Candidates Forum > VSB PRESIDENT-ELECT Candidates Seek President-elect Endorsement Statement of Raymond B. Benzinger The candidate who is elected this November will assume the responsibilities of presi-dent of the Virginia State Bar in June 2016. Many things will occur between now and then and the president must be prepared to react to such concerns as they arise. My experience participating in local and state-wide bar positions as well as in thirty-plus years of private practice has prepared me to meet the challenges that will arise. Looking ahead to 2016, my current goals and priorities fall into two areas — outreach and funding. I believe it is important that all members of the bar be represented and included in bar manage-ment, programs, and activities. I intend to reach out to underrepresented specialties, such as Intellectual Property. And I will be available to all local and specialty bar asso-ciations. Funding is also of utmost impor-tance. There are currently three areas of concern with budgets and funding. First, our VSB staff is woefully underpaid. We are fortunate they have loyally served despite the failure to keep their salaries current. Second, our association has four conferences with specific programs — Senior Lawyers, Young Lawyers, Local Bar Associations, and Diversity. Of these four, three are funded by the bar out of mem-bers’ annual dues. It is an embarrassment that the conference intended to promote inclusion , Diversity, is the only one that is not funded by VSB contributions. And third, we must keep up our efforts to see that judicial vacancies are funded. I have the experience and desire needed to lead our bar association. As I have retired from active practice, I am and do commit to devoting 100 percent of my time to the position of VSB presi-dent. Please see my website — raymondbenzinger.com — for additional information about my background and experience. I ask for your consideration and vote. Benzinger is a graduate of Georgetown University Law School and also has an LLM from Georgetown. He is a member of the VSB Council. He has been the recipient of honors for his public service and service to the bar, and has been awarded the James Keith Public Service Award from the Fairfax County Bar Association. He is married and has three children and seven grandchildren. Statement of Thomas A. Edmonds Over my legal career spanning more than forty-five years I practiced law; taught law and served as dean of two schools, including ten years at the University of Richmond; and for nineteen years was the VSB’s executive director. As executive director, I worked closely with the officers, Executive Committee and the council. I handled Supreme Court and legislative matters, advised many of the bar’s com-mittees and boards, and served as presi-dent of the National Association of Bar Executives. After retiring as executive director in 2008, I was elected by my peers to the VSB Council, representing the four-teenth circuit. During my two terms, I have helped council resolve such difficult issues as payee notification and strength-ening the Clients’ Protection Fund. My long, comprehensive state bar experience has prepared me well to con-tinue my volunteer service. I am ready and able to respond effectively to issues that confront the bar, and I look forward to assisting it in formulating rules and poli-cies, when needed, that are fair and make sense to both bar members and the public. I pledge to keep the VSB’s resources focused on its core responsibilities: improving and regulating the profession, and helping assure availability of quality legal services for all Virginians. While no one seeking office in the VSB should have a personal agenda, I rec-ognize there are some issues that require on-going attention. Examples: we must continue improving our educational and ethics advisory efforts to keep lawyers out of the disciplinary system, while resolving ethics complaints that are received fairly and expeditiously. We need to find means of more effectively assisting and strength-ening the services provided by our legal aid organizations, which have suffered severe funding and staffing cuts in recent years. The VSB Council has grown too large, and we should curtail further growth that could impair its functionality. Thanks very much for considering my candidacy. Edmonds is a graduate of Mississippi College and Duke University School of Law. He is a member of the VSB Council. He also served as executive director of the VSB. He was dean, director of the Law Center, and profes-sor of law at The University of Mississippi, as well as dean and professor of law at The University of Richmond. He has served on numerous committees and organizations, including as president of the National Association of Bar Executives. He is married and has three children. 12 VIRGINIA LAWYER | October 2014 | Vol. 63 www.vsb.org