Va. R. Sup. Ct. 5
The powers of the Virginia State Bar shall be exercised by a Council composed of at least thirty-seven members in addition to the President, President-elect and Immediate Past President, as ex officio members, elected and appointed as follows:
At least one active member from each of the thirty-one judicial circuits, elected for a term of three years by the members of the bar of each circuit, and nine members appointed by the Supreme Court of Virginia from the active members of the bar of the state at large. The Court shall appoint the at-large members to serve for a term of three years and, further, shall appoint in such a manner as to ensure that three members are appointed annually. A person who has served two successive full three-year terms as an elected or appointed member of Council shall not be eligible for election or appointment to a third successive term.
For each additional judicial circuit, whenever created, there shall be a member of the Council, who shall be an active member of the bar of that circuit. An election shall be held in such circuit within sixty (60) days after the creation of such circuit or as soon thereafter as may be feasible in the manner provided at Paragraph 6. The Council at its meeting next thereafter shall determine the length of the term of the first member from that circuit so that, as nearly as possible, the terms of one-third of the members of the Council expire each year.
Any circuit having as of the 15th day of March in any year more than 400 active members in good standing who are domiciled or principally practice their profession in such circuit shall be entitled to one additional member of the Council for each additional 400 members or major fraction thereof. In the event that the membership in a circuit as of March 15 is such that it is no longer entitled to one or more additional members, the term of such additional member[s] of the Council shall end at the expiration of the term for which the member[s] was elected. Provided, however, that the number of Council members from each circuit as of July l, 1992, shall not be reduced unless the active membership in the circuit first increases to the number which will sustain its allocation of Council members as of July l, 1992, under the above formula, and subsequently falls below that number.
Whenever a judicial circuit shall be abolished, the term of any member of the Council from that circuit shall end forthwith.
The President of the Young Lawyers Conference shall serve as an ex officio member of the Council.
The Chair of the Conference of Local Bar Associations shall serve as an ex officio member of the Council.
The Chair of the Senior Lawyers Conference shall serve as an ex officio member of the Council.
Va. Sup. Ct. 5