The Standing Committee on Lawyer Discipline seeks active, in-good-standing lawyers and non-lawyers to apply for disciplinary district committee vacancies.
Local disciplinary district committees are a great way for lawyers and members of the public to get involved on the ground floor of one of the bar’s most important functions. The 17 committees in 10 districts review complaints and investigations against attorneys in their jurisdiction and determine whether there is sufficient evidence of a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Committee members also review agreed dispositions and hear disciplinary matters.
Service on a district committee can lead to a place on the Disciplinary Board, which handles cases of suspension and disbarment. And most members of the Committee on Lawyer Discipline, which oversees the disciplinary system, have served some years in the disciplinary system.
Seven lawyers and three non-lawyers serve on each disciplinary district committee. The bar seeks balance and diversity in the members that serve in the disciplinary system, in aspects like race and gender, and also in the types of practice the lawyers engage in – from solos to corporate counsel, prosecutors to defense. The bar encourages attorneys to share non-attorney vacancies with interested members of the public.
Members attend a two-day disciplinary conference in July (with CLE credit) depending on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic regulations. If there is a Judicial Emergency Order in place a virtual training will take place.
See the chart below for a list of committee vacancies by judicial circuit. There are vacancies which may not become available, as some current members are eligible for reappointment. All terms begin July 1, 2021.
Members serve staggered three-year terms – with two consecutive terms allowed.
Applications in the form of a résumé and short statement of interest are due February 28, 2021, to Stephanie Blanton — either via email or mailed to her at Virginia State Bar, 1111 East Main Street, Suite 700, Richmond, VA 23219-0026.
Bar Council members nominate from the applicant pool within their districts, and the entire council body votes on nominees at the VSB Annual Meeting in June.
Interested applicants cannot have:
- A criminal record
- A disciplinary record of disbarment, revocation or suspension
- A public reprimand within the past 10 years
- Private discipline within the past five years (with a few exceptions)
See Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia Part 6, § IV Rule 13-4 for eligibility requirements.