The undersigned wholly support the proposal to combine Appalachian School of Law and Roanoke College. The prospect of these two organizations joining forces is not just an institutional merger, but represents a transformative moment for our region — one that blends tradition with innovation and challenge with opportunity.
For years, the Appalachian School of Law has served as a vital pathway for students committed to practicing in rural and underserved communities. Its faculty and students have always been resilient and service-oriented. Yet, like many small, independent law schools across the country, it has faced mounting financial, demographic and structural pressures. These challenges do not diminish its value; rather, they underscore the importance of securing a sustainable future for legal education in Southwest Virginia.
Roanoke College, with its strong liberal arts foundation, deep community roots, and growing reputation for forward-thinking leadership, offers exactly that future.
A sensible partnership
The alignment between these two institutions is striking. Roanoke College brings stability, infrastructure and a vibrant academic ecosystem. The Appalachian School of Law brings a proud legacy, a committed faculty and a mission grounded in service and regional impact. Together, they could establish a law school that is not only academically strong but uniquely positioned to address the legal needs of Appalachia and beyond.
We envision a law program that leverages Roanoke College’s undergraduate strengths — ethics, public policy, business, environmental studies — while building on Appalachian School of Law’s expertise in community lawyering, dispute resolution and public service. Joined together, these two institutions would create a pipeline that keeps talented students in Southwest Virginia, preparing them for careers that strengthen our courts, our firms, our nonprofits and our civic institutions.
Thus, we do not view this as merely a merger of educational institutions. Rather, it will be a strategic investment in the future of our region.
A catalyst for regional growth
The Roanoke Valley legal community stands ready to support this endeavor. We see the potential for:
- Career opportunities, connecting lawyers, judges, and others interested in legal education with students.
- Expanded internship, clinical and clerkship opportunities, connecting students with local courts, firms and agencies.
- A stronger talent pipeline, helping address attorney shortages in rural areas.
- Enhanced continuing education and professional development, benefiting practitioners across the region.
- New academic programs, including joint degrees, legal clinics, and community-based initiatives.
- Economic growth, as students, faculty and staff contribute to the vitality of Southwest Virginia, including Salem and the greater Roanoke area.
A law school embedded within a thriving liberal arts college and supported by an engaged bar can become a regional anchor institution. It can attract new students, new ideas and new partnerships. It can help shape the next generation of lawyers who understand both the challenges and the promise of practicing in Southwest Virginia.
A moment for community leadership
We know that transitions of this scale require vision, patience and collaboration. But we also know that our community has never shied away from bold steps when the future demanded them. The Roanoke Valley has long been a place where institutions reinvent themselves, where partnerships flourish, and where education is seen as a public good. We have great confidence in the leaders of Roanoke College and Appalachian School of Law to carry on these values.
The potential merger of the Appalachian School of Law and Roanoke College is precisely the kind of forward-looking initiative that can define the next chapter of our region’s story.
We undersigned members of the Roanoke Valley bar stand ready to mentor, to collaborate, to advocate and to help build a law school that reflects the best of who we are and the best of what Southwest Virginia can become.
The writers are Roanoke Valley attorneys.
John Fishwick is the owner of Fishwick and Associates PLC law firm and the former United States attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Monica Monday is an appellate attorney with Gentry Locke and serves as chair of the firm’s Executive Board.
Phillip Anderson, partner Frith Anderson + Peake PC and past president of Virginia State Bar.
Mona Raza is executive director and general counsel of the Legal Aid Society of Roanoke Valley, a nonprofit organization providing free civil legal services to low-income Virginians in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding rural communities.
Dan Frankl is senior of-counsel at Harman Claytor Corrigan and Wellman, former president of the Roanoke Bar Association, member of the Virginia Law Foundation and the Roanoke Law Foundation, with nearly 40 years of litigation experience in the Roanoke Valley and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
William Hopkins, Jr. is a partner at Martin, Hopkins and Lemon, P.C.
Paul Beers, a graduate of W&L Law School, has been practicing since 1986, first for a Legal Aid program in the Virginia coalfields and since 1991 in private practice for a firm in Roanoke.
Cerid Lugar is the owner of Lugar Injury Law in the Roanoke Valley for the last ten years.
John Lichtenstein is a trial lawyer whose practice concerns severe and catastrophic injury and wrongful death as well as serious criminal matters in federal and state courts.
Terry Grimes has practiced law for more than 40 years in courts in Virginia and the United States.