The Virginia Bar Association                                                               June 4, 2013
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 The independent voice of Virginia lawyers 
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Advocacy, Professionalism,

Service, Collegiality

In This Issue
Who Wins? The Hungry.
Note about Renewals
Give to The VBA Foundation
Try it! VBA Online CLE
May Conferences
Judgeship Candidate Review
Get Involved!
Welcome, New Members

 

7th Annual Legal Food Frenzy 2013   

The winners are the hungry
The numbers, as they have been for several years, are impressive. This year's Seventh Annual Legal Food Frenzy saw 183 legal departments and law schools raise the equivalent of nearly 1.5 million pounds of food. Since the first statewide contest, 10.02 million pounds has been collected to help Virginians who face hunger.

The 2013 Attorney General's Cup once again goes to the firm of B. Cullen Gibson. Its first-place showing came by raising 17,550 pounds of food per employee. This is the third straight year the Norfolk firm raised the most in April during the two-week Legal Food Frenzy.

Winners in 11 other categories will be recognized at a reception in the Executive Mansion this month.

The Legal Food Frenzy is a collaborative effort of the attorney general's office, the Federation of Virginia Food Banks and The Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

  
  
Upcoming events
July 18-21
Hot Springs, VA 

Save the date 

Oct. 4-5
VBA YLD Fall Executive Council Meeting
Millwood, VA 

Oct. 16
Richmond

Oct. 24-26 
Virginia Beach

Oct. 25-26 
Boyd-Graves Conference 
(invitation only)

 
 

 

A note about renewals
If your colleagues or friends missed this issue of The VBA Voice, it may be because they haven't paid their 2013 dues.

After sending a few unanswered invoices, the VBA staff changes the status of these individuals from active to inactive. Their member benefits end.

So if a co-worker asks you what the VBA is up to because their membership lapsed or they haven't yet joined, encourage them to apply and get involved.

It's easy. Find details at vba.org/join.
  
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We encourage you to forward The VBA Voice to folks who have not yet joined the Association. And join us on our social media sites.
  
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Consider a gift in 2013 
to The VBA Foundation 
Your generosity supports the good works of the VBA. We thank these generous contributors who make our programs a reality.
Donate Now button -- The VBA Foundation
Donations to The Virginia Bar Association Foundation support educational and charitable programs and projects of the VBA. Grants help finance Law School Council educational advancement, and the Legal Food Frenzy Project, among others.
 
VBA Online CLE logo 
CLE-approved! On-demand!
  
If you need a few CLE credits or want to catch up on a VBA program you missed, check out VBA Online CLE. Watch a video or listen to the audio of some of the best programming for Virginia attorneys, organized by your peers in the VBA.

  

As a valued member of the VBA, you receive a discount. Non-members also can enjoy these quality presentations.  

  

 The VBA Voice

The calendar moves to another month, spring morphs into summer, and the busiest part of the VBA year draws nearer.
 
2013 VBA Summer Meeting image We hope you've received the 123rd Summer Meeting brochure in the mail. Take a look at the value packed into a three-day gathering. VBA sections, divisions, committees and staff have planned a can't-miss meeting. Whether you attend every summer or are considering your initial visit, we look forward to you joining us.   
  
Beyond the Summer Meeting span additional opportunities to serve and celebrate.  
  
Health Law conference kicks off May meetings
Concern about health care isn't just reflected in today's headlines. Interest in health law changes prompted a 36 percent rise in attendance at this year's Virginia Health Law Legislative Update and Extravaganza. More than 120 lawyers registered for the event last month, compared with 90 at the annual event in May 2012.
2013 Virginia Health Law Legislative Update
The VBA Health Law Section also collaborated with Virginia CLE to present a pair of two-hour teleconferences on compliance with the new HIPAA/HITECH Act Omnibus Rule.

May also saw the annual VBA Bankruptcy Law Conference and the Young Lawyers Division Spring Executive Council meeting, both in Duck, N.C., and an Administrative Law Section social to encourage membership.
 

VBA committee to review judgeship candidates

Seal, US District Court, Eastern District of Va.
The VBA has heeded a request by Virginia's U.S. Senators to provide input on candidates for an expected federal judgeship. The VBA Committee on Federal Judgeships -- Eastern District will review applicants to succeed Judge James Spencer, who plans to take senior status in March 2014. Interested individuals should submit the VSB questionnaire (vsb.org), a resume or CV, and a writing sample by email to VBA Executive Director Yvonne McGhee. The deadline for submissions is 4 p.m. Friday, June 7.  

 


Interested in joining the Board of Governors?
VBA Grand Divisions map
                                
If you have been looking for a chance to take an organization-wide leadership role, this could be your opportunity.

The terms of six Board of Governors members expire at the VBA Annual Meeting in January. The Governance Committee of the board would like to receive nominations from the membership to serve. Board terms run three years and include members from every Grand Division.

Board vacancies will occur in Tidewater, Blue Ridge and Capitol regions, as well as one at-large position currently held by a member in the Southwest region. Click the map to see a scalable PDF image of the VBA Grand Divisions.

Nominations should be made before June 21 by sending an email to Executive Director Yvonne McGhee. Please state why you are interested in serving the VBA and list your VBA involvement to date.


Miscellany

PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS: The Supreme Court of Virginia welcomes comments on proposed changes to Rule 3A:11, related to discovery in criminal cases. Comments should be submitted by July 1. Email [email protected] and put "comment on criminal discovery Rule" in the subject line.
 
Mike Drzal. Photo by Rampone Art & Photography RUBY AWARDEE: Longtime VBA member Michael P. Drzal of LeClairRyan in Blacksburg and Roanoke, received the 2013 Ruby Award from the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council. The award honors role models who are valuable assets in the region. Drzal chairs LeClairRyan's venture capital practice and serves as outside general counsel to emerging companies. Council officials cited his leadership with the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Blueprint, a roadmap to nuture an entrepreneurial climate, in recognizing him with the award.

G. Michael Pace Jr. Photo by Mark Rhodes JOINS ROANOKE COLLEGE: Former VBA President G. Michael Pace Jr. will become general counsel at Roanoke College on July 1. Pace, who joined Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore in 1984 and served as managing partner from 1999-2012, will continue to practice at the firm in an of counsel role. He will continue teaching as an adjunct professor at the college and keep the role of president and CEO at The Center for Teaching the Rule of Law, which has offices on the college campus in Salem.

CHAMBERS USA: Thirteen VBA members are among the 20 Williams Mullen attorneys included in the 2013 list of Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Rankings include interviews with clients and attorneys to assess technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service and other valued qualities. They are Ralph Axselle Jr., William Bayliss, David Burton, Robert Cox, William Devine, Thomas Frantz, Howard Gordon, Lynn Jacob, Catherine Marriott, Channing Martin, James Meath, William Old Jr. and Nelson Wilkinson.

Lori D. Thompson photo LOCAL BAR LEADER OF THE YEAR: VBA Board of Governors member Lori D. Thompson is one of two Local Bar Leaders of the Year. The honor comes from the Conference of Local Bar Associations of the Virginia State Bar. The award recognizes continued dedication of bar leaders and close cooperation with the VSB. Thompson, of LeClairRyan in Roanoke, was president of the Roanoke Bar Association in 2011-12 and chair of the Roanoke Law Foundation. She is a former chair of the VBA Young Lawyers Division.

NEW TO FIRM: Goodman Allen & Filetti welcomes as a principal of the firm Stephanie Karn, formerly a partner at McGuireWoods. The employment and securities attorney has been a VBA member continuously since 1996.

A BIT OF HOLLYWOOD: Add two more credits to Thomas F. Farrell II's resume: script co-writer and movie co-producer. VBA member Farrell, the chairman, president and CEO of Dominion Resources Inc., worked with a fellow University of Virginia graduate on the project, which is set to start filming at Virginia Military Institute this week. Tentatively titled "Field of Lost Shoes," the film is about VMI cadets' "heroic charge at the Battle of New Market during the Civil War," according to a newspaper article.      



Welcome, new members
During May, 14 individuals joined or reactivated their membership with the VBA. Thanks for getting (re)acquainted!

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Summer Meeting