17th Judicial Circuit's Commissioners of Accounts

Commissioner Elizabeth L. Wildhack

Ms. Wildhack was appointed as Commissioner of Accounts by the Arlington Circuit Court in April 2019 after more than a decade service as the Assistant Commissioner of Accounts.

Ms. Wildhack has been in private practice in Northern Virginia since 2001 and is now the managing partner at MWM Legal Group, PLLC.

Ms. Wildhack is a past recipient of the Arlington County Human Rights Commission James B. Hunter Award in recognition of her pro-bono work on behalf of the elderly and disabled in our community. She has served as past Chair of the Arlington County Industrial Authority aas well as past Chair of the Professional Advisors Council of the Arlington Community Foundation. Ms. Wildhack served for more than a decade as the Treasurer for the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and as Co-Chair of the Arlington County Bar Association's Section on Law and Aging.

Ms. Wildhack has been recently recognized by Best Lawyers as the

Elder Law Attorney of the Year

for 2023

for the Washington DC Metro Area.

Commissioner Willliam G. Murray

Mr. Murray has been in private practice in Northern Virginia since 1973. He has served as Commissioner of Accounts for the 17th Judicial Circuit since he was appointed by the Arlington County Circuit Court in 1989.

Mr. Murray is a recipient of the Arlington Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a past president of the Arlington Bar Association, a past chair of the Virginia State Bar Ethics Committee, a past member of the Executive Committee of the Virginia State Bar, and the past chair of the Judicial Council of Virginia’s Standing Committee on Commissioners of Accounts.

His community activities include serving as chair of the Arlington Sports Commission, and as a board member of Arlington Senior Babe Ruth Baseball and the Arlington Sports Foundation.

Mr. Murray was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 1988, and a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation in 1999.

Under the Code of Virginia (§ 64.2-1200) the judges of each circuit court shall appoint as many commissioners of accounts as may be necessary to carry out the duties of that office. In the event more than one commissioner of accounts is appointed, each commissioner of accounts shall maintain his own office and keep his own books, records, and accounts.

In 1989, the Circuit Court appointed William G. Murray as Commissioner of Accounts.

In 2008, Elizabeth L. Wildhack was appointed as Assistant Commissioner of Accounts to handle all matters the Commissioner was unable or unwilling to hear.

In 2019, the Circuit Court appointed Ms. Wildhack as the jurisdiction's second Commissioner of Accounts.

Commissioner Murray and Commissioner Wildhack each have their own independent and continuing case loads.

Beginning July 1, 2019, all new fiduciary matters arising in the Circuit shall be assigned to Commissioner Wildhack and all foreclosure matters to Commissioner Murray.