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Marni E. Byrum has been named the Virginia State Bar’s new president.

Byrum a native of Charlotte County now resides in Alexandria where her law practice focuses on labor, employment and personnel law. She is a frequent lecturer regarding ethics issues, labor and employment law, and alternative dispute resolution.

Byrum was born in Keysville, and she says that she found her first mentor in elementary school. An administrator, Betty Hunter-Clapp, was the first woman Byrum knew in a leadership position. “She was the first role model I had for someone who could, as a woman, show me that there really shouldn’t be any limitations,” Byrum says.

According to a release from the Virginia State Bar, Byrum has served in numerous positions in the bar dating back to 1984. Currently, she serves on Bar Council and the Executive Committee, chairs the Standing Committee on

Budget and Finance, and is a member of the Special Committee on the Future of Law Practice. She is a past chair of the Standing Committee on Legal Ethics, the Judicial Candidate Evaluation Committee, and the Multi-Jurisdictional Practice Task Force.

In addition, The Charlotte County native is a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation and was recognized by Virginia Lawyers Weekly as a 2014 Leader in the Law. Byrum is also a past president of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association, the Northern Virginia Legal Services Board, and the Arlington County Bar Association.

In addition to her work within the legal community, Byrum has been recognized for her public and volunteer work, receiving the University Alumni Distinguished Service Award from Virginia Tech, the Women of Distinction Award from Soroptimist International and the Person of Vision Award from the Arlington Commission on the Status of Women.