George Clay Landrith, III is the President of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a position he has held since 1998.
Education
Landrith is a 1988 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor and was Business Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Politics. He graduated in 1985, magna cum laude, from earning a Bachelor of Arts studying political science and economics.
Career
The institute is a conservative public policy think tank founded by retired United States Senator Malcolm Wallop (R-Wyoming). In 1994 and 1996, Mr. Landrith was the Republican Party candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District.
In 1994, he lost by 6% to then-incumbent L.F. Payne (Doctorate-Virginia).
Election analyst and pundit Larry Sabato described both candidates as follows: "Payne lacks the charisma that Landrith exudes on television and in debates." In 1996, Payne retired from Congress and conservative Virginia State Senator Virgil Goode ran as the Democratic candidate. In 2000, Goode withdrew from the Democratic Party and became an independent who caucused with the Republicans.
In 2002, Goode officially became a Republican. Landrith served on the Albemarle County School Board (Virginia) from 1992-1995.
While serving on the board, Landrith developed a strong reputation for fiscal responsibility, educational reforms that focused on accountability and curriculum content, and parental rights.
In 1996, Landrith was appointed by then Governor George F. Allen and confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly to serve on the Virginia Workforce 2000 Advocacy Council. As an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law, Mr. Landrith has taught constitutional law, appellate advocacy, and legal writing.
Before joining Frontiers of Freedom, Landrith was the vice president and general counsel of the National Legal Center for the Public Interest (1996 to 1998).
Prior to 1996, Landrith had a successful law practice in business law, litigation, and commercial transactions. Mr. Landrith has also been a frequent speaker and lecturer at public policy forums and conferences in the United States. and internationally.
Politics
In 2004, Mr. Landrith published a book entitled, On Politics and Policy: Views on Freedom from an American Conservative.
Membership
Landrith is a member of the bar in Virginia and California and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.