Powell received her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in 1979 and her J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1982. Powell began her legal career in private practice. From 1986 to 1989, she served as an assistant attorney general for the state. She then worked as corporate counsel and director of Employee Services for Virginia Power. In 1993, Powell joined the 12th Judicial Circuit, serving as a general district and circuit judge in Chesterfield County. Eight years later she was elected to the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2008. In 2011, the Virginia Legislature elected her to the Virginia Supreme Court. On each court Powell served on, she was the first African-American woman to do so. Powell named an Influential Woman of Virginia by Lawyer's Weekly, and an Outstanding Woman of Virginia by Ebony Magazine. | | | | --- | --- | | | | | --- | | " Justice? Unlikely! with Justice Cleo Powell, Supreme Court of Virginia" - University of Virginia School of Law conference on increasing diversity in the legal profession, released November 11, 2011 | | |
