WHEREAS, the Virginia Law Foundation, an initiative of the Virginia State Bar dedicated to promoting, through philanthropy, the Rule of Law, access to justice, and law-related education, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Law Foundation (VLF) was chartered by the State Corporation Commission on March 4, 1974, to act as the vehicle for financing the acquisition of land and the construction of a headquarters building to serve law-related organizations in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, in 1981, the corporation's board voted to change the name of the corporation to the Virginia Law Foundation, signaling a shift from a focus on building a bar headquarters to the broader agenda of supporting access to justice, law-related education, and Rule of Law projects; and

WHEREAS, that same year, at the behest of the Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Bar Association (VBA), the VLF began supervising the operations of Virginia continuing legal education (CLE) to ensure the provision of the finest in CLE services to the Commonwealth's legal community; and

WHEREAS, from 1983 through 1995, the VLF served as the entity designated by the Supreme Court of Virginia to administer the interest received from the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program and handled this fiduciary responsibility with great care and effect; and

WHEREAS, in 1984, the VLF instituted its fellows program to recognize the top one percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth who have demonstrated excellence in all endeavors associated with the profession and who have made outstanding contributions to their communities; to date the VLF has bestowed this honor on approximately 775 lawyers who meet the ideals of citizen lawyers; and

WHEREAS, through its robust grant program initiated in 1984, the VLF has awarded more than $28 million in grants to myriad programs that support the VLF's mission; and

WHEREAS, over the last decade, the VLF has financially supported several notable signature projects to leave a lasting impact on the Commonwealth, including the Nuremberg Trials Courtroom exhibit at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Supreme Court of Virginia's Judicial Learning Center, and the Library of Virginia's program to restore various original governing documents of Virginia; and

WHEREAS, in addition to providing outstanding legal education through its educational division Virginia CLE, the VLF supports other educational organizations and institutions, particularly those that provide educational programming in the areas of civics and constitutional history; and

WHEREAS, in the last five years, the VLF has pioneered its own tremendously successful educational initiatives, including the Constitutional Law Institute, the Civil Rights Law Institute, and the Wellness Institute, and has launched a prestigious professional recognition, the Qualified Counselor and Qualified Master Counselor Designation Program, to assist the public in securing competent legal representation; and

WHEREAS, over the past 50 years, the Virginia Law Foundation has been a constant clarion for justice and a force for good within the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Virginia Law Foundation on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Virginia Law Foundation as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the organization's contributions to the Commonwealth.