Grayson County, Virginia Bar, 1793-1837

Lawyers

The practices of Grayson County and the North Carolina counties differed considerably in admitting lawyers to the Bar. In the early days of both counties, the county court admitted lawyers to practice before the bar. The Ashe County records fail to record many of the men who must have practiced before the courts in that county. It appears that an attorney in North Carolina was usually a resident of the county in which he practiced. In Virginia roaming attorneys seem to have been the rule. North Carolina also required formal legal training, while in Virginia a person could “read” law with an established attorney in a type of apprentice system without attending a law school, though many Virginia attorneys attended William and Mary or the University of Virginia Schools of Law.