# List of presidents of the Virginia Bar Association

The president of The Virginia Bar Association is the chief executive officer of the Virginia Bar Association (VBA), the Commonwealth's voluntary statewide bar association. The president is the Association's chief spokesman and presides at all meetings of its members. Every year, a slate of candidates are nominated by the organization's Board of Governors. At the annual full meeting of the Association's members, a president-elect is chosen by direct popular vote from among the nominees. At the adjournment of the succeeding year's annual meeting, the president-elect is then sworn in as president. In the event of an emergency such as the death or resignation of the president elected as above, the president-elect discharges the duties of the president. If the president-elect is not available to succeed the president, a temporary replacement is appointed by the Board of Governors, and, if necessary, both a new president and president-elect are elected at the next annual meeting.
After the VBA's foundation in July 1888, William J. Robertson of Charlottesville became its first president. The presidency has a term of only one year. From 1888 to 1975, the VBA annual meeting was held during the summer. From 1975 onwards, it has been held in January.
A total of 135 people have served as the president of the Virginia Bar Association since its formation. Benjamin D. Leigh is the current president.

## List of presidents

List of presidents from 1888 to 2022 :
| No. | Year(s) of Presidency | Name | Residence |
| 1 | 1888–1889 | William J. Robertson | Charlottesville |
| 2 | 1889–1890 | Robert Garlick Hill Kean | Lynchburg |
| 3 | 1890–1891 | Edward C. Burks | Bedford |
| 4 | 1891–1892 | John Randolph Tucker | Lexington |
| 5 | 1892–1893 | Robert T. Barton | Winchester |
| 6 | 1893–1894 | Waller Redd Staples | Christiansburg |
| 7 | 1894–1895 | Charles Minor Blackford | Lynchburg |
| 8 | 1895–1896 | Robert M. Hughes | Norfolk |
| 9 | 1896–1897 | William Wirt Henry | Richmond |
| 10 | 1897–1898 | William B. Pettit | Palmyra |
| 11 | 1898–1899 | John Goode | Bedford |
| 12 | 1899–1900 | William J. Leake | Richmond |
| 13 | 1900 | William Alexander Anderson | Lexington |
| 14 | 1900–1901 | Lunsford L. Lewis | Richmond |
| 15 | 1901–1902 | Thomas C. Elder | Staunton |
| 16 | 1902–1903 | Samuel C. Graham | Tazewell |
| 17 | 1903–1904 | Alexander Hamilton | Petersburg |
| 18 | 1904–1905 | Alfred P. Thom | Norfolk |
| 19 | 1905–1906 | Archer Allen Phlegar | Bristol |
| 20 | 1906–1907 | Allen Caperton Braxton | Staunton |
| 21 | 1907–1908 | Wyndham R. Meredith | Richmond |
| 22 | 1908–1909 | Micajah Woods | Charlottesville |
| 23 | 1909–1910 | R. Walton Moore | Fredericksburg |
| 24 | 1910–1911 | George Llewellyn Christian | Richmond |
| 25 | 1911–1912 | Joshua Fry Bullitt Jr. | Big Stone Gap |
| 26 | 1912–1913 | William Minor Lile | Charlottesville |
| 27 | 1913–1914 | Samuel Griffin | Bedford |
| 28 | 1914–1915 | Legh R. Watts | Portsmouth |
| 29 | 1915–1916 | Eppa Hunton Jr. | Richmond |
| 30 | 1916 | John B. Jenkins | Norfolk |
| 31 | 1916–1918 | Harvey T. Hall | Roanoke |
| 32 | 1918–1919 | Lucien H. Cocke | Roanoke |
| 33 | 1919–1920 | Randolph Harrison | Lynchburg |
| 34 | 1920–1921 | Armistead C. Gordon | Staunton |
| 35 | 1921–1922 | A. W. Wallace | Fredericksburg |
| 36 | 1922–1923 | Edward P. Buford | Lawrenceville |
| 37 | 1923–1924 | George Bryan | Richmond |
| 38 | 1924–1925 | Robert B. Tunstall | Richmond |
| 39 | 1925–1926 | John Randolph Tucker | Richmond |
| 40 | 1926–1927 | R. Gray Williams | Winchester |
| 41 | 1927–1928 | James H. Corbitt | Suffolk |
| 42 | 1928–1929 | Whitwell W. Coxe | Roanoke |
| 43 | 1929–1930 | J. Gordon Bohannon | Petersburg |
| 44 | 1930–1931 | Robert L. Pennington | Bristol |
| 45 | 1931–1932 | Virginius R. Shackelford | Orange |
| 46 | 1932–1933 | James W. Gordon | Richmond |
| 47 | 1933–1934 | S. V. Kemp | Lynchburg |
| 48 | 1934–1935 | C. O'Conor Goolrick | Fredericksburg |
| 49 | 1935–1936 | Stuart Bland Campbell | Wytheville |
| 50 | 1936–1937 | James Green Martin | Norfolk |
| 51 | 1937–1938 | Frank W. Rogers | Roanoke |
| 52 | 1938–1939 | Lewis Catlett Williams | Richmond |
| 53 | 1939–1940 | Robert O. Norris Jr. | Lively |
| 54 | 1940–1941 | Kennon C. Whittle | Martinsville |
| 55 | 1941–1942 | William A. Stuart | Abingdon |
| 56 | 1942–1943 | George E. Haw | Richmond |
| 57 | 1943–1944 | Christopher B. Garnett | Arlington |
| 58 | 1944–1946 | Howard C. Gilmer Jr. | Pulaski |
| 59 | 1946–1947 | Thomas B. Gay | Richmond |
| 60 | 1947–1948 | John L. Walker | Roanoke |
| 61 | 1948–1949 | David Nelson Sutton | West Point |
| 62 | 1949–1950 | James S. Easley | Halifax |
| 63 | 1950–1951 | W. R. Broaddus Jr. | Martinsville |
| 64 | 1951–1952 | Alex W. Parker | Richmond |
| 65 | 1952–1953 | Fred B. Greear | Norton |
| 66 | 1953–1954 | T. Justin Moore | Richmond |
| 67 | 1954–1955 | Michael B. Wagenheim | Norfolk |
| 68 | 1955–1956 | F. D. G. Ribble | Charlottesville |
| 69 | 1956–1957 | Edwin B. Meade | Danville |
| 70 | 1957–1958 | J. Sloan Kuykendall | Winchester |
| 71 | 1958–1959 | David J. Mays | Richmond |
| 72 | 1959–1960 | William P. Dickson Jr. | Norfolk |
| 73 | 1960–1961 | Robert J. McCandlish Jr. | Fairfax |
| 74 | 1961–1962 | William T. Muse | Richmond |
| 75 | 1962–1963 | Waldo G. Miles | Bristol |
| 76 | 1963–1964 | Thomas C. Gordon Jr. | Richmond |
| 77 | 1964–1965 | Virginius R. Shackelford Jr. | Orange |
| 78 | 1965–1966 | George M. Cochran | Staunton |
| 79 | 1966–1967 | A. C. Epps | Richmond |
| 80 | 1967–1968 | William A. Moncure | Alexandria |
| 81 | 1968–1969 | George R. C. Stuart | Abingdon |
| 82 | 1969–1970 | Toy D. Savage Jr. | Norfolk |
| 83 | 1970–1971 | E. Waller Dudley | Alexandria |
| 84 | 1971–1972 | John S. Davenport III | Richmond |
| 85 | 1972–1973 | Vernon M. Geddy Jr. | Williamsburg |
| 86 | 1973–1975 | W. Gibson Harris | Richmond |
| 87 | 1975 | Thomas V. Monahan | Winchester |
| 88 | 1976 | William B. Spong Jr. | Portsmouth |
| 89 | 1977 | A. Hugo Blankingship Jr. | Fairfax |
| 90 | 1978 | Edward R. Slaughter Jr. | Charlottesville |
| 91 | 1979 | Jesse B. Wilson III | Fairfax |
| 92 | 1980 | Lorenzo Lee Bean Jr. | Arlington |
| 93 | 1981 | Hugh L. Patterson | Norfolk |
| 94 | 1982 | John F. Kay Jr. | Richmond |
| 95 | 1983 | John L. Walker Jr. | Roanoke |
| 96 | 1984 | George G. Grattan IV | Earlysville |
| 97 | 1985 | Evans B. Brasfield | Richmond |
| 98 | 1986 | Edmund L. Walton Jr. | McLean |
| 99 | 1987 | R. Gordon Smith | Richmond |
| 100 | 1988 | John M. Ryan | Norfolk |
| 101 | 1989 | Thomas T. Lawson | Roanoke |
| 102 | 1990 | F. Claiborne Johnston Jr. | Richmond |
| 103 | 1991 | Allen C. Goolsby | Richmond |
| 104 | 1992 | Thomas C. Brown Jr. | McLean |
| 105 | 1993 | Whittington W. Clement | Danville |
| 106 | 1994 | M. Langhorne Keith | Fairfax |
| 107 | 1995 | R. Terrence Ney | Fairfax |
| 108 | 1996 | Douglas P. Rucker Jr. | Richmond |
| 109 | 1997 | Phillip C. Stone Sr. | Bridgewater |
| 110 | 1998 | G. Franklin Flippin | Roanoke |
| 111 | 1999 | David Craig Landin | Richmond |
| 112 | 2000 | Anita O. Poston | Norfolk |
| 113 | 2001 | Jeanne F. Franklin | Alexandria |
| 114 | 2002 | J. Edward Betts | Richmond |
| 115 | 2003 | Frank A. Thomas III | Orange |
| 116 | 2004 | E. Tazewell Ellett | Alexandria |
| 117 | 2005 | James V. Meath | Richmond |
| 118 | 2006 | William R. Van Buren III | Norfolk |
| 119 | 2007 | Glenn C. Lewis | Washington, D.C. |
| 120 | 2008 | G. Michael Pace Jr. | Roanoke |
| 121 | 2009 | John D. Epps | Richmond |
| 122 | 2010 | Stephen D. Busch | Richmond |
| 123 | 2011 | Lucia Anna Trigiani | Alexandria |
| 124 | 2012 | Hugh M. Fain III | Richmond |
| 125 | 2013 | Thomas R. Bagby | Roanoke |
| 126 | 2014 | John L. Walker III | Richmond |
| 127 | 2015 | Harry M. Johnson III | Richmond |
| 128 | 2016 | James Patrick Guy II | Richmond |
| 129 | 2017 | David S. Mercer | Alexandria |
| 130 | 2018 | C. J. Steuart Thomas III | Staunton |
| 131 | 2019 | Richard E. Garriott Jr. | Virginia Beach |
| 132 | 2020 | Alison M. McKee | Virginia Beach |
| 133 | 2021 | Richard H. Ottinger | Norfolk |
| 134 | 2022 | Victor O. Cardwell | Roanoke |
| 135 | 2023 | Benjamin D. Leigh | Leesburg |