Barry Proctor being honored with state award

After 34 years in private practice, attorney Barry Proctor has found his comfort zone in the legal community: on the court-appointed defense attorney rolls, as a substitute judge, and as a go-to provider of discounted legal work.

Proctor will be honored today by the Virginia Poverty Law Center at the state’s Legal Aid Conference. An Abingdon attorney since 1981, Proctor will receive the John Kent Shumate Jr. Advocate of the Year Award, which is given annually to one attorney and one layperson in the state for serving low-income residents.

“Barry has represented more than a thousand clients on referral from our program,” Larry Harley, executive director of the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society, said in a written statement.

“It’s not just that he agrees to represent the clients, however, it is the uncommon dignity with which he treats them,” added Harley, who nominated Proctor for the honor.

Since 2000, Proctor has accepted and completed nearly 400 cases referred to him by SVLAS, for which he receives a small retainer fee, generally $100-$200, Harley said. Some cases he accepts pro bono, he said in an interview Tuesday.

“We have always attempted to try to work with folks who cannot afford typical legal fees,” said Proctor, who has long served as a substitute judge and public capital defender. “There are any number of things people need assistance with” when court-appointed attorneys are not available, he said.

Many such cases are divorces, bankruptcies and child custody cases. A typical divorce, Proctor said, might cost $1,000 between interviewing a client, drafting paperwork and taking depositions; he might offer that service at a 10th of the going rate.

“That to me is part of living in a small town,” he said, passing on praise to his office manager-wife, Anne, and his secretary, Seth Allen.

The other honoree is Ruth Micklem, who is co-director of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance. Micklem’s organization, which has offices in Richmond and Charlottesville, is geared at strengthening Virginia’s response to sexual and domestic violence.

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