Purpose and Function
The Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Services Council (Council) is the Virginia state agency responsible for providing training, education and services for Virginia’s prosecutors. The 120 elected Commonwealth’s Attorneys and their Assistants statewide depend upon Council sponsored training programs to meet their annual mandatory continuing legal education requirements (MCLE) as established by the Virginia State Bar.
Council provides over 25 training programs per year. Additionally, Council provides to all prosecutors across the state access to appellate briefs, legal memoranda, court forms, training outlines, information about expert witnesses, and weekly updates from the Virginia Court of Appeals, Virginia Supreme Court, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court, along with legislative and appellate updates.
Council is comprised of six officers and sixteen Commonwealth’s Attorneys representing each of Virginia’s congressional districts. Council staff includes a director, four full time staff attorneys, a part time program specialist and a fiscal officer. The Council offices are located at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
