Every year, the Virginia State Bar[1] holds its Annual Meeting in Virginia Beach in June, and attorneys from around the state gather to meet, discuss legal issues, and go to Continuing Legal Education[2] seminars. I have attended the Annual Meeting every year since passing the bar examination and receiving my license. The Annual Meeting features several events sponsored by the Young Lawyers Conference (YLC) which is comprised of new and young lawyers. While the YLC programs are always well-organized, this year’s meeting was especially noteworthy due to the impressive number, and quality, of events the YLC hosted during the weekend. These activities included a 5K “Run In the Sun” along the boardwalk, a poolside reception at the Cavalier Oceanfront Hotel, the annual David T. Stitt memorial volleyball tournament, and a speech at our annual members meeting and luncheon from the incoming president of Virginia State Bar – this year, George Warren Shanks, Esquire. This year the YLC organized and sponsored a “Showcase CLE” Program that was a highlight of the weekend and very well-attended.
The Showcase CLE was entitled “Judiciary Squares–Interactive Review of Evidentiary Matters”, and was presented on Friday morning. Modeled after the “Hollywood Squares” game show, nine Virginia judges and justices served as “squares” and answered questions from contestants. The moderator was former Judge Stanley P. Kline, who asked each of the jurists (squares) an evidence-related question to which the jurist provided a response. It was up to the contestants to decide whether the jurist had provided the correct answer, and determining whether the answer was true or false was very challenging for the contestants and the audience.
This year’s Showcase CLE was a resounding success due largely to the efforts of the YLC Committee responsible for the event, headed by Joanna Foust, Esquire who was ably assisted by other members of that Committee. Additionally, special thanks must be given to the jurists for their graciousness in participating in the Program and for their entertaining and educational answers. The jurists were the Honorable Cynthia D. Kinser, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia; the Honorable B. Waugh Crigler, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Virginia, Charlottesville; the Honorable Joel C. Cunningham, Judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit Court in Halifax; the Honorable Barry G. Logsdon, a Judge in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Newport News; the Honorable Cleo E. Powell, a Judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals; the Honorable Angela E. Roberts, a Judge in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in the City of Richmond; the Honorable Deborah S. Rowe, Judge in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Hampton; the Honorable Beverly W. Snuckals, a Judge in the 13th Judicial Circuit in Richmond; and the Honorable Robert W. Woolridge, Jr., retired Judge of the Circuit Court of Fairfax County. As a member of the YLC Board of Governors, I would like to thank them all for donating their time, knowledge and enjoyable sense of humor during the competition. Their performance made this one of the best Showcase CLE’s the Annual Meeting has ever presented.
If you are a young lawyer and have never been to the Annual Meeting, I strongly encourage you to attend. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to network, learn, and take in some sun. There are many opportunities to volunteer, so if you are interested in becoming more active in the YLC[3] please feel free to contact me using the contact information provided. I wish you an enjoyable remainder of the summer, and hope to see you at next year’s Virginia State Bar Annual Meeting.
