Virginia Bar Association - History

History

The VBA, (originally named the Virginia State Bar Association (VSBA)), was founded in July 1888 in Virginia Beach, under the leadership of Francis H. McGuire of the Richmond Bar Association. Its first president was William J. Robertson of Charlottesville.

In 1890, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act incorporating the Virginia State Bar Association. Section 1 of the act provides: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That William J. Robertson, R.G.H. Kean, Thomas Tabb, John W. Riely, James A. Walker, Holmes Conrad, Frank V. Winston, S. Ferguson Beach, John H. Fulton, Charles A. Graves, Richard B. Tunstall, James C. Lamb, Charles M. Blackford, William J. Leake, Thomas S. Martin, Alexander Hamilton, James E. Heath, Micajah Woods, George M. Harrison, F.H. McGuire, and such other persons as are now associated with them in the unincorporated society known as the Virginia State Bar Association, or as may be hereafter associated with them under this charter, be, and they are hereby, incorporated under the corporate name of 'The Virginia State Bar Association,' for the purpose of cultivating and advancing the science of jurisprudence, facilitating the administration of justice in this State, and upholding and elevating the standard of honor, integrity, and courtesy in the legal profession."

In 1938, after the Virginia State Bar was created as a state-controlled regulatory association, the name of the older organization was changed to the current Virginia Bar Association.