McGuireWoods partner George Keith Martin was selected to the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame class of 2022 by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. The Hall of Fame award celebrates esteemed members of the profession, who have reached the age of 60 or older, for their lasting contributions to the legal field across the commonwealth of Virginia.
Martin, former managing partner of the firm’s Richmond, Virginia, office, and his fellow inductees will be honored at an awards ceremony on Feb. 22 in Richmond and profiled in a special Virginia Lawyers Weekly publication on Feb. 28.
“George exemplifies McGuireWoods’ commitment to excellence, and we are grateful for his many years of service,” said Michael Herring, managing partner of the Richmond office. “His dedication to the firm, our clients and public service, as well as his significant and longstanding contributions to the community, are an inspiration to us all.”
Martin advises public and private entities on construction, commercial real estate and local government law, including innovative financing strategies to advance public-private partnerships for new college dormitories, public arenas, and other critical infrastructure projects in Virginia and around the country. He is a member of the McGuireWoods’ real estate and land use practice and its education law team.
He previously served on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors and in 2013 became the first African American to lead the board as rector. He serves on UVA’s Miller Center Governing Council, Jefferson Scholars Foundation board and School of Architecture Foundation board.
In 2019, Martin served on the executive committee that helped organize programs for the Commemoration of the First African Landing in Hampton, Virginia, where the first enslaved African men and women were brought to the English colonies 400 years earlier. He also served on the 400 Years of African American History Commission.
“I am deeply honored to be in such esteemed company,” said Martin. “I share this recognition with all of my colleagues at the firm who work tirelessly to serve our clients and our communities.”
McGuireWoods senior partner and former chairman Richard Cullen, partner Thomas Spahn and retired partner Anne Marie Whittemore are past inductees into Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s Hall of Fame.
The 2022 Hall of Fame class includes posthumous honoree Leroy Hassell Sr., the first Black jurist to serve as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Hassell was a McGuireWoods partner before his appointment to the state’s highest court in 1989. His fellow justices elected him chief justice in 2002. Hassell died in 2011 at the age of 55.