Michael Morchower, a Richmond lawyer attending the party tonight, said of the three Democrats, "You'd need a freight train for all the baggage."

Patricia M. Schwarzschild, a Richmond lawyer representing the syndicate, which is made up of 2,500 investors, said today that the ticket was valid.

Mr. Robb must still defeat a Richmond lawyer, Sylvia Clute, in the Democratic primary on June 14.

A former flight attendant, Ms. Willey, 51, was married to a politically prominent Richmond lawyer, Ed Willey Jr.

Accompanied by two Richmond lawyers, he handed the slip to Mr. Shaw.

Daniel A. Gecker, the Richmond lawyer who represents Ms. Willey, did not return phone calls last week.

"Economics are what has always mattered," said William Gaynes Ellison, a Richmond lawyer.

Mr. Gregory, a black Richmond lawyer, already sits on that court after being named to it last year by President Bill Clinton during a Congressional recess.

But Robert H. Patterson Jr., a Richmond lawyer who represents Virginia Military Institute, said he saw a strong argument in Detroit for such a school.

I can imagine it," Lawrence D. Wilder Jr., a Richmond lawyer, said as he left a farewell luncheon for his father's staff and volunteers.