30/10/2026
From the Executive Director’s Desk ✍️: This week State Bar President Robby Aliff and I had the opportunity to welcome new attorneys to the West Virginia Bar at both a swearing-in ceremony and the YLS Bridge the Gap program.
The Supreme Court ceremonies are some of my favorite days. We get to hear the wonderful motions by family or colleagues about these new attorneys, as well as advice from the Justices of the Court. On top of that, the Justices come off the bench after to greet and interact with the new members of the Bar and their movants. It is just the start of the new WV attorneys’ careers, but it is one of the reasons I continue to say that there is no better place to practice law than in West Virginia. Congratulations to all 107 new WV attorneys sworn in this week!
We also require all new attorneys (with some limited exceptions) to attend an in-person Bridge the Gap program during the first two years after admission. The Young Lawyer Section Board organizes the program with presentations on the WV Bar, WVJLAP, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, civility, and other general practice topics and tips.
It was a big week and we had a few people who were admitted on Tuesday in Charleston and attended Bridge the Gap on Thursday in Bridgeport. We will see the rest of the 107 new attorneys at a future Bridge the Gap program and I look forward to the next swearing-in ceremony.
(Photos within the Supreme
Court courtroom were taken by J. Alex Wilson, photographer, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.)
