Retired Virginia Chief Justice to Join University of Richmond Law School Faculty
October 3, 2003
Senior Justice Harry L. Carrico, who served on the Virginia bench for 42 years, 20 as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, will join the University of Richmond School of Law next spring as visiting professor of law and civic engagement.
Carrico, who retired as chief justice in January, will host events during the semester on issues that relate to the role of lawyers as civic participants.
Though he earned his law degree is from George Washington University, Carrico and Richmond's law school have a long, close relationship going back to 1962, when Carrico contacted the law school in a search for law clerks. In the years since, the law school has provided him with more than half his clerks.
During his career on the state high court, the chief justice was active in law school activities, such as the moot court competition, which was named for him, and the prestigious John Marshall Scholars program. In 1973, the university awarded him an honorary degree. Last spring, the law school honored Carrico with a symposium at which William H. Rehnquist, chief justice of the United States, delivered the keynote address.
In announcing the appointment, Dean Rodney A. Smolla said, "Senior Justice Carrico was one of the nation's leading voices in making the case for civility in law practice, the encouragement of pro bono service and civic engagement by lawyers, and the vital importance of maintaining an independent judiciary."
"As a visiting professor, he will have the opportunity to continue a mission that has animated his distinguished career, in which he has been an exemplar of the ideal of the lawyer as citizen and leader."