Lawyer Login [Top Right Link of the Bar Website]
Register with the bar (you’ll need your VSB ID number) for access to
Fastcase legal research, check and certify your MCLE compliance
information, edit your address of record, enroll in an online public
directory, sign up for the VSB’s monthly email newsletter, and download
forms, including dues renewal, Consumer Real Estate Settlement
Protection Act compliance forms, and more.
Follow the VSB on:
An inexpensive resource to advertise a new law practice and expand an
existing client base, the VLRS is also a way to educate the public about
their rights and establish a new client-attorney relationship.
This site includes free and nominal fee training opportunities for public
interest lawyers and pro bono attorneys as well as volunteer
opportunities, and contact information for Virginia’s legal aid societies
and public defender offices.
Be familiar with the Rules and Regulations governing the profession. Failure to adhere to the Rules will result in disciplinary action.
Free confidential risk management advice for new and seasoned Virginia lawyers with concerns or questions about the day-to-day practice of law, ranging from office sharing to appellate issues to malpractice claims, and everything in between.
Mediation and/or arbitration services are available to assist attorneys
and their clients when they have disagreements over fees.
A full list of all available publications sorted by topic, and relevance to lawyers.
This guide is presented by the Virginia State Bar's Special Committee on Lawyer
Insurance to assist lawyers in purchasing professional liability
insurance
The legal malpractice insurance market is complex and offers many
different options for Virginia lawyers. Exercise caution and good judgment
when you compare your options to make sure that you and your client are
going to be protected if, and when, a claim is presented.
There are 20 practice sections in the Virginia State Bar. Section
membership is open to all Virginia lawyers in good standing. Many sections
also have law student and associate memberships. The sections are
supported by dues that range from $10 to $35.
There are four conferences in the Virginia State Bar. Conference
membership is open to all Virginia lawyers meeting that conferences requirements. The conferences are Young Lawyers, Senior Lawyers, Diversity, and the Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations.
All active and associate Virginia State Bar lawyers in good standing age
36 and under, as well as lawyers admitted to the Virginia State Bar as
their initial bar for fewer than three years, are automatically members of
the Young Lawyers Conference. The YLC is involved in several projects
through which new Virginia lawyers can participate in the governance of
the Virginia State Bar, serve the profession and the public, and enhance
public awareness of the legal profession.
There are more than 132 voluntary local and statewide
bar associations in the state of Virginia representing various
jurisdictions, practice types, and specialty groups.
You may practice law once you have received a license by the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners, have paid the required dues to the VSB, and are an active member in good standing. See Va. Code §§54.1-3900 and 3910. Every person licensed by the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners or admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Virginia shall register with the Virginia State Bar within one year after licensure or admission if they intend to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Va. S. Ct. R., Part 6, §IV, ¶ 2(a). However, you may not appear in any court in the Commonwealth until you are "sworn in," i.e., administered the oath of qualification by the Supreme Court of Virginia or qualified by an individual court to practice only in that court. See Va. Code §54.1-3903. If you are not yet "sworn in," but are an active member in good standing of the VSB, you may engage in the practice of law but may not appear in court on behalf of a client. The admissions ceremony at the Supreme Court of Virginia qualifies you to practice in any court in the Commonwealth, but not any federal or bankruptcy courts sitting in Virginia. You must be separately admitted to the federal and bankruptcy courts. Note that the signing and filing of a pleading with a court is an appearance in that court and you must be admitted to practice in that court to do so.
Find this and more about legal ethics practice and the law on the Legal Ethics homepage.
ALPS is the Virginia State Bar-endorsed carrier of legal malpractice
insurance.
Confidential, nondisciplinary help for lawyers, judges, and law students
with substance abuse or mental health problems.
The Virginia State Bar Members Insurance Center is a full-service
consultant for health and other insurance benefits focused solely on
Virginia State Bar lawyers.
The official website for the Commonwealth's court systems. You can sign up
for email alerts, file court documents, and search records.