanimously recommended his approval.

Longtime active VBA member B. Waugh Crigler of Charlottesville died April 26. He was 74.

The retired U.S. magistrate judge in the Western Division of Virginia had served on the VBA Commission on Professionalism, which endorsed the Principles of Professionalism for Virginia Lawyers in 2008.

Anita O. Poston, who served as president of The Virginia Bar Association in 2000, will receive the William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Award at the Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting in June.

The honor recognizes exceptional leadership and vision in improving legal education and advancing professionalism. It is given by the VSB Section on the Education of Lawyers in Virginia.

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.

The Virginia Bar Association presented longtime University of Virginia law professor A.E. Dick Howard with its highest honor at its 2023 Annual Meeting. The Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award is given in recognition and appreciation of exceptional service and contributions to the bar and public at large.

The VBA Young Lawyers Division recognized the efforts of attorneys Jennifer L. Ligon of Richmond and Ann Petros of Alexandria, two of the many young lawyers throughout the state who voluntarily contribute to the division’s numerous projects. The Sandra P. Thompson and the Emerson G. Spies awards were presented during The Virginia Bar Association’s Annual Meeting, held in Williamsburg Jan. 19-21.

VBA members often show up on lists of honorees. The 2022 class of Fellows and officers for the Virginia Law Foundation is no exception.

Nominated by their peers, Fellows of the Virginia Law Foundation are recognized for leadership in their practices, their communities and Virginia.

The Virginia Bar Association installed Victor O. Cardwell as its 2022 president Friday, Jan. 21, during its virtual Annual Meeting. He is co-chair of Woods Rogers PLC’s labor and employment practice team as well as chairman of the firm’s board of directors. He is based in Roanoke, Virginia, and is the seventh Woods Rogers attorney to serve as president of the VBA, the largest statewide voluntary bar in Virginia.

I must thank everyone at Woods Rogers for their support – with special mention to the Labor and Employment Group, all of whom have stepped in to make this possible. This is not a surprise to me as my firm and the VBA have a long and storied history together. There have been many who have served the VBA and I will now become the seventh lawyer to serve in this role from WR. I am humbled.