Hon. Ralph L. "Bill" Axselle, Jr.

The Honorable Bill Axselle joined Williams Mullen in 1990 after retiring from the Virginia legislature. His practice includes land use, regulatory, lobbying, and administrative law, which he practices before state and local governments.

The Honorable Bill Axselle joined Williams Mullen in 1990 after retiring from the Virginia legislature. His practice includes land use, regulatory, lobbying, and administrative law, which he practices before state and local governments.

Mr. Axselle served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1974 through 1990. A ranking member on a number of major committees, he also was chairman of the Governor’s Regulatory Reform Advisory Board and the Governor’s Commission on Efficiency in Government. Following his retirement from the House and based on the appointment of four different governors, he has served as chairman of the Regulatory Climate Workgroup of the Economic Recovery Commission and as a member of the Virginia Regulatory Roundtable, the Blue Ribbon Strike Force: Governor’s Commission on Government Reform, the Virginia Strategy Board, the Governor’s Commission on Transportation Policy and the Administrative Law Advisory Committee for the Virginia Code Commission. He also has been appointed by two governors to serve on the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors and appointed by two Speakers of the House to serve on the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, on which he continues to serve. He also serves, based on recommendations of the appropriate legislative Chairmen, on the Committee that drafts the guidelines for public-private endeavors.

Mr. Axselle was named the Best Lawyers’ 2011 Richmond Government Relations Lawyer of the Year and 2012 Richmond Land Use & Zoning Law Lawyer of the Year. He continues to be named to Virginia Business magazine’s list of “Legal Elite” in the real estate and land use category, and each year has earned its top lobbying/regulatory attorney honors. He has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading real estate attorney in Virginia and has been named a “Super Lawyer” for both Government and Land Use/Zoning by Virginia Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, Mr. Axselle is regularly listed in The Best Lawyers in America for both his lobbying/regulatory and his land use and zoning work. Martindale Hubbell has rated Mr. Axselle an AV attorney, its highest rating available.

Long active in civic and community affairs, Mr. Axselle is a former chairman of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and served as chairman of Richmond Region 2007. In 2005, Mr. Axselle was the recipient of the Henrico Business Council of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the Regional Transportation Advocacy Board.

Mr. Axselle’s past activities have included service to numerous charities such as the YMCA, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the United Way, the Virginia Jaycees and the Council for America’s First Freedom. He formerly was active with the Government Affairs Committee of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Transportation Study Task Force of the Richmond Chamber. He also has served as a member of the board of trustees of Fork Union Military Academy. Mr. Axselle works with the National Development Council of the University of North Carolina.

Following his 1965 graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor of arts degree in political science, Mr. Axselle attended the University of Richmond Law School. A 1968 graduate, he was the president of the Student Council, a member of the McNeill Law Society and on the staff of the University of Richmond Law Review.

Prior to joining Williams Mullen, Mr. Axselle was senior partner with the firm of Axselle, Hundley, Johnson & Harris. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar and the American, Virginia, Richmond, and Henrico County bar associations.