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The Virginia State Bar (“VSB�) was created in 1938 by both statute and implementing rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia as a Special Fund Agency. It receives no tax money. It is a judicial branch agency operating as the administrative arm of the Supreme Court, and it is a unified bar to which all persons licensed to practice law in Virginia must belong, pay dues and demonstrate compliance with licensing requirements.
The mission of the VSB is threefold: 1) To regulate the legal profession in Virginia, including enforcing the Rules of Professional Conduct and disciplining members who engage in unprofessional conduct; 2) To improve the availability and quality of legal services for Virginians; and 3) To assist in improving the legal profession and the judicial system.
The VSB is funded by member dues and other self-generated income. It receives no state general funds from taxpayers.
The VSB's operating budget is formulated each year by its Standing Committee on Budget and Finance, with input from senior staff. The budget is then reviewed by the Executive Committee, and a final version is recommended to Bar Council and the Supreme Court for approval.
During the seven year period July 1, 1997 to July 1, 2004, the VSB's active membership increased 15%, from 21,235 to 24,526.
During this same period:
To carry out its assigned mission, the VSB supplements the efforts of its staff with a substantial volunteer commitment from hundreds of its members and laypersons, the extent and value of which are estimated as follows:
1) In lawyer regulation and discipline, volunteers staffing the VSB’s policy making committees, governance and adjudicative bodies donate approximately 18,190 hours per year, valued conservatively at $1,819,000, utilizing a nominal hourly rate of $100.
2) VSB activities and programs designed to improve the quality of legal services available to Virginians, as well as access to those services, are also supported by volunteers who donate some 4,208 hours per year, valued, on the same basis, at $420,800.
(Not included in this estimate of volunteer work are countless hours of pro bono client representation by Virginia lawyers in civil matters. Virginia lawyers contributed 14,603 documented hours during 2000–2001, just through licensed legal aid societies in the commonwealth.)
3) The VSB’s continuous work to improve the legal profession and the judicial system in Virginia, including lawyer education programs and professional service activities, receives approximately 11,118 volunteer hours per year, valued, on the same basis, at $1,111,800.
(This estimate does not include the hundreds of hours of instructional and course preparation time donated each year by Virginia lawyers to improving the profession through Virginia CLE.)
Updated: May 2, 2006