Today I had the pleasure of attending a moving and meaningful investiture for Elizabeth McClanahan as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia.  I was proud to appoint a strong, reform leader like Elizabeth to chair the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia.  Joining my Supreme Court appointee Cynthia Kinser, now Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court, another Southwest Virginian dedicated to the rule of law. Justice McClanahan is a motivational fighter, survivor and close family friend, and I wore the necktie that her father gave me when I campaigned for Governor to today’s ceremony.  Susan and I wish our friend Elizabeth all the best as she embarks on her new role in her important service to the people of Virginia.

AP: New member of Virginia Supreme Court formally sworn in on 52nd birthday

Thursday, September 1, 2011

RICHMOND, Va. — Former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore didn’t just say the Virginia Supreme Court’s newest justice has a strong work ethic — he illustrated it with an anecdote at Elizabeth A. McClanahan’s investiture Thursday.

McClanahan was seven months pregnant when he hired her as his chief deputy in 2002, Kilgore said. Weeks later, McClanahan ran a meeting on a conference call from her office in Abingdon while Kilgore listened in from Richmond.

Ten minutes after the call ended, another employee announced that “Elizabeth has just given birth,” Kilgore said.

“Nobody knew she was in labor,” Kilgore told a large gathering of judicial and political officials at the Virginia Supreme Court Building, where McClanahan was formally sworn in on her 52nd birthday.

A Buchanan County native who lives in Abingdon with her husband and their two children, McClanahan was recently elected by the General Assembly to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Lawrence Koontz. Another vacancy created by the death of Justice Leroy Hassell was filled with the election of Cleo Powell, who will be formally sworn in next month.

McClanahan was an attorney in private practice for nearly two decades before going to work for Kilgore. After a year as his chief deputy, she was elected to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Kilgore and others also described McClanahan as a fitness buff, a cancer survivor and a person who inspires those around them to achieve.

 “Cancer wasn’t supposed to strike someone like Elizabeth McClanahan,” Kilgore said. “We saw an ever-more determined Elizabeth during that time period. She continued to work, continued to take care of her kids, continued to care about other people.”

Johanna L. Fitzpatrick, retired chief judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals, also noted McClanahan’s determination as she battled cancer.

 “She was a tireless worker who would do anything for her colleagues and anything for the court,” Fitzpatrick said.

Gov. Bob McDonnell praised McClanahan for “a remarkable career in public service” and said she is the only lawyer he knows who is licensed to practice in six states.

 “You have a servant’s heart, and a heart for people,” McDonnell told McClanahan before she placed her hand on a Bible held by her children and was sworn in by Chief Justice Cynthia Kinser.

The ceremony had a strong southwest Virginia flavor. Southwest Virginians participating included Kilgore; his twin brother, Del. Terry Kilgore; state Sen. William C. Wampler Jr.; Del. Joseph P. Johnson Jr.; and Kinser.

McClanahan, a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the University of Dayton School of Law, did not speak at the ceremony.

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