VSB NEWS < Noteworthy VSB Honors Attorneys The Virginia State Bar presented the following awards during its Annual Meeting. Tradition of Excellence Presented by the General Practice Section John Randolph “Randy” Nelson of Lynchburg. The award recognizes a Virginia lawyer who “embodies the highest tradition of personal and profes-sional excellence in Virginia, enhances the image and esteem of attorneys in the Commonwealth, and has devoted signifi cant amounts of time, efforts, and/or funds to activities that benefi t their community.” In his nomination, David Neumeyer, executive director of the Virginia Legal Aid Soci-ety, noted that Nelson “truly embodies the award’s promotion of personal and professional excellence.” Debby Hudgins, Virginia Legal Aid Society pro bono coordinator, stated that Nelson was one of the original lawyers to volunteer when the VLAS was founded in 1991, and that he has closed over 30 cases for them. Says Hudgins, “Randy has made house calls for clients that were home-bound and defended a VLAS client in a jury trial that took more than fi fty hours.” Lynchburg Vice Mayor MaryJane Tousignant Dolan states that Randy “presents with the utmost sense of integrity, honor, civility, and well researched and thought out reasoning when stating his case as pertains to chal-lenges on issues facing the city.” William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Presented by the Section on the Education of Lawyers in Virginia Thomas A. Edmonds of Richmond. Ed-monds is being honored for his long-standing and dedicated contribu-tions to the fi eld of www.vsb.org legal education in both an academic setting as well as an administrative setting as former executive director of the Virginia State Bar. In his nomination letter, George A. Somerville of Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman, P.C., stated, “... you will fi nd no individual in Virginia who more fully exemplifi es a lifelong commitment and demonstra-tion of excellence in the areas that the Section on Education of Lawyers has identifi ed as criteria for this award.” John A.C. Keith, co-founder of Blank-ingship & Keith wrote, “Tom Edmonds has demonstrated his abiding interest in the education of lawyers in countless ways.” During his tenure as dean of the University of Richmond Law School, the law school increased grants to students for fi nancial assistance; included law students in the Virginia Tuition Assis-tance Grant Program; created and de-veloped a law fi rm scholarship program; and established the Robert R. Merhige Jr. Center for Environmental Studies. Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Presented by the Standing Committee on Access to Legal Services Palma Pustilnik , senior staff attorney and director of Sex-ual Assault Advocacy Services at the Char-lottesville offi ce of Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. The award recognizes those who exhibit: 1) innovation and creativity in advo-cacy; 2) experience and excellence in service; and 3) impact beyond his or her own program’s service area. Pustilnik was nominated by her supervisor, Robin J. Leiter-White, who noted that, “While most legal aid attorneys might appear in different courtrooms several times a week, Palma frequently is appearing in different courtrooms several times a day. Despite the stressful nature of her cases, Palma always manages to be ‘the most reasonable person in the room’ — a favorite line of hers.” Martin Wegbreit, the director of litigation for CVLAS and the very fi rst winner of the Virginia State Bar Legal Aid Award in 1992, said in his nomination of Pustilnik, “Simply stated, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is no attorney more experienced, expert, forceful, knowledgeable, or steadfast in the area of domestic abuse and sexual assault than Palma Pustilnik.” Clarence M. Dunnaville Jr. Achievement Presented by the Diversity Conference Michael HuYoung of Barnes & Diehl in Richmond. HuYoung was one of the found-ing members of the VSB’s Diversity Task Force, the group that laid the groundwork that eventually established the Diver-sity Conference. A former chair of the Diversity Conference, he continues to support and lead the Diversity Confer-ence, serving on its Board of Governors for two terms, and helping to create the Law Student Mentor/Mentee program at the VSB Annual Meeting. HuYoung continues to promote the mission of the Diversity Conference and is a leader and mentor for diversity and inclusion within the Virginia’s legal profession and the public it serves. In her nomination, Carole Capsalis of Turner & Kinney in Leesburg said, “Throughout his legal career, Michael has devoted his time, en-ergy and leadership to make signifi cant, demonstrable, and outstanding contri-butions to fostering, encouraging, and facilitating diversity and inclusion in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Michael’s herculean efforts shepherded the new conference through the unchartered waters of an unfunded conference.” Vol. 68 | June 2019 | VIRGINIA LAWYER 41