News and Updates   

The Virginia Bar Association has invited Virginia’s gubernatorial candidates, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, to a debate July 19 at the VBA Summer Meeting in Hot Springs.

F. Claiborne “Jay” Johnston Jr., who served as president of The Virginia Bar Association in 1990, died March 31 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was 82.

Mr. Johnston was a lifelong resident of Richmond and practiced his entire career with Mays & Valentine and its successor, Troutman Sanders, now Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. His practice was primarily in the field of business law, with an emphasis on corporate and securities law and financial institution regulation.

VBA President Kimberlee Harris Ramsey announces the following statement, approved unanimously by the Board of Governors:

The Virginia Bar Association strongly supports the Rule of Law.

The Virginia Bar Association featured two justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia on its 2025 Annual Meeting banquet stage: Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn, who received the VBA’s highest honor, and Justice Teresa M. Chafin, for the unveiling of the VBA-commissioned portrait.

The VBA Young Lawyers Division recognized the efforts of three members in Williamsburg during The Virginia Bar Association’s Annual Meeting. The award winners are just a few of the many young lawyers throughout the state who voluntarily contribute to the division’s numerous civic and bar projects.

The Virginia Bar Association installed Kimberlee Harris Ramsey as its 2025 president Jan. 25 during its Annual Meeting in Williamsburg. Ramsey is president of FloranceGordonBrown, PC, and leads the Richmond-based firm’s family law practice.

New VBA officers and Board of Governors leaders will be elected and installed at the Annual Meeting this month in Williamsburg.

The slate of 2025 officers and their proposed or appointed roles.

The Virginia Bar Association will bestow its highest honor on Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Goodwyn will receive the Gerald L. Baliles Distinguished Service Award at the VBA’s 135th Annual Meeting in January.

The Virginia Bar Association is providing members of its Young Lawyers Division a unique new leadership development opportunity. Designed to make today’s Young Lawyers the leaders of tomorrow, the VBA Leadership Academy will give participants the tools to hone their own management styles and to build personal growth plans for the future.

Nupur S. Bal, a partner with Bowen Ten Long & Bal, PC, in Richmond, will be expanding her leadership duties in The Virginia Bar Association. She will become chair of the VBA Board of Governors in January 2025.