Virginia McMichael, Managing Attorney at Appellate Law Group LLC, is an accomplished Pennsylvania appellate lawyer. A dynamic and engaging speaker, McMichael leverages her trial and appellate experience to present educational programming on various subjects, including appeals, persuasive legal writing, technology for the small law firm, managing a virtual law firm, women’s political engagement, and work-life balance. She has presented at regional and local organizations, including bar association groups. 

With 38 years’ experience in the state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, McMichael is a respected appellate lawyer who has handled cases involving business disputes, personal injury, medical malpractice, family law, property law, and international matters. She is adept at explaining complicated matters in a clear way.

Before founding Appellate Law Group, McMichael was a litigation partner and Chair of Appellate Practice at Philadelphia-based Dilworth Paxson LLP. She was also an elected official in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

McMichael is fluent in Spanish and French and has lived abroad in Holland, Spain, England, and Mexico. In 2019, McMichael spent a month practicing appellate law remotely from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

For more information about Pennsylvania appeals and the topics Virginia McMichael can present, see her articles, “The Journey of a Lawyer: How One Woman Came to the Law and Where it Has Taken Her,” and “Lessons from the Journey,” first published in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer.

McMichael has presented to various regional and local audiences for many organizations including: 

• The Pennsylvania Bar Institute
• The Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section
• The Philadelphia Bar Association
• The Delaware County Bar Association 
• The Chester County League of Women Voters