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The independent voice of Virginia lawyers               July 12, 2017
Dear ,
When it gets hot outside, the Summer Meeting can't be far off. Here are a couple tidbits about the upcoming statewide meeting, an update on construction at the new member business center and some recent VBA-related events. Read on!
2017 Candidate for governor
2017 Candidate for governor
Gearing up for the gubernatorial debate

Submit your debate questions now for consideration by debate moderator Judy Woodruff (and to be live streamed via the internet by the "PBS NewsHour" crew). No names will be read aloud.

Then plan to attend the 11 a.m. July 22 debate involving Ralph S. Northam and Edward W. "Ed" Gillespie during the Summer Meeting at The Omni Homestead Resort. Tweet about attending using the hashtag #vbadebate, and comment about your Summer Meeting experience using #vbasummer17.

Meeting registrants and guests who receive name badges when they check in for the meeting at the hotel are preregistered for attendance at the debate. Families or guests of the registrant who will attend no part of the meeting and members who will not attend the meeting can register for the debate online through noon Wednesday, or sign up to attend at the VBA registration desk during the Summer Meeting. Badges are required for entry into the debate hall.
Speaking of the Summer Meeting - written materials update

Registrants of the event will receive an email about a week before the meeting starts July 20 with a link to written materials for MCLE programming. Be sure to download the materials where you can access them or bring the link and your internet device to the meeting and get the materials from the VBA website via conference Wi-Fi.
VBA on Main construction update

7-7-17 VBA on Main construction-July Voice

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The old ceiling tiles have been removed and framing is up at what will become the VBA member center and headquarters. Electrical and plumbing has been roughed in. Once inspections are completed, dry wall can be hung. Not only is construction going on in the VBA space in the Bank of America Center, but the entire floor's common area is in the midst of a makeover.

See the Facebook photo album of progress as of July 7. Stay tuned for more updates on VBA on Main.

Former Chief Justice Kinser's portrait ceremony

The Honorable Cynthia Kinser-July 2017 Voice 
Monica Monday-July 2017 Voice 
VBA member John O'Herron-July 2017 Voice 
On June 9, the Supreme Court of Virginia celebrated the hanging of the portrait of the Honorable Cynthia D. Kinser, retired chief justice, in the courtroom. The portrait of the first woman named chief justice in Virginia hangs near that of the late Chief Justice Leroy R. Hassell Sr., the first African-American chief justice of the commonwealth. The VBA has facilitated the donation, from families, of 22 portraits and commissioned, paid for and donated 38 others to the state art collection.

See the Facebook photo album of the portrait celebration and the portrait itself
11th annual Legal Food Frenzy awards reception

LFF awards. July 2017 Voice
Top donors in 12 categories were invited to a ceremony and reception June 28 at the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia. The Legal Food Frenzy Project of the VBA Young Lawyers Division has worked in conjunction with the Federation of Virginia Food Banks and the Office of the Attorney General to present the two-week challenge each spring for 11 years now.

See the Facebook photo album.

LFF award winners-July 2017 Voice
Upcoming events

2017 VBA Summer Meeting
JULY 20-22 - If you booked your rooms but haven't already registered for the 127th Summer Meeting at The Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, please register now. Find details on the event webpage, vba.org/vbasummer17.

SEPT. 14-16 - Book rooms now for the 47th Annual Conference on Labor Relations and Employment Law. This multiday event will take place at the Hilton Norfolk The Main. The special conference room rate is good through Aug. 22. Program details and meeting registration details will be added to the event page closer to the event.

SEPT. 25 - The Joint ADR Committee of the Virginia State Bar and The Virginia Bar Association is planning a symposium in Richmond that seeks to offer 5 hours of CLE and CME credit. See what's on the agenda for "A Place at the Table: Symposium on Attracting 21st Century Clients and Efficiently Solving Their Problems."

SEPT. 27 - VBA Legislative Day is when section and committee representatives, the lobbying team and the VBA Board of Governors gather to present and hear 2018 legislative proposals. Proposal forms for law changes should be submitted to Yvonne McGhee by email no later than Sept. 13.

SEPT. 28 - The Omni Richmond Hotel is the site of the 19th Annual Corporate Counsel Fall Forum. Express your interest and receive email updates about the event as details become available.
Insurance corner: Did you know?

Virginia Barristers Alliance Inc. logo Did you know that Virginia Barristers Alliance Inc. returns profits to The Virginia Bar Association to help support programs, services and year-round advocacy for attorneys? Wouldn't you prefer that your business support your profession? We would be happy to help analyze your firm's exposure and provide insurance solutions. Please contact Virginia Barristers Alliance Inc. (VBAI) or call 1-800-358-7987 and let's get started. Who better to help you than an agency founded by lawyers, for lawyers?
Legal Elite ballot nominations continue through July 26

Virginia Business' Legal Elite logo
Virginia Business magazine is soliciting nominations for the 18th annual Legal Elite program. The program was begun in collaboration with the VBA, and the magazine has sought VBA input on practice specialties to include. Nominees should represent the Virginia lawyers that you regard as the most effective in the 18 practice specialties listed on the 2017 ballot. Online voting is open to all licensed lawyers in Virginia. The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, July 26. 
Member news

Roanoke Bar Assn president
Kevin Walker Holt is now president of the Roanoke Bar Association. He is a partner with Gentry Locke Attorneys, focusing his practice on commercial, employment, ERISA and intellectual property litigation.

James R. Harvey III was named president of the Norfolk and Portsmouth Bar Association. He is a partner and executive board member with Vandeventer Black LLP in Norfolk. Harvey is a past chair of the VBA's Construction and Public Contracts Section and serves as chair of the Norfolk Board of Zoning Appeals.

July 2017 Voice
At the Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting in June, Doris H. Causey was installed as president and Leonard C. Heath Jr. was sworn in as president-elect. Causey is managing attorney of the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc.'s Richmond office and also serves on the Old Dominion Bar Association's executive committee. Heath is a partner at Heath, Overbey, Verser & Old PLC in Newport News. He is a former president of the Newport News Bar Association and serves on its board of directors, and is a member of the Williamsburg Bar Association.

July 2017 Voice
Life Member J. Rudy Austin marked his 50th anniversary with the Roanoke firm Gentry Lock Attorneys. Managing partner Monica Taylor Monday said, "Rudy exemplifies what is best in Virginia lawyers. He is wise, is courteous to everyone with whom he deals, maintains the highest standards of professionalism and ethics, and is fiercely committed to his clients. With more than 50 years in practice, Rudy is also a virtual encyclopedia of legal knowledge, and has devoted thousands of hours to mentoring young lawyers at Gentry Locke."

Richard Cullen has been hired by Vice President Mike Pence to serve as his outside counsel in congressional and criminal probes. Cullen, the chairman of McGuireWoods LLP and a senior litigation partner, served as Virginia attorney general from 1997-98 and as the chief federal prosecutor in Virginia's Eastern District in the 1990s before returning to private practice.

In Memoriam
Life Member Everette G. "Buddy" Allen Jr. died May 29 at age 76. A law school graduate of the University of Virginia, he practiced law for more than 50 years -- most recently as partner and shareholder with LeClairRyan in Richmond -- and was elected into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from his undergraduate alma mater, Randolph-Macon College, in 2012.

Life Member George Clemon Freeman Jr. died June 26 at age 88. He spent his legal career at what is now Hunton & Williams LLP in Richmond, with a focus on energy and environmental law. He earned an LL.B at Yale Law School and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in the 1950s.

J. Waverly Pulley III died July 2, just two days after retiring from Hunton & Williams LLP. He practiced corporate, banking and finance law at the firm for 45 years and helped create and implement Virginia's Public Private Transportation Act.

Frank N. Perkinson Jr., a Life Member of the VBA, died June 24 at age 90. He practiced law in Roanoke for 56 years. He also served on Roanoke City Council in the late 1960s and formerly worked as an FBI special agent.
Say hello to the 3 new or reactivating members who joined the VBA in June . Welcome!
The VBA Foundation depends on you

Gifts in memory or in honor of colleagues, friends and/or family members provide a living, continuing tribute and are welcomed by The Virginia Bar Association Foundation. If you haven't contributed yet this year, please consider doing so by July 31 for inclusion in the upcoming issue of the VBA Journal. Your support of The Virginia Bar Association Foundation makes it possible to enhance several VBA activities. Thank you for your generosity.
The Virginia Bar Association is the first and largest statewide voluntary bar for lawyers, judges and law professors.
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