W&M Law Alumnus Steve A. Isaacs Awarded Rakes Leadership in Education Award
Steve A. Isaacs ’70, J.D. ’73 of Richmond, Va., has been named the recipient of the William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Award from the Virginia State Bar Section on the Education of Lawyers in Virginia.
In addition to his general law practice, Isaacs has been the director of the Character and Fitness Committee of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners (VBBE) since its inception in 1995, working directly with the faculty and deans of each of Virginia’s law schools. Isaacs is being honored for his long-standing and dedicated efforts in the field of legal education, where he administers the character and fitness certification for an average of 2,000 applicants a year for the VBBE.
The Rakes award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and vision in developing and implementing innovative concepts to improve and enhance the state of legal education, and in advancing relationships and professionalism among members of the academy, the bench, and the bar within the legal profession in Virginia.
The award was established in April 2012 to honor former VSB president and founder of the Education Section, William R. Rakes, a senior partner with the Roanoke, Virginia, firm of Gentry Locke. Nominations are invited annually by the board of governors of the Section on the Education of Lawyers. The award is underwritten by Gentry Locke.
Taylor Reveley, president of William & Mary and former dean of the Law School, was honored with the Rakes Award in 2013.
Isaacs will receive the Rakes award on June 14, 2018, at the Virginia State Bar’s annual meeting in Virginia Beach.
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.