Tarley is new president-elect of Virginia State Bar

Williamsburg attorney Susan Bradford Tarley was chosen the 2025-26 president-elect of the Virginia State Bar on June 13 during the organization’s annual meeting in Virginia Beach.

Tarley is a partner at Tarley Robinson, where she focuses her practice on real estate, business matters and creditors’ rights. She has also served as an adjunct professor at the College of William & Mary Law School and as a substitute judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

“I stand before you incredibly honored, deeply grateful, and only mildly terrified to accept the role of president-elect,” Tarley said after her election.

Tarley’s service to the VSB includes time on VSB Council, the Clients’ Protection Fund Board and as co-chair of the Common Interest Community subcommittee of the Real Property Section.

During her career, Tarley has received multiple honors, including being named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s inaugural Leaders in the Law class in 2006 and as a 2023 inductee of the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame. She was tapped as a Virginia Law Foundation Fellow earlier this year.

“We are stronger, wiser, and more just when every voice has a seat at the table,” Tarley said. “If you’ve ever been a person who didn’t get a seat at the table, you know how important it is to have your voice heard. We are better equipped to solve our profession’s challenges when ideas are shared and welcomed.”

Tarley is a graduate of Penn State University and the George Mason School of Law. She practices law alongside her husband, John Tarley Jr.