Faculty Resources - Faculty Recognition

George E. Allen Sr. entered the practice of law in 1910 in Victoria, Virginia, after graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law. In 1931, he moved to Richmond where he built a reputation as a trial lawyer and continued to practice until his death in 1972.

From 1950-1960 he served as president of the Richmond Bar Association, from 1951-1953 as faculty member of the Law-Science Institute, and from 1953-1954 as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was the first president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, 1959-1960. In 1965, at the age of 80, he was named the first recipient of the Award for Courageous Advocacy by the American College of Trial Lawyers for representing a black law student accused of felonious assult after a scuffle with police in 1963. Mr. Allen was a fellow and co-founder of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He served as dean of the IATL in 1966.

In 1976, four years after his death, Mr. Allen's sons, Ashby, Wilbur, and George Jr., of the law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, gave a challenge gift to establish the George E. Allen Chair in Law as a memorial to their father. It was the first endowed chair in the over-100-year history of the T. C. Williams School of Law.

It was the Allen brothers' hope "that [their] gift would inspire others to do likewise, creating an atmosphere for even further success in funding the law school and the University, thus highlighting the importance of the University and the T. C. Williams School of Law and its service to the community, the state, and the nation."

Prior to 1998, when a full-time faculty member was appointed to hold the position, the George E. Allen Chair in Law was used as a visiting scholar series.