May 14, 2025
Local and Specialty Bar Associations Receive 2025 Awards of Merit
The Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations has recognized four projects completed by four individual bar associations with Awards of Merit.
This competition is designed to recognize outstanding projects and programs of local and specialty bar associations; share successful programming ideas and resources with all bar associations; encourage greater service to the bench, bar, and public; and inform the public about some of the excellent work of local and specialty bars and the legal profession in general.
This year’s Awards of Merit winners are:
Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association
Volunteer Lawyer Program: Serving Central American Youth
This region in central Virginia is home to many young people who have fled Central America seeking family reunification. Because of expected and ongoing changes to immigration legal policy, lawyers participating in the program expressed an interest in supporting these children. Some of these children are enduring high-risk transitions in their lives, but they are also full of potential, capable of transforming communities with their skills. The Charlottesville Albemarle Bar Association is driven by the goal of connecting them to resources, legal and otherwise, to ensure that they are successful as they integrate into society.
Richmond Bar Association
Summer Associate Program
The Richmond Bar Association's Summer Associate Program offers summer associates the opportunity to connect with local attorneys and judges, learn more about the legal community in Richmond, and explore the benefits of RBA membership. Designed to be both welcoming and informative, the program includes a breakfast and, more recently, a social, and encourages early professional engagement through networking, mentorship, and exposure to the Richmond Bar's broader mission.
Roanoke Bar Association
Centennial Community Project
2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the Roanoke Bar Association. In recognition of this milestone event, the RBA chose to support a much-needed request by the Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley (LASRV) for assistance with moving their offices to a new location. In addition to covering the cost of the physical office move, the RBA funded items on a wish list that improved the security and the efficiency of the office. Those items included new office furniture, the upgrading of the server, computers, and office technology. Cameras, monitors, doorbells, and speakers were installed. Additional security measures included implementing a keyless entry system, installing a VOIP telephone system. The LASRV benefits and serves the approximately 21,415 impoverished persons living in the Roanoke area.
Loudoun Chapter – Virginia Women Attorneys Association
Good Walks
The Loudoun VWAA Good Walks event was a pilot program for the chapter to raise funds in support of a cause or need relevant to the Loudoun Chapter. A team of walkers was organized using an event app, and funds were raised in honor of Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton in her battle with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Each walker raised and solicited funds, and the team then walked a 2.5-mile trail at a local park. All net proceeds will be donated to PSP research. The goal is to have all chapters of the VWAA organize their respective teams, which would raise money for the respective chapters' local needs, and all chapters would walk on the same day across Virginia.