2015–16 VSB President New President Pursuing a Lifelong Passion for the Law E DWARD L AURENCE W EINER hates lawyer jokes. This is not surprising for a man who knew he wanted to be a lawyer when he was five years old and has been told that his middle name should have been spelled LAWrence. As the president of the Virginia State Bar, he wants “to help polish our image as lawyers,” he said during a recent inter-view. “We’ve allowed it to slip, unde-servedly, into the gutter. At a recent legal conference, a judge commented, ‘It’s hard for us as Americans to respect the law, when we don’t respect lawyers.’ ” Weiner had some powerful role models as a child and during his early career. He grew up in a small town in New York’s Hudson River Valley, the youngest of three brothers. He describes a life out of a Norman Rockwell paint-ing. “I had a very secure childhood because I had everybody watching over me.” His moral compass came from his parents and his brothers. “We were taught that we are not here to do just for myself. You have to leave the world a better place.” He continues, “I always wanted to be a lawyer — never wanted to be anything else. I always thought that, if you want to help people, being a lawyer is the way to do it.” By the time Weiner was a teenager, his brothers were lawyers and had their own firm. If those role models weren’t enough to urge him toward a life of ser-vice, there was Bella Abzug. When Weiner was in college at the State University of New York at Binghamton, he landed a Congressional internship with Abzug, the famous con-gresswoman, social activist, and a leader of the Women’s Movement. A big part of his job “was to open the mail and drive Bella around in my 1969 Volkswagen Bug. Some saw those jobs as menial, but I had access and a pulse on what was happening.” It was 1976 — the Bicentennial. He recalls it as “a huge growing year of my life.” 10 VIRGINIA LAWYER | June 2015 | Vol. 64 Weiner had finished high school early by attending an early-admission program at a local community college. He earned money by working at local hotels, where he was a car valet, bell hop, bus boy, and eventually a waiter. “I did it all. That helped me to see how the whole place worked ... or didn’t.” When he transferred to SUNY Binghamton, he majored in political science, which ultimately led to his internship on Capitol Hill. Weiner might have gone into politics, but he saw — through his work with Abzug — the many “layers” between a politician’s ambitions and her accomplishments. “An attraction to becoming a lawyer was that I could steer my own ship.” Weiner followed in the footsteps of his eldest brother, Ken, by attending the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law. He speaks enthusiastically about the “hard work, fabulous friend-ships, and great mentors” from his three years at U of R. “Our 35th reunion was last month. What an incredible group of people. And they’re lawyers, too!” Weiner went on to earn his LLM in International Law from Georgetown in 1992. He encourages young lawyers to keep in contact with their classmates and other law school alum. “As you progress through your career, these are the folks who will have your back.” After graduation, Weiner joined his brothers’ Northern Virginia firm, which then became Weiner, Weiner & Weiner. “Some folks were amused or shocked, but few forgot our name.” Starting in general law, Weiner became increasingly focused on criminal cases. “The stakes are high — someone’s freedom hangs in the balance.” His middle brother, George, who is seven years older, had been a school teacher before going to law school. “After we three had practiced together for seven years, the Fairfax County superintendent of schools made George an offer to come back to teach-ing, and he took it. He was a great lawyer, but George is the kind of teacher you pray that your children will have.” With oldest brother Ken as his con-stant mentor, Ed took over George’s ongoing personal injury cases. “I quickly grew to love it.” he said. “People who have suffered life-changing events deserve to be compensated and that takes strong advocacy. From my criminal work I had come to love the battle of a trial. My civil work taught me that skilled negotiation is maybe even more important.” Weiner quotes from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War , “He who knows when he should fight and when he should not, will be victorious.” Ken Weiner, who was eleven years older than Ed, died ten years ago this month. “I miss him every day and still reach for the phone to share a thought or tell him about something that has just happened.” Ed Weiner went on to start his law firm, which has grown to become Weiner Spivey & Miller PLC. “I am incredibly proud of what we accomplish together. We have a team of people who are as passionate in their love of the law as I am.” In addition to his many activities with the Virginia State Bar, Weiner is on the board of the George Mason University (GMU) Center for the Performing Arts and the Board of the University of Richmond Law School Alumni Association. He also works with the Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Foundation, where his wife, Maura, is on the board of directors. Another passion (Weiner does not suffer from a shortage of passions) is Jazz 4 Justice © . Weiner loves music. “There was always music in our house growing up. Maura and I met over a line from a musical.” When his daughters, Maurissa and Brianna, were young, they took piano lessons from a teacher at George Mason University. When the teacher mentioned her upcoming recital www.vsb.org