In 1890, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act incorporating the Virginia State Bar Association. Section 1 of the act provides: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That William J. Robertson, R.G.H. Kean, Thomas Tabb, John W. Riely, James A. Walker, Holmes Conrad, Frank V. Winston, S. Ferguson Beach, John H. Fulton, Charles A. Graves, Richard B. Tunstall, James C. Lamb, Charles M. Blackford, William J. Leake, Thomas S. Martin, Alexander Hamilton, James E. Heath, Micajah Woods, George M. Harrison, F.H. McGuire, and such other persons as are now associated with them in the unincorporated society known as the Virginia State Bar Association, or as may be hereafter associated with them under this charter, be, and they are hereby, incorporated under the corporate name of 'The Virginia State Bar Association,' for the purpose of cultivating and advancing the science of jurisprudence, facilitating the administration of justice in this State, and upholding and elevating the standard of honor, integrity, and courtesy in the legal profession."