New State Bar president wants to do good

HUNTINGTON - The new president of the West Virginia State Bar's said lawyers should be doing good in their communities.

W. Michael Frazier, of Frazier & Oxley in Huntington, said his goal as president is to maintain cordial relations within the bar and to encourage local bar chapters to befriend one another.

"We ought to be proud we are lawyers and we should be doing good in our communities," he said. "You have to be part of the bar, but I am hoping to encourage everyone to get involved."

Frazier said the bar is a great way to network and a great way to make new friends.

"Being a lawyer isn't all about making money," he said. "That's what I always tell people. It's about giving back to the community and doing good."

Frazier said his local state bar chapter in Cabell County has a monthly cocktail party in which lawyers get together to talk and network.

"We can all become friends," he said. "When you get to know who you're working with, you can refer cases to one another, or just talk to each other. It's a great way to make friends with colleagues."

Frazier said some of the other county chapters also have monthly get together, and one of his goals it to help some of the smaller counties get started with their monthly meetings.

"We've already had calls from some of the more rural counties who would love to know how to get started," Frazier said. "So I want to help them."

Frazier, who practices with his 86-year-old father, William M. Frazier, and Leon K. Oxley, focuses on taxation and estate planning at their firm.

Frazier said his father is the oldest practicing attorney in Cabell County.

The West Virginia State Bar announced its officers for 2015-2016 on April 22.

John R. McGhee Jr. of Kay Casto & Chaney in Charleston is president-elect and Meshea L. Poore of Charleston is vice president.

Newly elected members of the bar's Board of Governors include Courtney A. Kirtley of Summersville, J. Burton Hunter III of Buckhannon, William J. O'Brien of Bridgeport, Monica H. Haddad of Morgantown, Mark E. Gaydos of Kingwood, Floyd M. "Kin" Sayre III of Martinsburg, and Kameron T. Miller of Charleston.