October 1, 2024

M. Bryan Slaughter Receives 2024 Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award

Bryan Slaughter has been awarded the 2024 Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award, given by the Access to Legal Services Committee of the Virginia State Bar to honor an attorney who has made outstanding pro bono contributions in the Commonwealth.

Slaughter, a partner of MichieHamlett in Charlottesville, was nominated by the Honorable Stephen R. McCullough, justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and judicial co-chair of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission.  

In his nomination, Justice McCullough said, “Bryan is a member of the Access to Justice Commission, and he chairs the Commission's pro bono campaign. In that capacity, he has spent countless hours skillfully and thoughtfully advancing the cause of pro bono. When he was president of the VTLA, he led the development of its pro bono strategic plan. He helped create the Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association's Volunteer Lawyer Program. He has served on the Boards of the Legal Aid Justice Center and the Virginia Poverty Law Center. His devotion to, and impact on, the cause of Access to Justice and to pro bono has been nothing short of extraordinary.”  

Former VSB President Stephanie E. Grana of Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci in Richmond seconded the nomination, writing, “I have known Bryan for 30 years as we both handle similar catastrophic cases for injured persons. In addition to his busy legal practice, Bryan takes the time to give back to his local community AND encourages others to do the same. He is a friend, a colleague, and a shining example for other attorneys."

Slaughter is a member of the Virginia and West Virginia state bars. He practices across Virginia, and he has tried cases throughout the East Coast. He graduated from the University of Virginia and Washington and Lee University School of Law. A noted lecturer and author on various topics involving products liability and personal injury law, Slaughter is also a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Virginia Law Foundation.    

The Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award is named for the Suffolk native and justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who once stated, “Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court…It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.”  

The Powell Award will be presented to Bryan Slaughter during the VSB Pro Bono Conference in Williamsburg on October 16.