The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the professional graduate

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexing ...

. It is a private American Bar Association-accredited

located in Lexington in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

region of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

. Facilities are on the historic campus of Washington and Lee University in Sydney Lewis Hall. W&L Law has a total enrollment of approximately 365 students in the

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

program and a 6-to-1 student to faculty ratio.

History

The Lexington Law School, the precursor to W&L Law, was founded in 1849 by United States federal judge John White Brockenbrough and is the 16th oldest active law school in the United States and the third-oldest in Virginia. The Law School was not integrated into Washington and Lee University (then known as Washington College) until after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

when

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the university. In 1866, Lee annexed the school, known at the time as the School of Law and Equity, to the college and appointed Judge Brockenbrough as the first dean. In 1870, after Lee's death, the School of Law and Equity was renamed as the Washington and Lee University School of Law, in line with the college's name change in honor of Lee. Also in 1870, former Virginia Attorney General John Randolph Tucker was appointed to the faculty and later became Dean followed by his son Henry St. George Tucker, Sr. In 1900, the law school moved into the newly built Tucker Hall in memory of Dean Tucker. Tucker Hall also housed the law school's first law library—the Vincent L. Bradford Law Library. After significant periods of growth, the law school moved into new Tucker Hall after the original building was destroyed in a fire and the law library was rebuilt with a grant from the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...

. In 1920, W&L Law joined the

Association of American Law Schools The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 176 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) no ...

. The '' Washington and Lee Law Review'' began publication in the Autumn of 1939 and is still in regular publication. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, enrollment increased despite a period of low enrollment during the war. In 1950, the School of Law established its chapter of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap ...

, one of only 80 such chapters in the country. The School of Law admitted its first female students in 1972, and opened its current home, Sydney Lewis Hall, in 1977. In 1992, the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Wing was added to Sydney Lewis Hall and the Wilbur C. Hall Law Library at a dedication ceremony attended by Justice Powell and presided over by Chief Justice

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

. In 2008, Dean Rodney Smolla announced the new third-year program, which became compulsory for W&L Law students in 2011 under Interim Dean Mark Grunewald. This new program turned the entire third year into an experiential curriculum which emphasizes practice, professionalism, and service. Nora Demleitner served as Dean from 2012 through 2015, the only woman to hold the position, during which time the school completed its $35 million campaign, ''Honor Our Past, Build Our Future'', renovated Lewis Hall, established the Washington, DC portion of W&L's third-year program, and significantly increased the employment and bar passage rates of its graduates. On July 1, 2015, Brant J. Hellwig became Dean of the law school, the 18th Dean since 1849. Also in 2015, W&L Law formed an academic and professional partnership with the

Future of Privacy Forum The Future of Privacy Forum is a Washington DC based think tank and advocacy group focused on issues of data privacy. It is jointly supported by corporate sponsors and foundations. Corporate members include AT&T, Comcast, Facebook, Google, Inteli ...

, an information privacy think tank in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. The Future of Privacy Forum will facilitate professional, research, and curricular development and the Washington, DC portion of W&L's third-year program will move into its offices.

Facilities

Sydney Lewis Hall is the home of the school of law on the historic campus of Washington and Lee in Lexington, Virginia. Lewis Hall was built in 1977 with a $9 million gift from Best Products founder

Sydney Lewis Sydney Lewis (October 24, 1919 – March 12, 1999) was a Virginia businessman, philanthropist, and art collector who founded the Best Products Company. Biography Lewis was born to a Jewish family in Richmond, Virginia, the son of an emigrant ...

and his wife Frances of Virginia. Lewis Hall was designed by Marcellus Wright Cox & Smith Architects in the Mid-century modern style. In addition to lecture halls, classrooms, and offices for faculty and staff, Lewis Hall houses the 150-seat Millhiser Moot Courtroom with the accompanying Robert E. Stroud Judge's Chambers and the Roger D. Groot Jury Room. The Millhiser Moot Courtroom serves as the continuity of operations site for the

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

. Lewis Hall also has a cafeteria for students, staff, and faculty called the Brief Stop, which serves food, snacks, and drinks. As part of its $35 million campaign completed in 2015, ''Honor Our Past, Build Our Future'', the School of Law renovated and modernized the facilities. The project resulted in more flexible space for student collaboration and study, new homes for four of the school's legal clinics and student organizations, more natural lighting, a new library reading room, a new high-tech trial courtroom, and an improved entry sequence and navigation for the building. Lewis Hall's cornerstones are the Wilbur C. Hall Law Library and Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Wing. The Wilbur C. Hall Law Library is a Federal Depository Library for the U.S. Government and includes a separate faculty library, a rare book room, and an audio-visual media center and is open 24-hours a day. The library houses more than 492,000 volumes and is unique in offering each student personally designated work and storage space. The Powell Wing was built in 1992 to house the professional and personal papers and archives of the

United States Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

and noted W&L alum as well as other manuscript collections, rare books, and archives of the law school. The Powell Wing includes an expanded main reading room space, in addition to stack area and work space for the papers. The archives are managed by full-time staff and are open to researchers, faculty, and students.

Programs and admissions

W&L Law's full-time

program, one of the smallest in the country, is the primary degree-program at the Law School. The Class of 2021 numbered 131 students with a median LSAT of 163 and a median undergraduate

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

of 3.50. International exchange programs are available for Juris Doctor students with Trinity College in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

and the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Rankings and reputation

Washington and Lee University School of Law ranked 35th in the 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' national ranking of America's law schools. Since the ''U.S. News'' rankings of law schools were first released in 1987, W&L Law has had an average ranking of 26th nationally.

Brian Leiter Brian Leiter (; born 1963) is an American philosopher and legal scholar who is Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago Law School and founder and Director of Chicago's Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values. ...

ranked W&L Law's endowment-per-student as 14th in the country, at $214,000 per student, when adjusted for cost-of-living. Above the Law ranked W&L Law 22nd nationally in their 2019 Top 50 Law Schools rankings and, in 2017, 4th nationally in their rankings for the top-rated law schools when measuring alumni satisfaction. ''National Jurist'' ranked W&L Law 15th in its list of best law schools for standard of living and 18th in its ranking of the best law libraries. The 2013 edition of ''On Being a Black Lawyer: The Black Student's Guide to Law Schools'', ranked W&L Law 25th in its rankings of the best law schools for black law students. In 2013, ''National Jurist'' named W&L's law faculty as the 10th most influential in legal education (the only entire faculty on the list) and 18th in 2014 as well as awarding W&L Law's practical training program a B+ grade in its 2014 listing of the best law schools for practical training. ''National Jurist'' also ranked W&L Law as the 5th best value private law school in 2016 in the United States. A ranking of scholarly impact published in the '' University of St. Thomas Law Journal'' ranked the faculty 30th nationally. A 2015 ranking by

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...

, listed W&L Law as the 17th best law schools in the United States to make connections and get a job. Washington and Lee's ''The Law News'' has been awarded the ABA's award of the finest law school student newspaper four times, including three years in a row, in 1985, 2013, 2014, and 2015. In 2016, ''National Jurist'' included W&L Law on its list of one of the twelve best value private law schools in the United States.

Bar exam results

W&L's Virginia

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

passage rate on the July 2017 exam was 86.67% (the state average was 76.43%); W&L had the highest combined average passage rate among Virginia schools for the July 2014 and 2015 exams. W&L's

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

bar passage rate on the July 2015 exam was 92.86% (the state average for ABA law school graduates was 79%). Nationally, W&L Class of 2014 graduates had a 90% passage rate on bar exams in all states. W&L Law was ranked as having the 20th best bar passage rate nationally based on Class of 2015 data.

Post-graduation employment

Based on Class of 2015 data, 85% of W&L Law graduates obtained full-time, long term JD-required or preferred jobs within 10 months of graduation. 50% of the 2015 graduates obtained full-time long-term jobs in law firms (including 21% of graduates getting full-time, long term jobs in firms greater than 100 lawyers) and 19% of 2015 graduates obtained clerkships. The large law firms which employed the most W&L Law graduates were Hunton Andrews Kurth, Alston & Bird,

McGuireWoods McGuireWoods LLP is a US-based international law firm. Their largest offices are in Richmond, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Chicago, Illinois. History 1800s–1960s McGuireWoods traces its origins to two lawyers, Egbert R. Watson and ...

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Its namesake firms are Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, a Pittsburg ...

, and King & Spalding. The School of Law ranked 18th on the 2012 ''U.S. News ranking of law schools by recruiters from the top national law firms and 19th on the 2015 ''U.S News'' ranking of law schools that send the most students to clerk for a United States federal judge (6.9%). The ''

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly newspa ...

'' ranked W&L Law 33rd in its 2015 "Go-To Law Schools" list of law schools that send the highest percentage of students to the 250 largest law firms in the United States.

Juris Doctor curriculum

The Juris Doctor curriculum at W&L consists three unique and integrated years of full-time study with a mix of traditional casebook method and practice-oriented courses. ;First-year In the 1L year, students take required foundational courses in

contract law A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to ...

tort law A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishabl ...

civil procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

, criminal law, property law,

professional responsibility Professional responsibility is a set of duties within the concept of professional ethics for those who exercise a unique set of knowledge and skill as professionals. Professional responsibility applies to those professionals making judgments, a ...

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as " regulations"), ...

, and

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

. Additionally, each student is assigned a small section in which one substantive required course also serves as a

legal writing Legal writing involves the analysis of fact patterns and presentation of arguments in documents such as legal memoranda and briefs. One form of legal writing involves drafting a balanced analysis of a legal problem or issue. Another form of lega ...

course. This small section consists of approximately 20 students. 1Ls are also assigned to an upper-level student from the Burks Scholar Program who teaches

legal research Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a prob ...

and

Bluebook ''The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation'' is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. It is taught and used at a majority of U.S. law schools and is also used in a majority of feder ...

methods. ;Second-year In the 2L year, students focus on advanced coursework. W&L requires

evidence law The law of evidence, also known as the rules of evidence, encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. These rules determine what evidence must or must not be considered by the trier of fa ...

and

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fed ...

in the second-year as well as the completion of an upper-level writing requirement. The writing requirement can be satisfied through a seminar course, through an independent writing project, or a note in one of the law journals. All other courses in the 2L year are electives and commonly include corporate law and

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

as well as many other classes and seminars. Since establishing the practice-based curriculum, W&L incorporated its experiential curricular offerings, such as practicum courses, into the second-year in addition to casebook-oriented electives. ;Third-year The new third-year program, which began in the fall of 2010, replaced further elective advanced coursework based on the casebook method as is the norm in most

ABA ABA may refer to: Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, United States * Asahi Broadcasting Aomori, Japanese television station * Australian Broadcasting Authority Education * Académie des Beaux- ...

law schools. Instead, the program is meant to simulate client experiences. The 3L year requires students to exercise professional judgment, work in teams, solve problems, counsel clients, negotiate solutions, serve as advocates and counselors — the full complement of professional activity that engages practicing lawyers as they apply legal theory and doctrines to the real-world issues of serving clients ethically and honorably within the highest traditions of the profession. The Fall semester begins with an immersion course. Students are allowed to choose one of two courses for the two-week immersion. Immersion focuses on either

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

and

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

or transactional practice. Each student is then enrolled in practicum courses of their choosing. These courses cover substantive and advanced law but do so through practical methods of drafting paperwork and problem-solving rather than casebook and the

socratic method The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ...

. Students are also required to take a course in the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult t ...

as well as a law-related service requirement. Finally, each student is required to be involved in one of W&L's legal clinics, externship programs, or transnational programs to gain real-client experience. The program is flexible and allows students the ability to tailor their schedule and, if they wish, to take several traditional casebook method courses.

The Honor System

The

Honor System An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enf ...

has been run by the student body since 1905 and is derived from Robert E. Lee during his tenure as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the University. Any student found guilty of an Honor Violation by his or her peers is subject to a single penalty: expulsion. The Honor System is defined and administered solely by students, and there is no higher review. A formal review, occasionally including referendums, is held every three years to refine the tenets of the Honor System. Students continue to support the Honor System and its single penalty overwhelmingly, and alumni regularly point to the Honor System as one of the distinctive marks they carry with them from their W&L experience. W&L Law students enjoy several distinct benefits from the Honor System. These include more freedom in exam taking as well as an informal account system at the Brief Stop cafeteria in Sydney Lewis Hall. These are balanced by the strict penalty of a violation of the Honor System.

Clinics, journals, moot court, and centers

Notable alumni

US Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell - 1976 official portrait

Academia *

Ronald J. Bacigal Ronald J. Bacigal is an American legal scholar and professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law. He is "nationally recognized as one of the leading scholars of Fourth Amendment Law." Bacigal graduated from Concord University an ...

1967 — Professor of law, University of Richmond School of Law * Charles A. Graves 1872 - Professor at W&L Law and at the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

* Robert Huntley 1950, 1957 - Former Dean of W&L Law, former President of Washington and Lee University, former President, Chairman, and CEO of Best Products * Robert Shepherd 1959, 1961 —

Professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of law, University of Richmond School of Law Arts and entertainment *

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...

1969 — New York Times bestselling author of

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

and creator of the

Shannara ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with '' The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, '' First King of Sha ...

fantasy series * David Brown 2000 - Former host of the ''

Marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from the Arabic), '' ...

'' radio program, current anchor of the Texas Standard *

Gay Elmore Gay Elmore is an American lawyer in Charleston, West Virginia who is better known for his collegiate basketball career at Virginia Military Institute between 1983–84 and 1986–87. During his career, Elmore scored a then-school record 2,423 poi ...

- Two time Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Business *

1940, 1943 - Prominent Virginia businessman, art collector, and founder of Best Products, recipient with his wife, Frances, in 1987, of the National Medal of the Arts * Gordon P. Robertson - CEO of the

Christian Broadcasting Network The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) is an American Christian media production and distribution organization. Founded in 1960 by Pat Robertson, it produces the long-running TV series ''The 700 Club'', co-produces the ongoing '' Superbook'' a ...

Government and politics *

Samuel B. Avis Samuel Brashear Avis (February 19, 1872 – June 8, 1924) was an American politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives from 1913 to 1915. Avis was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia where he attended the pub ...

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

from 1913 to 1915 *

Robert D. Bailey, Jr. Robert D. Bailey Jr. (October 12, 1912 – September 29, 1994) was West Virginia Secretary of State from 1965 to 1969. He was a graduate of Concord College and Washington and Lee University School of Law. Born in Baileysville, he was the so ...

- West Virginia Secretary of State from 1965 to 1969 *

Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...

1894 —

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

under President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of government of the City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's mayor–council (strong mayor) system, the mayor oversees all city services and is "responsible fo ...

, and named partner at BakerHostetler *

Franklin Brockson Franklin Brockson, (August 6, 1865 – March 16, 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U. S. R ...

- United States Congressman from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

from 1913 to 1915 * Clarence J. Brown 1915 - President of

Brown Publishing Company Brown Publishing Company was a privately owned Cincinnati, Ohio, newspaper business started by Congressman Clarence J. Brown in Blanchester, Ohio in 1920. It ended 90 years of operations in August/September 2010 with its bankruptcy and sale of ass ...

and US Congressman from Ohio from 1939 to 1965 * Nathan P. Bryan 1895 - US Senator from the State of Florida, Judge on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

* William James Bryan 1899 - US Senator from Florida *

Bruce L. Castor, Jr. Bruce Lee Castor Jr. (born October 24, 1961) is an American lawyer and retired Republican politician from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was appointed as the first Solicitor General of Pennsylvania in March 2016, and also first deputy att ...

1986 — Attorney General (interim) and Solicitor General of Pennsylvania; District Attorney,

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 73rd-most populous county in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553 ...

(2000–2008); Commissioner, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (2008-2016 ); President Pennsylvania District Attorneys' Association; Presidential Impeachment Counsel 2021 * Edward Cooper - US Congressman from West Virginia from 1915 to 1919 * Spencer Cox 2001 -

Governor of Utah A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

* William Fadjo Cravens - US Congressman from Arkansas * John J. Davis 1856 -

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

* John W. Davis 1895, 1892 — 1924

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

nominee for

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

; Ambassador to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

; Solicitor General; argued more cases before the Supreme Court than anyone else in the twentieth century; American Bar Association President; first President of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

; and named partner at

Davis Polk & Wardwell Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, better known as Davis Polk is a white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City with 980 attorneys worldwide and offices in Washington, D.C., Northern California, London, Paris, Madrid, Hong Kong, Be ...

Joe Donnelly Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy S ...

1981- United States Senator from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

* John P. Fishwick, Jr., former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the

Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Four ...

. Attorney in private practice in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...

. *

Vance A. Funk, III Vance Anderson Funk III (born December 16, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician from Newark, Delaware. He was the mayor of Newark from 2005 until he retired in 2013. Early life Funk was born December 16, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

1968 -

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

John Goode John Goode may refer to: * John Goode (Virginia politician) (1829–1909), politician in the Confederate Congress, U.S. congressman and acting Solicitor General of the United States * John Paul Goode John Paul Goode (21 November 1862 – 5 August ...

- 3rd

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represen ...

and

from Virginia *

Bob Goodlatte Robert William Goodlatte (; born September 22, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives representing for 13 terms. A Republican, he was also the Chair of the House Judiciar ...

1977 - United States Congressman from Virginia and Chair of the

United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, ...

R. Booth Goodwin Robert Booth Goodwin II (born 1971), known commonly as Booth Goodwin, is an American attorney with Goodwin & Goodwin LLP in Charleston, West Virginia. He served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from 2010 un ...

1996 -

for the

Southern District of West Virginia The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (in case citations, S.D. W. Va.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Fourth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims agai ...

* Morgan Griffith 1983 - Congressman from Virginia
Ondray T. Harris
- Executive director of the Public Employee Relations Board of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

* James Hay 1877 -

from Virginia and Federal Judge on the

United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...

* George Washington Hays -

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1913 to 1917 *

Homer A. Holt Homer Adams Holt (March 1, 1898January 16, 1975) was a West Virginia lawyer and politician who served as that state's 20th governor from 1937 to 1941. Born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he attended the Greenbrier Military School there and the ...

1918, 1923 -

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1937 to 1941 *

James Murray Hooker James Murray Hooker (October 29, 1873 – August 6, 1940) was a lawyer and U.S. Representative from Virginia. Biography Born in Buffalo Ridge, Virginia, Hooker attended the public schools. He was graduated from the College of William and Mary ...

1896 - US Congressman from Virginia * James L. Kemper - 1842, Governor of Virginia, Confederate General Leading Pickett's Charge * Ruby Laffoon 1890 - Governor of Kentucky * Edwin Gray Lee 1859 -

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

in the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confede ...

Scott Marion Loftin Scott Marion Loftin (September 14, 1878September 22, 1953) was a U.S. Senator from Florida who served as a Democrat in 1936. Loftin was born in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama. At the age of nine, he moved to Pensacola, Florida, with hi ...

1899 - US Senator from Florida and president of the American Bar Association * Mary Beth Long 1998 - Former

Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs In the United States, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs or ASD (ISA) is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD (P)) and the United States Secretary of Defense on internationa ...

at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

and former attorney with Williams & Connolly LLP * John Otho Marsh, Jr. 1951 - Secretary of the Army, 1981–1989, United States Congressman * Henry M. Mathews 1857 -

Addkison-Simmons, D. (2010). Henry Mason Mathews. ''e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia''. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1582 * Robert Murphy Mayo 1859 -

from Virginia * Thomas Chipman McRae - Governor of Arkansas, United States Representative * Mark Obenshain 1987 - Member of the

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

and Republican nominee for

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ...

in the 2013 Virginia election *

Mark J. Peake Mark Joseph Peake (born January 19, 1963) is a member of the Virginia Senate, representing the 22nd district. A member of the Republican Party, he won a special election held on January 10, 2017, to succeed Tom Garrett Jr., who had been ele ...

1988 - Member of the

* Miles Poindexter 1891 - Senator from the State of Washington *

Lacey E. Putney Lacey Edward Putney (June 27, 1928 – August 26, 2017) was an American politician. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from January 1962 until January 2014, making him the longest-serving member in the history of the Virginia Gene ...

— Longest serving member of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in the history of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1 ...

* Heartsill Ragon - US Congressman from Arkansas and federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas * Robert W. Ray 1985 - Partner at Fox Rothschild in New York City and former head of the US Office of the Independent Counsel (succeeded

Kenneth Starr Kenneth Winston Starr (July 21, 1946 – September 13, 2022) was an American lawyer and judge who authored the Starr Report, which led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He headed an investigation of members of the Clinton administration, know ...

) *

Alfred E. Reames Alfred Evan Reames (February 5, 1870March 4, 1943) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Oregon. A native Oregonian, he served as a United States Senator for nine months in 1938. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, h ...

1893 — US Senator from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Tom Sansonetti Thomas Lawrence Sansonetti (born May 18, 1949), is an attorney and a former government official from the U.S. state of Wyoming. He now resides in Greenwood Village, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. After graduation from high school, he earned ...

1976 -

United States Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

for the

United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division The United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) is one of seven litigating components of the U.S. Department of Justice. ENRD's mandate is to enforce civil and criminal environmental laws and programs p ...

Abram Penn Staples Abram Penn Staples (September 18, 1885 – March 21, 1951) was a Virginia lawyer, legislator and jurist. He served for eleven years as the Attorney General of Virginia, and four years as a justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia. Early and fami ...

1908 -

and justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia *

Charles L. Terry, Jr. Charles Layman Terry Jr. (September 17, 1900 – February 6, 1970) was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Cour ...

- Governor of Delaware 1961–1965 * Peter G. Strasser -

for the

Eastern District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans. Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of A ...

Paul S. Trible, Jr. Paul Seward Trible Jr. (born December 29, 1946) is an American attorney, politician and academic administrator. Trible was the former president of Christopher Newport University until his retirement in 2021. He was a Republican politician from V ...

1971 — Former US Senator from Virginia, president of

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, the first permanent English ...

William M. Tuck William Munford Tuck (September 28, 1896 – June 9, 1983) was an American lawyer and lieutenant in the Byrd Organization, who served as the 55th Governor of Virginia from 1946 to 1950 as a Democrat, and as a U.S. Congressman from 1953 until 196 ...

1921 - Governor of Virginia * Henry St. George Tucker III 1876 - US Congressman from Virginia, Dean of W&L Law, Dean of the

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of co ...

, and President of the American Bar Association *

David Gardiner Tyler David Gardiner Tyler (July 12, 1846 – September 5, 1927) was an American politician and the ninth child and fourth son of John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States. Born in New York, Tyler went to school in Virginia and fought in ...

1869 - United States Representative, Son of President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president of the United States, vice president in 1841. He was elected v ...

, Present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox *

Junius Edgar West Junius Edgar West (July 12, 1866 – January 1, 1947) was a Virginia politician and businessman who was born in Sussex County, Virginia, on July 12, 1866, and whose long and distinguished career culminated in two terms as the 22nd Lieutenant Go ...

- 22nd

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...

Seward H. Williams Seward Henry Williams (November 7, 1870 – September 2, 1922) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1915 to 1917. Biography Born in Amsterdam, New York, Williams attended the common ...

1895 - US Congressman from Ohio *

Harry M. Wurzbach Harry McLeary Wurzbach (May 19, 1874 – November 6, 1931) was an attorney and politician. He was the first Republican elected from Texas since Reconstruction to be elected for more than two terms and was re-elected to the Sixty-eighth, Sixty-n ...

1896 - US Congressman from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Judiciary *

William T. Brotherton, Jr. William Thurlow Weed Brotherton Jr. (April 17, 1926 – April 6, 1997) was the Democratic President of the West Virginia Senate from Kanawha County Kanawha County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As ...

- Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 to ...

from 1989 to 1994 *

Archibald C. Buchanan Archibald C. Buchanan (January 7, 1890 – May 3, 1979) was born in Tazewell, Virginia. He received his higher education at Hampden-Sydney College (B.A. degree, 1910) and Washington and Lee University. (LL. B. degree, 1914). He was admitted t ...

1914 - Justice on the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrati ...

Christian Compton Asbury Christian Compton (October 24, 1929 – April 9, 2006) was an American attorney and judge who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1974 until 2000, and as a Senior justice until his death. Compton was a native of As ...

1950, 1953 - Justice of the

from 1974 to 2006 * Mark Steven Davis 1988 - United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia *

John W. Eggleston John William Eggleston (June 18, 1886 – May 18, 1976) was a Virginia lawyer, politician and jurist whose tenure by the time of his death was the longest in the century. Early and family life Born at Charlotte Court House, Virginia, to David ...

1910 - Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court from 1958 to 1969 *

Herbert B. Gregory Herbert Bailey Gregory (April 10, 1884 – March 9, 1951) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1930 until his death in 1951. Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Werter Hancock a ...

1911 - Justice on the Virginia Supreme Court from 1930 to 1951 * Duncan Lawrence Groner 1894 - US Attorney, Federal District Judge for

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

, Chief Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...

Alexander M. Harman, Jr. Alexander M. Harman Jr. (1921 – October 31, 1996) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia from 1969 to 1979. Born in War, West Virginia in 1921, Harman attended Concord College in Athens, West Virginia Athens is a town in ...

- Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia from 1969 to 1979 * Jerrauld Jones 1980 - Judge on the Norfolk Circuit Court * Walter DeKalb Kelley Jr. 1977, 1981 - Former

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...

in the Eastern District of Virginia and current partner at

Jones Day Jones Day is an American multinational law firm. As of 2021, it was the eighth largest law firm in the U.S. and the 13th highest grossing law firm in the world. Originally headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Jones Day ranks first in both M&A lea ...

Jackson L. Kiser Jackson L. Kiser (June 24, 1929 – October 21, 2020) was an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Early life and education Born in W ...

1952 - Judge on the

United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (in case citations, W.D. Va.) is a United States district court. Appeals from the Western District of Virginia are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth ...

Joseph Rucker Lamar Joseph Rucker Lamar (October 14, 1857 – January 2, 1916) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court appointed by President William Howard Taft. A cousin of former associate justice Lucius Lamar, he served from 1911 until h ...

1878 — Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

(1911–1916), Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia (1903-1905) * Harry Jacob Lemley 1910 - Federal Judge on both the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeal ...

and the

United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (in case citations, W.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeale ...

Daniel B. Lucas Daniel Bedinger Lucas (March 16, 1836 in Rion Hall near Charles Town, Virginia – June 24, 1909 in Charles Town, West Virginia), was a Confederate officer, poet, lawyer and ultimately justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court. He was the son of ...

- Poet and justice on the Supreme Court of West Virginia from 1889 to 1892 *

John Ashton MacKenzie John Ashton MacKenzie (September 17, 1917 – January 1, 2010) was a Virginia lawyer, Coast Guard officer and politician who became United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Early lif ...

1939 - Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia *

Charles W. Mason Charles W. Mason (1887 – 1969) was a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1923 to 1931, serving as Vice Chief Justice in 1927 and as chief justice from 1929 to 1931. Born in Stafford, Ohio, he was educated at Grant University (Chattanooga, ...

1911 - Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court 1923 - 1931 *

Robert E. Payne Robert E. Payne (born 1941) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Early life and education Born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, ...

1967 - Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia *

Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. (September 19, 1907 – August 25, 1998) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 to 1987. Born in Suffolk, Virginia, he graduate ...

1929, 1931 — Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (1972–1987), President of the American Bar Association, and named partner at Hunton Williams Gay Powell & Gibson *

William Ray Price, Jr. William Ray Price Jr. (born January 30, 1952) is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri and its longest-serving Supreme Court member, having served from April 7, 1992, when he was appointed to the Court by then-Governor John Ashcroft,O ...

1978 - Longest serving judge and former Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Missouri The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitution to gi ...

* Daniel K. Sadler - Justice on the

New Mexico Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decis ...

Roscoe B. Stephenson, Jr. Roscoe Bolar Stephenson Jr. was born at Covington, Virginia on February 22, 1922. He attended the public schools of Alleghany County, Virginia and received both his B.A. (1943) and his J.D. (1947) from Washington and Lee University. After being ...

1943, 1947 - Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia *

James Clinton Turk James Clinton Turk (May 3, 1923 – July 6, 2014) was a Virginia lawyer, state senator and for more than four decades, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Early and family life B ...

1952 - Federal judge and Chief Judge (1973 to 1993) on the

Sol Wachtler Solomon "Sol" Wachtler (born April 29, 1930) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1992. Wachtler's most famous quote, made shortly after his appointment ...

- former

Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals refers to the position of chief judge on the New York Court of Appeals. They are also known as the Chief Judge of New York. The chief judge supervises the seven-judge Court of Appeals. In addition, th ...

(1985–1993) *

Kennon C. Whittle Kennon Caithness Whittle (October 12, 1891 – November 10, 1967) was a Virginia lawyer and judge who served as president of the Virginia Bar Association and was elected to the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Biography Whittle was born in Ma ...

1914 - Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia and president of the Virginia Bar Association *

H. Emory Widener, Jr. Hiram Emory Widener Jr. (April 20, 1923 – September 19, 2007) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Early life and career Born on April 20, 1923, in Abingdon, Virginia, Widener receive ...

1953 - Judge for the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: *District of Maryland ...

Private attorneys *

Robert J. Grey, Jr. Robert James Grey Jr. is an American lawyer. He served as president of the American Bar Association from 2004 to 2005. He was previously a partner with the Richmond, Virginia-based law firm of Hunton & Williams. In January 2010, he was named execu ...

1976 - American Bar Association President 2004–2005 * Linda A. Klein 1983 - Immediate past president of the American Bar Association, former chair of the ABA House of Delegates, managing partner of the Georgia offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz *

Morgan Meyer Morgan Meyer (born August 8, 1974) is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 108th district. Elected in November 2014, he assumed office in January 2015. The district is entirely loc ...

1999 - Lawyer for

Bracewell & Giuliani Bracewell LLP is an international law firm based in Houston, Texas, that began in 1945. The firm has approximately 350 lawyers, and has United States offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Hartford, San Antonio, Seattle, Dallas and Austin, as w ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, and incoming 2015 Republican member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

* Prescott Prince 1983 — Attorney defending

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (sometimes also spelled Shaikh; also known by at least 50 pseudonyms; born March 1, 1964 or April 14, 1965) is a Pakistani Islamist militant held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under terrorism-r ...

* Christopher Wolf 1980 - Partner at

Hogan Lovells Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, D.C., Washington, DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the Mergers_and_acquisitions, merger of the American law firm Hogan & Hartson and the British law firm ...

, widely recognized as one of the leading American practitioners in the field of

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

and data security law, and founder and co-chair of the

Notable faculty

* John White Brockenbrough - Federal Judge, founder, and former Dean of the Washington and Lee University School of Law * Martin P. Burks - Former Dean and justice on the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrati ...

* David Bruck - Noted capital defense attorney, Supreme Court advocate, and Director of the Virginia Capital Clearinghouse at W&L Law * Judy Clarke - Noted criminal defense attorney for

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...

Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic language, Arabic: زكريا موسوي, '; born May 30, 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 att ...

, Susan Smith, Eric Rudolph,

Jared Lee Loughner Jared Lee Loughner (; born September 10, 1988) is an American mass murderer who pled guilty to 19 charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the January 8, 2011, Tucson shooting, in which he shot and severely injured U.S. Repre ...

, and

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Dzhokhar "Jahar" Anzorovich Tsarnaev born July 22, 1993)russian: Джоха́р Анзо́рович Царна́ев, link=no ; ce, Царнаев Анзор-кIант ДжовхӀар o; ( Kyrgyz language, Kyrgyz: Жохар Анзор уу� ...

* John W. Davis 1895, 1892 - 1924 Democratic nominee for U.S. President;

United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represen ...

; and American Bar Association President *

Creigh Deeds Robert Creigh Deeds (; born January 4, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a member of the Senate of Virginia representing the 25th district since 2001. Previously, he was the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Virgini ...

- Democratic nominee for

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

in 2009 and

Virginia State Senator The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

* Nora Demleitner - Former Dean of W&L Law and

Hofstra University School of Law The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (commonly known as Hofstra Law) is a law school located in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, affiliated with Hofstra University. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the sc ...

John DiPippa
1978 — former Dean of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law * Charles A. Graves 1872 - Professor at W&L Law and at the

Roger Groot Roger Douglas Groot (1942–2005) was the Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, where he had taught since 1973. Prior to graduating law school, he'd served six years in the Uni ...

- Professor of Criminal Law and noted death penalty expert *

1918, 1923 -

from 1937 to 1941 * Robert Huntley 1950, 1957 - Former Dean of W&L Law, former President of Washington and Lee University, former President, Chairman, and CEO of Best Products *

Allan Ides Allan Ides (born 1949) is an American lawyer, the Christopher N. May Professor in the Loyola Law School of Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California and was a visiting professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of ...

- Professor and

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fed ...

and

Civil Procedure Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...

expert *

Timothy Jost Timothy S. Jost is Robert L. Willett Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Washington and Lee University School of Law. A top expert on American health law and policy, he is a co-author of ''Health Law'' (first edition 1987), a casebook that pion ...

- Professor and expert in health law * Donald W. Lemons - Chief Justice of the

Jeffrey P. Minear Jeffrey P. Minear was the counselor to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Minear began work at the Supreme Court on September 11, 2006. Previously he had been senior litigation counsel and assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice ...

- Counselor to Chief Justice

John G. Roberts, Jr. John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...

* Blake Morant - Dean of the George Washington Law School and former Dean of the

Wake Forest University School of Law The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited ...

David F. Partlett
- Former Dean of W&L Law and of

Emory University School of Law Emory University School of Law is the law school of Emory University and is part of the University's main campus in Druid Hills, Atlanta, Georgia. It was founded in 1916 and was the first law school in Georgia to be granted membership in the Am ...

Leander J. Shaw, Jr. Leander Jerry Shaw Jr. (September 6, 1930 – December 14, 2015) was an American jurist who served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1983 until 2003. He was chief justice from 1990 to 1992. Born in Salem, Virginia, Shaw went to Lylburn Downing Sch ...

- Chief Justice of the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and on ...

* Rodney A. Smolla - Dean of

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg and Exton, Pennsylvania, Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as Th ...

-Delaware Law, Former Dean of W&L Law and University of Richmond School of Law, First Amendment scholar, and former president of

Furman University Furman University is a private liberal arts university in Greenville, South Carolina. Founded in 1826 and named for the clergyman Richard Furman, Furman University is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It beca ...

1908 -

and justice on the Virginia Supreme Court * Waller Redd Staples - Member of the Confederate House of Representatives and justice on the Virginia Supreme Court *

Barry Sullivan Barry Sullivan may refer to: *Barry Sullivan (American actor) (1912–1994), US film and Broadway actor *Barry Sullivan (stage actor) (1821–1891), Irish born stage actor active in Britain and Australia *Barry Sullivan (lawyer), Chicago lawyer and ...

- Former Dean and currently professor at

Loyola University Chicago School of Law Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the law school of Loyola University Chicago, in Illinois. Established in 1909, by the Society of Jesus, the Roman Catholic order of the Jesuits, the School of Law is located in downtown Chicago. Loyol ...

* Henry St. George Tucker III 1876 - Former Dean of W&L Law, Dean of the

, Congressman from Virginia, and former president of the American Bar Association * John Randolph Tucker - Virginia Attorney General, former Dean, and former President of the American Bar Association
William R. Vance
1869 - Professor at

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

, and Dean of W&L Law,

, and the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent Law ( ...

1953 - Judge for the

References

External links

Washington and Lee University School of LawWilbur C. Hall Law Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington And Lee University School Of Law Law schools in Virginia Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University School of Law Educational institutions established in 1849 1849 establishments in Virginia