HARRISBURG (April 7, 2022) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Commission on Women in the Profession will present its annual Lynette Norton Award to Radnor attorney Virginia Hinrichs McMichael on May 11 during the Commission on Women in the Profession (WIP) Annual Conference held as part of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Annual Meeting in Hershey.
The Norton Award was created in memory of Lynette Norton, a founding member of the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession, who died in 2002. Norton was an advocate for young women in the legal profession and worked to promote literacy and women’s rights. The award is designed to recognize and encourage female attorneys who excel in litigation skills and who are devoted to mentoring female lawyers.
Founder of Appellate Law Group LLC, McMichael is a female entrepreneur whose firm represents clients in complex civil appeals in the state and federal appellate courts in Pennsylvania. The firm handles appeals in a variety of areas, including business disputes, real estate, personal injury, professional malpractice and family law. McMichael is also a founding board member of Women Owned Law, a national organization dedicated to connecting and advancing women entrepreneurs in the law.
Within the PBA, McMichael is a member of the Commission on Women in the Profession, Appellate Advocacy Committee, Civil Litigation Section, Family Law Section and Solo and Small Firm Section.
Active in the mentoring program for the Philadelphia Bar Association, McMichael shares her experience to provide guidance to young attorneys regarding appellate issues, career goals and litigation strategy. She also supports The Appellate Project, an organization that works to create opportunities for law students of color who aspire to become appellate lawyers and judges.
“Although she has achieved professional success, what distinguishes Virginia is her kindness, resilience and positive outlook on life,” said her award nominator. “She has been a guidepost for me in my career as a young female attorney, working mother and businesswoman.”
McMichael is also a board member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Council of Appellate Lawyers and serves as chair of the board’s Solo and Small Firm Practice Committee. Locally, she serves on the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Appellate Law Committee.
A frequent author and lecturer on appellate law and practice, McMichael has published articles in the ABA’s Appellate Issues, the PBA’s The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine and PBA Civil Litigation newsletter, and Law.com’s The Legal Intelligencer. In addition, she has participated on continuing legal education panels for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia Bar Association, Delaware County Bar Association and League of Women Voters.
She has an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell and a “Superb” rating by Avvo.
McMichael graduated with high honors in English from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt. She received her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, where she was a senior editor of the Texas International Law Journal.
For more information on the WIP awards luncheon or the PBA Virtual Annual Meeting, visit https://www.pabar.org/pdf/2022/AnnualMeeting2022.pdf.
Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state’s largest organized bar association.