Feature Stories Campus Events All Stories

Victor Cardwell ‘87L Elected President of Virginia Bar Association

Cardwell-Victor-5x6x300-284x350 Victor Cardwell ‘87L Elected President of Virginia Bar AssociationVictor Cardwell ’87L

W&L Law alumnus Victor O. Cardwell ‘87L has been elected to serve as the 134th President of the Virginia Bar Association (VBA). Cardwell’s election marks the first time a Black lawyer has served as VBA President.

“I am proud to be a member of the VBA,” said Cardwell in his first letter to the membership. “Yet I am smart enough to know that multitudes of lawyers who have gone before me, Black and otherwise, deserved this honor, and I stand on their shoulders.”

Cardwell is Principal and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the law firm Woods Rogers. He co-chairs of the firm’s Law and Employment Law section and practices labor and employment law throughout the U.S., focusing on diversity, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and labor/management relations—including union-organizing campaigns and union-avoidance techniques—and workplace violence.

Virginia Lawyers Weekly has recognized Cardwell as a “Leader in the Law.” He is regularly listed in industry rankings including Virginia Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America for Employment Law – Management and Labor Law – Management, including being named Roanoke Lawyer of the Year. He is recognized by Martindale-Hubbell in Litigation and Labor and Employment and by Chambers USA as a leading attorney in the Labor and Employment practice. In 2019, Cardwell received the Martin Luther King “Drum Major for Justice” award issued by the local Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Cardwell joined Woods Rogers as an associate in the firm’s Roanoke office in 1991 and became a Principal in 2006. Prior to joining the firm, Cardwell served as Deputy Associate Chief Counsel with the U. S. Department of Labor Benefits Review Board.

If you know any W&L alumni who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile.