Potter
Haynes
Rose
Crislip
HUNTINGTON -- The West Virginia Bar Association is gearing up for its 123rd annual meeting.
The group will have its meeting Aug. 20-22 at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va.
The West Virginia Bar Association, which was organized in 1886, aims to advance the science of jurisprudence, to promote reform in the law, to facilitate the administration of justice, to uphold integrity, honor and courtesy in the legal profession, to encourage liberal education, and to cultivate cordial intercourse among the members of the bar.
Thomas A. Potter will receive the WVBA's prestigious Award of Merit at this year's meeting. Potter is a retired member of Jackson Kelly.
"It is always a difficult decision to choose someone for this award because there are many deserving recipients among the legal community," Pryce Haynes, executive director of the WVBA, said of the award process. "Tom not only exemplifies civic, leadership, pride and involvement, he is also an outstanding and respected leader in the legal community. And having been past president of The WVBA may have tipped the scales in his favor."
Also, outgoing president Lisa Rose, of the Fairmont firm of Rose, Padden & Petty, will hand the reigns of the assocation to President-elect Stephen Crislip of the Charleston office of Jackson Kelly.
Some of the topics at this year's meeting include:
* Title Insurance Ramifications, conducted by Robert L. Shuman of Reeder & Shuman in Morgantown;
* Zing and Zippy Health Topics to Make Your Head Spin: Spotting Important Health Law Issues Every Practicing Attorney Should Know, conducted by Robert L. Coffield and Alaina N. Crislip of Flaherty Sensabaugh & Bonasso;
* The Profession, the Recession and the 21st Century, conducted by Peter J. Kalis of K & L Gates;
* Why Lawyers Lead, conducted by former West Virginia University President David C. Hardesty of the WVU College of Law;
* West Virginia Economy, condcuted by Caprice L. Roberts of the WVU College of Law;
* Why Title - Developments, Underwriting and Claims, conducted by Paul Trefz of First American Title Insurance Company;
* Oil, Gas, Coal and Alternative Energy Sources, conducted by William B. Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, Michael A. Albert, commissioner of the West Virginia Public Service Commission, and David J. Spigelmyer of Chesapeake Energy;
Luncheons, dinners, meetings, receptions, a golf scramble and a beretta shoot also are part of the agenda.
For more information, visit the WVBA Web site at www.wvbarassociation.org.