List of presidents of the Virginia Bar Association

President of the Virginia Bar Association
Seal of the VBA
Incumbent Kimberlee Harris Ramsey since January 25, 2025
Member of	Virginia Bar Association
Nominator	Board of Governors
Appointer	Direct popular vote by the members of the association
Term length	One year
Constituting instrument	Bylaws of The Virginia Bar Association [1]
Formation	July 6, 1888 (136 years ago) (1888-07-06)
First holder	William J. Robertson
Website	Official website

The president of The Virginia Bar Association is the chief executive officer of the Virginia Bar Association (VBA), the Commonwealth's voluntary statewide bar association. The president is the Association's chief spokesman and presides at all meetings of its members. Every year, a slate of candidates are nominated by the organization's Board of Governors. At the annual full meeting of the Association's members, a president-elect is chosen by direct popular vote from among the nominees. At the adjournment of the succeeding year's annual meeting, the president-elect is then sworn in as president. In the event of an emergency such as the death or resignation of the president elected as above, the president-elect discharges the duties of the president. If the president-elect is not available to succeed the president, a temporary replacement is appointed by the Board of Governors, and, if necessary, both a new president and president-elect are elected at the next annual meeting. ^[1]

After the VBA's foundation in July 1888, William J. Robertson of Charlottesville became its first president. The presidency has a term of only one year. From 1888 to 1975, the VBA annual meeting was held during the summer. From 1975 onwards, it has been held in January.

A total of 137 people have served as the president of the Virginia Bar Association since its formation. Kimberlee Harris Ramsey is the current president. ^[2]

List of presidents

List of presidents from 1888 to 2025

No.	Year(s) of Presidency	Name	Portrait	Residence	Reference(s)
1	1888–1889	William J. Robertson		Charlottesville	[2]
2	1889–1890	Robert Garlick Hill Kean		Lynchburg	[2]
3	1890–1891	Edward C. Burks		Bedford	[2]
4	1891–1892	John Randolph Tucker		Lexington	[2]
5	1892–1893	Robert T. Barton		Winchester	[2]
6	1893–1894	Waller Redd Staples		Christiansburg	[2]
7	1894–1895	Charles Minor Blackford		Lynchburg	[2]
8	1895–1896	Robert M. Hughes		Norfolk	[2]
9	1896–1897	William Wirt Henry		Richmond	[2]
10	1897–1898	William B. Pettit		Palmyra	[2]
11	1898–1899	John Goode		Bedford	[2]
12	1899–1900	William J. Leake		Richmond	[2]
13	1900	William Alexander Anderson		Lexington	[2]
14	1900–1901	Lunsford L. Lewis		Richmond	[2]
15	1901–1902	Thomas C. Elder		Staunton	[2]
16	1902–1903	Samuel C. Graham		Tazewell	[2]
17	1903–1904	Alexander Hamilton		Petersburg	[2]
18	1904–1905	Alfred P. Thom		Norfolk	[2]
19	1905–1906	Archer Allen Phlegar		Bristol	[2]
20	1906–1907	Allen Caperton Braxton		Staunton	[2]
21	1907–1908	Wyndham R. Meredith		Richmond	[2]
22	1908–1909	Micajah Woods		Charlottesville	[2]
23	1909–1910	R. Walton Moore		Fredericksburg	[2]
24	1910–1911	George Llewellyn Christian		Richmond	[2]
25	1911–1912	Joshua Fry Bullitt Jr.		Big Stone Gap	[2]
26	1912–1913	William Minor Lile		Charlottesville	[2]
27	1913–1914	Samuel Griffin		Bedford	[2]
28	1914–1915	Legh R. Watts		Portsmouth	[2]
29	1915–1916	Eppa Hunton Jr.		Richmond	[2]
30	1916	John B. Jenkins		Norfolk	[2]
31	1916–1918	Harvey T. Hall		Roanoke	[2]
32	1918–1919	Lucien H. Cocke		Roanoke	[2]
33	1919–1920	Randolph Harrison		Lynchburg	[2]
34	1920–1921	Armistead C. Gordon		Staunton	[2]
35	1921–1922	A. W. Wallace		Fredericksburg	[2]
36	1922–1923	Edward P. Buford		Lawrenceville	[2]
37	1923–1924	George Bryan		Richmond	[2]
38	1924–1925	Robert B. Tunstall		Richmond	[2]
39	1925–1926	John Randolph Tucker		Richmond	[2]
40	1926–1927	R. Gray Williams		Winchester	[2]
41	1927–1928	James H. Corbitt		Suffolk	[2]
42	1928–1929	Whitwell W. Coxe		Roanoke	[2]
43	1929–1930	J. Gordon Bohannon		Petersburg	[2]
44	1930–1931	Robert L. Pennington		Bristol	[2]
45	1931–1932	Virginius R. Shackelford		Orange	[2]
46	1932–1933	James W. Gordon		Richmond	[2]
47	1933–1934	S. V. Kemp		Lynchburg	[2]
48	1934–1935	C. O'Conor Goolrick		Fredericksburg	[2]
49	1935–1936	Stuart Bland Campbell		Wytheville	[2]
50	1936–1937	James Green Martin		Norfolk	[2]
51	1937–1938	Frank W. Rogers		Roanoke	[2]
52	1938–1939	Lewis Catlett Williams		Richmond	[2]
53	1939–1940	Robert O. Norris Jr.		Lively	[2]
54	1940–1941	Kennon C. Whittle		Martinsville	[2]
55	1941–1942	William A. Stuart		Abingdon	[2]
56	1942–1943	George E. Haw		Richmond	[2]
57	1943–1944	Christopher B. Garnett		Arlington	[2]
58	1944–1946	Howard C. Gilmer Jr.		Pulaski	[2]
59	1946–1947	Thomas B. Gay		Richmond	[2]
60	1947–1948	John L. Walker		Roanoke	[2]
61	1948–1949	David Nelson Sutton		West Point	[2]
62	1949–1950	James S. Easley		Halifax	[2]
63	1950–1951	W. R. Broaddus Jr.		Martinsville	[2]
64	1951–1952	Alex W. Parker		Richmond	[2]
65	1952–1953	Fred B. Greear		Norton	[2]
66	1953–1954	T. Justin Moore		Richmond	[2]
67	1954–1955	Michael B. Wagenheim		Norfolk	[2]
68	1955–1956	F. D. G. Ribble		Charlottesville	[2]
69	1956–1957	Edwin B. Meade		Danville	[2]
70	1957–1958	J. Sloan Kuykendall		Winchester	[2]
71	1958–1959	David J. Mays		Richmond	[2]
72	1959–1960	William P. Dickson Jr.		Norfolk	[2]
73	1960–1961	Robert J. McCandlish Jr.		Fairfax	[2]
74	1961–1962	William T. Muse		Richmond	[2]
75	1962–1963	Waldo G. Miles		Bristol	[2]
76	1963–1964	Thomas C. Gordon		Richmond	[2]
77	1964–1965	Virginius R. Shackelford Jr.		Orange	[2]
78	1965–1966	George M. Cochran		Staunton	[2]
79	1966–1967	A. C. Epps		Richmond	[2]
80	1967–1968	William A. Moncure		Alexandria	[2]
81	1968–1969	George R. C. Stuart		Abingdon	[2]
82	1969–1970	Toy D. Savage Jr.		Norfolk	[2]
83	1970–1971	E. Waller Dudley		Alexandria	[2]
84	1971–1972	John S. Davenport III		Richmond	[2]
85	1972–1973	Vernon M. Geddy Jr.		Williamsburg	[2]
86	1973–1975	W. Gibson Harris		Richmond	[2]
87	1975	Thomas V. Monahan		Winchester	[2]
88	1976	William B. Spong Jr.		Portsmouth	[2]
89	1977	A. Hugo Blankingship Jr.		Fairfax	[2]
90	1978	Edward R. Slaughter Jr.		Charlottesville	[2]
91	1979	Jesse B. Wilson III		Fairfax	[2]
92	1980	Lorenzo Lee Bean Jr.		Arlington	[2]
93	1981	Hugh L. Patterson		Norfolk	[2]
94	1982	John F. Kay Jr.		Richmond	[2]
95	1983	John L. Walker Jr.		Roanoke	[2]
96	1984	George G. Grattan IV		Earlysville	[2]
97	1985	Evans B. Brasfield		Richmond	[2]
98	1986	Edmund L. Walton Jr.		McLean	[2]
99	1987	R. Gordon Smith		Richmond	[2]
100	1988	John M. Ryan		Norfolk	[2]
101	1989	Thomas T. Lawson		Roanoke	[2]
102	1990	F. Claiborne Johnston Jr.		Richmond	[2]
103	1991	Allen C. Goolsby		Richmond	[2]
104	1992	Thomas C. Brown Jr.		McLean	[2]
105	1993	Whittington W. Clement		Danville	[2]
106	1994	M. Langhorne Keith		Fairfax	[2]
107	1995	R. Terrence Ney		Fairfax	[2]
108	1996	Douglas P. Rucker Jr.		Richmond	[2]
109	1997	Phillip C. Stone Sr.		Bridgewater	[2]
110	1998	G. Franklin Flippin		Roanoke	[2]
111	1999	David Craig Landin		Richmond	[2]
112	2000	Anita O. Poston		Norfolk	[2]
113	2001	Jeanne F. Franklin		Alexandria	[2]
114	2002	J. Edward Betts		Richmond	[2]
115	2003	Frank A. Thomas III		Orange	[2]
116	2004	E. Tazewell Ellett		Alexandria	[2]
117	2005	James V. Meath		Richmond	[2]
118	2006	William R. Van Buren III		Norfolk	[2]
119	2007	Glenn C. Lewis		Washington, D.C.	[2]
120	2008	G. Michael Pace Jr.		Roanoke	[2]
121	2009	John D. Epps		Richmond	[2]
122	2010	Stephen D. Busch		Richmond	[2]
123	2011	Lucia Anna Trigiani		Alexandria	[2]
124	2012	Hugh M. Fain III		Richmond	[2]
125	2013	Thomas R. Bagby		Roanoke	[2]
126	2014	John L. Walker III		Richmond	[3]
127	2015	Harry M. Johnson III		Richmond	[4]
128	2016	James Patrick Guy II		Richmond	[5]
129	2017	David S. Mercer		Alexandria	[6]
130	2018	C. J. Steuart Thomas III		Staunton	[7]
131	2019	Richard E. Garriott Jr.		Virginia Beach	[8]
132	2020	Alison M. McKee		Virginia Beach	[9]
133	2021	Richard H. Ottinger		Norfolk	[10]
134	2022	Victor O. Cardwell		Roanoke	[11]
135	2023	Benjamin D. Leigh		Leesburg	[12]
136	2024	W. Ryan Snow		Norfolk	[13]
137	2025	Kimberlee Harris Ramsey		Richmond	[14]

See also

• List of presidents of the American Bar Association

References

1. "Bylaws of The Virginia Bar Association". Virginia Bar Association. January 21, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
2. "History". Virginia Bar Association. 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
3. "VBA Installs John L. Walker III as President". Virginia Bar Association. January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
4. "VBA Installs 'Pete' Johnson as President". Virginia Bar Association. January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
5. "VBA Installs 128th VBA President; New Leadership". Virginia Bar Association. January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
6. "VBA Installs Officers, Including David S. Mercer as 129th President". Virginia Bar Association. January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
7. "Steuart Thomas Becomes 130th VBA President". Virginia Bar Association. January 29, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
8. "Richard E. Garriott Jr. Becomes 131st VBA President". Virginia Bar Association. January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
9. "VBA Installs Alison M. McKee As 132nd President". Virginia Bar Association. January 27, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
10. "VBA Inducts 2021 Officers, Welcomes New Board Members". Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
11. "Victor O. Cardwell Installed as 134th VBA President". Virginia Bar Association. January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
12. "VBA Installs Benjamin D. Leigh as 135th President". Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
13. "W. Ryan Snow Installed as 136th VBA President". Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
14. "Kimberlee Harris Ramsey Installed as 137th VBA President". Virginia Bar Association. January 31, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

External links

• Virginia Bar Association