Virginia State Bar

Last updated
Virginia State Bar
TypeIntegrated Bar
Headquarters Richmond, Virginia
Location
  • United States
Membership
51,848 in 2022 [1]
Website Official website

The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. [2] Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. [3] The VSB is thus an integrated bar.

Contents

Organization

The VSB is governed by its Council and Executive Committee, whose members are elected or appointed from the judicial circuits in the Commonwealth. [4]

The Virginia Lawyer magazine, which includes the Virginia Lawyer Register, is the official publication of the VSB, distributed to lawyers, judges, general subscribers, law libraries, other state bar associations and the media. VSB publishes numerous pamphlets, handbooks and other publications to aid members and the public. For 45 years, the VSB has also run the Virginia Lawyer Referral Service that provides callers to the service with the name of an attorney who practices in the caller's requested area of the law, and in the caller's geographic area. [5]

The VSB is to be distinguished from the Virginia Bar Association, a voluntary organization. [6]

History

The predecessor to the VSB was the Virginia State Bar Association (VSBA), a voluntary statewide organization founded in 1888 to promote the ethical practice of law in Virginia. The VSBA worked with the legislature to establish a mandatory state affiliated agency. In 1938 the Virginia General Assembly passed a law (and the governor signed) establishing the VSB, and delegating to it the power to issue regulatory opinions that are incorporated into the Code of Virginia. [3] The Virginia State Bar Association continued as a voluntary association, renaming itself the Virginia Bar Association. [7]

The Virginia State Bar reviews complaints against lawyers. There are 17 disciplinary district committees, operating in subcommittees, that review bar complaints in their jurisdiction and determine whether there is sufficient evidence of a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct, and if so, what the appropriate disposition on the complaint is. The committees speak through their orders, posted online. [8]

In 1963, the VSB was involved in litigation before the United States Supreme Court. In NAACP v. Button, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Virginia Bar's attempt to use lawyer ethics laws against the NAACP, which was litigating against Virginia school districts as well as state agencies which had adopted a policy of Massive Resistance to the Brown v. Board of Education decisions. The following year the Supreme Court again decided against the Virginia Bar, this time for its prosecution of a union's referral practices in Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar. [9] In Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (1975), the bar's minimum fee schedules were stricken down on antitrust grounds, notwithstanding the bar's status as an agency of the Virginia courts. In 1978, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 'Virginia State Bar v. Surety Title Insurance Agency, Inc.,' 571 F.2d 205 (4th Cir. 1978) was faced with the bar's attempt to regulate non-lawyer employees of title insurance companies. [10]

Ethics Policy Change

In 2000, [11] the Rules of Professional Conduct [12] replaced the "Code of Professional Responsibility" [13] as the rules governing lawyers’ conduct.

Related Research Articles

A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence. The word bar is derived from the old English/European custom of using a physical railing to separate the area in which court business is done from the viewing area for the general public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Bar of California</span> Californias official attorney licensing agency

The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate discipline, accepting attorney-member fees, and financially distributing sums paid through attorney trust accounts to fund nonprofit legal entities. It is directly responsible to the Supreme Court of California; however, its Trustees are now appointed by the Supreme Court, the California Legislature, and Governor of California. All attorney admissions are issued as recommendations of the State Bar, which are then routinely ratified by the Supreme Court. Attorney discipline is handled by the State Bar Office of Chief Trial Counsel, which acts as prosecutor before the State Bar Court of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Bar Association</span>

The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provides services to its members such as assistance in law office management, promotes or opposes selected state legislation and the administration of justice, and publishes the VBA Journal. It is to be distinguished from the Virginia State Bar, which is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Virginia is one of three states that has both a statewide voluntary and mandatory bar association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Bar of Texas</span> Bar Association

The State Bar of Texas is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Texas. With more than 100,000 active members, the State Bar of Texas is one of the largest state bars in the United States. Unlike the American Bar Association (ABA), the State Bar of Texas (SBOT) is a mandatory bar. The State Bar is headquartered in the Texas Law Center at 1414 Colorado Street in Austin.

The State Bar of Arizona is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Arizona. The Arizona Supreme Court licenses lawyers, while the State Bar administers the regulation of the practice of law. The State Bar, under the direction of the Court, establishes procedures for the discipline of lawyer misconduct and provides education and development programs for the legal profession and the public. Through the Rules of The Supreme Court of Arizona, the privilege to practice law in Arizona is granted solely to "active member[s] of the state bar."

The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) is the state bar association of the U.S. state of Washington. It operates under the delegated authority of the Washington Supreme Court to license the state's nearly 41,000 active and inactive lawyers and other legal professionals. In furtherance of its obligation to protect and serve the public, the WSBA regulates lawyers and other legal professionals and serves its members as a professional association. The WSBA's mission is to serve the public and the members of the Bar, to ensure the integrity of the legal profession, and to champion justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama State Bar</span> Bar Association

The Alabama State Bar is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Alabama.

The Oregon State Bar Association (OSBA) is a public corporation and instrumentality of the Oregon Judicial Department in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 1890 as the private Oregon Bar Association, it became a public entity in 1935 that regulates the legal profession. The public corporation is part of the Oregon Judicial Department.

Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773 (1975), was a U.S. Supreme Court decision. It stated that lawyers engage in "trade or commerce" and hence ended the legal profession's exemption from antitrust laws.

NAACP v. Button, 371 U.S. 415 (1963), is a 6-to-3 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the reservation of jurisdiction by a federal district court did not bar the U.S. Supreme Court from reviewing a state court's ruling, and also overturned certain laws enacted by the state of Virginia in 1956 as part of the Stanley Plan and massive resistance, as violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The statutes struck down by the Supreme Court had expanded the definitions of the traditional common law crimes of champerty and maintenance, as well as barratry, and had been targeted at the NAACP and its civil rights litigation.

The Alaska Bar Association is a mandatory bar association responsible for the Alaska Supreme Court and for the admission and discipline process of attorneys for the state of Alaska.

The Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The mission of the Louisiana State Bar Association is to assist and serve its members in the practice of law, assure access to and aid in the administration of justice, assist the Supreme Court in the regulation of the practice of law, uphold the honor of the courts and the profession, promote the professional competence of attorneys, increase public understanding of and respect for the law, and encourage collegiality among its members.

The State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license, the State Bar of Wisconsin aids the courts in improving the administration of justice, provides continuing legal education and other services for its members, and supports the education of law students. The SBW also provides public services, including attorney referrals, public education, and reduced-fee legal assistance for low-income state residents.

John Baker Boatwright was Virginia lawyer and member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Buckingham, Appomattox and Cumberland Counties for 38 years beginning in 1922. A member of the Byrd Organization, Boatwright became a leader of its Massive Resistance to racial integration.

Bar Council of Bihar is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the state of Bihar. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the state of Bihar and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

Bar Council of Gujarat is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the state of Gujarat. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the state of Gujarat and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

Bar Council of Rajasthan is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the state of Rajasthan. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the state of Rajasthan and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the state of Uttar Pradesh and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

Bar Council of Jharkhand is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for lawyers practicing law in the state of Jharkhand. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per Advocates Act, 1961 and Bar Council of India. In March 1953, S. R. Das as head of the 'All India Bar Committee', proposed the creation of the apex body as an All-India Bar Council and Bar council at state levels and submitted a report to the Central Government of India. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers practicing law in the state of Jharkhand and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs standards of professional conduct to be followed by members, and designs etiquettes and has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

References

  1. "Virginia State Bar: Membership Report" (PDF). Virginia State Bar. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  2. "Virginia State Bar: About the Bar". Virginia State Bar. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
  3. 1 2 "§ 24.2-119.1. Prohibition on discrimination in employment; penalty". law.lis.virginia.gov.
  4. "§ 54.1-3910. Organization and government of Virginia State Bar".
  5. "Lawyer Referral". Virginia State Bar. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017.
  6. "History - the Virginia Bar Association".
  7. "VBA History". Virginia Bar Association. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  8. "Virginia State Bar - Professional Regulation - Disciplinary System Actions".
  9. "Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar" via Wikisource.
  10. "Surety Title Insurance Agency, Inc. V. Virginia State Bar, 431 F. Supp. 298 | Casetext Search + Citator".
  11. "Virginia State Bar -". www.vsb.org.
  12. "The Virginia State Bar | Professional Guidelines".
  13. "Virginia State Bar -". www.vsb.org.