Elizabeth McClanahan '84 Elected to Virginia Supreme Court

Elizabeth A. McClanahan ’84 was elected this summer to the Supreme Court of Virginia. Selected by the Virginia General Assembly, McClanahan received a 12-year term. She officially joined the court on September 1.

Justice McClanahan had served on the Virginia Court of Appeals since 2003, and was in her second term in that post when she was elected to the Supreme Court.

Previously, she was the chief deputy in the Virginia Attorney General’s office. Prior to entering public service, she was a partner at the law firm Penn, Stuart and Eskridge in Abingdon, Virginia.

She is an expert in natural resources law focusing on natural gas, coal and oil issues.

Justice McClanahan earned her undergraduate degree in 1981 from William and Mary, where she double majored in government and sociology.

She has served on William and Mary’s Board of Visitors, is the former chair of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the recipient of numerous civic awards, including the YMCA Tribute to Women Award for Volunteer Community Service and the Virginia 4-H Foundation Alumni Award.