CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT SOLICITOR GENERALS OFFICE
[Posted August 5, 2008] Virginia will have a new Solicitor General, effective September 1. Current SG Bill Thro will move to a new position at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, as University Counsel. The new Solicitor General will be Bills current Deputy, Stephen McCullough. Steve will take over the role of the Commonwealths principal appellate attorney, and will report to the Attorney General. The Solicitor General only appears in appellate courts (principally the Supreme Courts of Virginia and of the United States; but also the Fourth Circuit and the CAV) arguing on behalf of the Commonwealth in important cases, usually those involving constitutional challenges to Virginia law. (As a consequence of that narrow focus, comparatively few appeals involving the Commonwealth are handled by the SG; most are argued by, say, Assistant or Deputy Attorneys General.)
I offer my personal congratulations to both men. Steve takes on the vital responsibility of shaping the course of crucial appellate litigation that affects each Virginian. And Bill tackles a new role on behalf of the rapidly growing CNU. (As a nice fringe benefit, he also gets to cut down on his commute, since he lives on the Virginia Peninsula, much closer to Newport News than to Richmond.)
