A first, a second and a third for the VADA

WILLIAMSBURG—Richmond lawyer Lisa Frisina Clement became president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys today at the group’s annual meeting at the Kingsmill Resort.

The VADA was founded in 1968; Clement is the first woman to lead the defense bar.

The group came close in the early 2000s, noted outgoing president Dennis Quinn. Pamela Baskervill of Petersburg was one of the officers when she was elected to the circuit bench in 2003.

Quinn quipped in passing the gavel to Clement, “I am proud to be the last in a long line of male presidents.”

If the VADA waited 43 years for its first female president, it won’t be long until the second takes office. Elizabeth Perrow of Roanoke is right behind Clement as president-elect.

Following Perrow will be John Owen of Richmond.

However, the group will have a third female president in four years: Richmond’s Kathleen McCauley was elected secretary at today’s meeting.