MORGANTOWN -- Patrick McGinley’s selection as a fellow of the West Virginia Bar Foundation has been four decades in the making.
McGinley recently joined WVU Law School colleague Dean Gregory Bowman in earning the distinction.
“I was surprised and honored to learn that I had been chosen as a West Virginia Bar Foundation fellow,” McGinley told The West Virginia Record. “When I was contacted and informed of my selection, it was explained to me that individuals selected are those ‘whose professional, public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and honorable service to the legal profession with the individuals selected reflecting the diverse nature of the legal profession in West Virginia.’ I appreciate the recognition of my more than four decades of teaching, scholarship and public service as a member of the faculty of the WVU College of Law.”
Although McGinley was effusive in expressing that the award leaves him feeling immensely proud of what he’s been able to accomplish in his career, he added that the distinction is one that he and all his College of Law associates received and earned together.
“I share the honor with my colleagues of the College of Law who have been supportive of my work and whose own commitment to honorable public service, teaching and legal scholarship is exemplary,” he said.
A WVU faculty member since 1975, McGinley is the Charles H. Haden II professor of law at the school and is nationally recognized as an expert on energy and environmental law. He is also the founder of the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation and a recipient of the international Svitlana Kravchenko Environmental Rights Award.
Bowman is the William H. Maier Jr. dean of the WVU College of Law. He joined the faculty in 2009 and is widely renowned as scholar in international trade law and remedies. He is also a former recipient of past recipient of the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching and the College of Law Professor of the Year.
The West Virginia Bar Foundation is the philanthropic organization for the state’s legal profession and justice system. Fellows are touted as “a select group of the state’s lawyers and judges who have professionally and personally demonstrated dedication to the welfare of their communities and service to the legal profession.”