December 11, 2025
VSB Releases Final Report on the Entry, Growth, and Distribution of Virginia Attorneys
This report represents the culmination of nearly two years of dedicated work by a diverse and deeply committed group of volunteers. The VSB established the EGAD-VA Study Committee to examine one of the most urgent challenges facing our Commonwealth: ensuring that all Virginians—regardless of geography—have meaningful access to legal services. The committee’s findings and recommendations offer a thoughtful, data-driven roadmap for addressing attorney distribution and access to justice in both rural and underserved communities.
Download the full report (PDF)
Questions, concerns, or to share your ideas, please email [email protected]
December 2, 2025
VSB Releases Key Findings and Recommendations in Latest EGAD Report
In recent years, there has been growing concern within the legal profession about the disparities in the geographic distribution of attorneys. The American Bar Association's 2020 Profile of the Legal Profession highlighted the issue of "legal deserts" in the United States, with numerous counties or cities having fewer than one attorney per 1,000 residents. Virginia was notably affected, with 60 out of 133 counties or cities identified as legal deserts.
By 2023, the Virginia State Bar (VSB) Executive Director Cameron M. Rountree identified a declining number of Virginia Bar Examinees and new VSB admissions, alongside an aging legal workforce, as additional challenges facing Virginia’s legal profession. Longitudinal data, from 2012 through 2024, revealed a 57% decline in examinees taking the Virginia-essay portion of the Virginia Bar Exam, a 61% decline in examinees taking the full Virginia Bar Exam, and a 56% decline in new VSB admissions by examination.
In response to these trends, then-VSB President Chidi I. James established the Entry, Growth, and Distribution of Virginia Attorneys Committee (Committee) to study (1) the declines in Virginia Bar Examinees and new VSB admissions and (2) the distribution of attorneys throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Committee’s work culminated in a comprehensive report supporting its 30 recommendations, based on 7 key findings, to address these trends and to mitigate their effects. The recommendations were approved by the Committee (25 unanimously, 4 with 1 vote in opposition, and 2 with 2 opposing votes).
The legal profession in Virginia faces significant challenges to both the production and distribution of attorneys. The Committee's comprehensive study highlights the need for bar examination score portability, improved perceptions of the bar examination, stronger collaboration between legal educators and regulatory bodies, and developing and implementing alternative pathways to licensure. The Committee also identifies the importance of targeted incentives to attract young attorneys to underserved areas, as well as efforts to reduce the overall cost of legal education. Addressing these challenges will allow Virginia to not only welcome new attorneys into practice but also to achieve a more equitable distribution of legal services that better meet the needs of individuals and small businesses in the Commonwealth.
Read the Executive Summary here.
originally posted 12/2/25.