Speakers

Governor Timothy M. Kaine

Tim Kaine became the 70th Governor of Virginia on January 14, 2006. He was the first Virginia Governor to be inaugurated at the Colonial Capitol in Williamsburg since Thomas Jefferson.

As Governor, Kaine is focused on four areas where progress is needed to keep Virginia leading the way: education, transportation, health care, and protecting the God-given beauty of the Commonwealth. Together with these four initiatives, Governor Kaine is committed to an open and inclusive government that serves people efficiently and expands opportunity. In his first year in office, Governor Kaine worked with the legislature to eliminate the estate tax, create Virginia's first sales tax holiday and give citizens more information to participate in local decisions about property tax rates. In August of 2006, Forbes.com named Virginia the "Best State for Business" in the nation.

Governor Kaine grew up in Kansas City working in his father's ironworking shop. He attended the University of Missouri and Harvard Law School.

Governor Kaine's career of public service began when he took a year off from law school to volunteer with missionaries in Honduras. There, he served as the principal of a small Catholic school that taught teenagers basic carpentry and welding skills.

Governor Kaine practiced law in Richmond for 17 years, representing people who had been denied housing opportunities because of their race or disability. He won many precedent-setting cases in this area and was recognized by local, state and national organizations for his fair-housing advocacy. Kaine also taught legal ethics for six years at the University of Richmond Law School.

Governor Kaine entered political life in 1994 and was elected to four terms on the City Council, including two terms as Richmond's mayor, where he worked to build Richmond's first new schools in a generation, cut taxes and slash the city's crime rate. Richmond's success in reducing violent crime won national recognition from Presidents Clinton and Bush and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The improvements in Richmond's economy during Kaine's tenure earned the city its first-ever listing in Forbes Magazine's annual ranking of the top 10 cities in America for doing business.

Governor Kaine was elected Virginia's Lieutenant Governor in 2001. He worked for four years with Governor Mark Warner to reform the state's budget and invest new resources in education. These reforms led Governing Magazine to recognize Virginia in 2005 as the Best Managed State in America.

Governor Kaine is married to Anne Holton, a former legal aid lawyer and juvenile court judge. Anne's father, Linwood Holton, was Governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974, making Anne the only Virginian who has lived in the Governor's mansion as a child and then as an adult. Anne works diligently to serve the Commonwealth with a particular focus on the needs of Virginia's children in foster care.

The Kaines have three children -- Nat, Woody and Annella -- who all attend Richmond Public Schools. The family is active in their church and spends all the time they can in Virginia's outdoors.

Robert J. Grey, Jr.

Robert J. Grey, Jr., a partner in the law offices of Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia, served as president of the American Bar Association from 2004-2005.

Robert's practice focuses on administrative matters before state and federal agencies. Based on this and other experience, he continues his practice in mediation and other forms of dispute resolution on a state and national level. He represents corporate and industry interests in the legislative arena. Robert also counsels businesses with concerns before elected and appointed government officials.

Grey devoted his yearlong term as president of the ABA to creating better justice through better juries via the American Jury Initiative. The Jury Initiative was composed of the Commission on the American Jury and the American Jury Project. The Commission was dedicated to educating the public on and reinvigorating the nation's commitment to jury service. The American Jury Project modernized and consolidated varying sets of juror standards into a single model document that reflects the demands of contemporary trials. This work will continue under the auspices of the new American Jury Project.

Additionally, Grey worked to review, unify and update ABA programs to increase diversity in the legal profession, to advance the ABA's international rule of law efforts, and to safeguard the profession's independence.