Herring to announce office changes

Attorney General Mark Herring is expected to announce a series of reform initiatives for his office Thursday morning, the apparent result of a review by three experts announced in February.

The panel was asked to generate recommendations related to the budget and finances of the office, execution of the office’s duties and responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act and the Conflict of Interest Act, use of outside counsel and information technology infrastructure.

Panel members – representing government, the legal industry and the private sector – were:

• Bill Leighty, chief of staff for former Govs. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and former director of the Virginia Retirement System,
• W. Taylor Reveley III, president of the College of William & Mary, and
• Katherine Busser, executive vice-president of Capital One.

The primary goal of the panel was to ensure that the attorney general’s office is operated “in a manner befitting a modern, major law firm representing the interests of the people of Virginia,” Herring’s office said.

A news conference is set for 11:30 a.m.