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 = Lexington ...

. It is a private

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

-accredited

located in

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

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 Ridg ...

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 Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. 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 l ...

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 In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S ...

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 polici ...

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 Nor ...

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 ...

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) n ...

. The ''

Washington and Lee Law Review The ''Washington and Lee Law Review'' is a law review published four times each year by the Washington and Lee University School of Law and founded in 1939. It presents lead article Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical ...

'' 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. 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 Nora V. Demleitner (born 1966) is the President of St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe), St. Johns College - Annapolis (2022–present). Prior to this she served as the Dean of Washington and Lee University School of Law from 2012-2015 and Dea ...

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, 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 Morg ...

. 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 fr ...

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 cou ...

. 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 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 Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

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 a ...

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 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 publ ...

, 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 ( ...

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 Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwid ...

, McGuireWoods, K&L Gates, 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

(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 newspap ...

'' 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 t ...

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 punishab ...

, civil procedure,

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law ...

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...

, professional responsibility,

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 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 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 ...

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 fe ...

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 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 act ...

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. Students are also required to take a course in the legal profession 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 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 ...

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 1967 — Professor of law,

University of Richmond School of Law The University of Richmond School of Law (Richmond Law) is a school of the University of Richmond, located in Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Law is ranked 52nd (tie) in the US by ''US News'', among the ''top five value'' law schools by the ''Natio ...

* 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 Robert E. R. Huntley (1929 – December 10, 2015) was an American attorney, businessman, retired law professor, and former president of Washington and Lee University. He graduated from Washington and Lee in 1950 and its law school in 1957. He ...

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,

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 ha ...

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 d ...

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 Shan ...

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 Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

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 Gordon Perry Robertson (born June 4, 1958) is an American televangelist who is the CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network. He is the main host of ''The 700 Club'', the show founded by his father, Pat Robertson. Biography Robertson graduated ...

- 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'' ...

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 p ...

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 they ...

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 son ...

- 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 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 ...

, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, and named partner at

BakerHostetler BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio. History , the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in ...

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 adjacent ...

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 * ...

* William James Bryan 1899 - US Senator from Florida * Bruce L. Castor, Jr. 1986 — Attorney General (interim) and Solicitor General of Pennsylvania; District Attorney,

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the List of counties in Pennsylvania, third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous cou ...

(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 r ...

William Fadjo Cravens William Fadjo Cravens (February 15, 1899 – April 16, 1974) was an American politician and a United States Congressman ( Democrat, Arkansas). Biography Cravens was born on February 15, 1899, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the son of Arkansas Congress ...

- 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 they ...

from

* John W. Davis 1895, 1892 — 1924 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 Stat ...

; Ambassador to Britain; Solicitor General; argued more cases before the Supreme Court than anyone else in the twentieth century;

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 Kon ...

* Joe Donnelly 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. John Palmer Fishwick Jr. (born 1957) is an attorney in Roanoke, Virginia who served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Born in Roanoke, Virginia, John is a graduate of Harvard College. He graduated in 1979. Fishwick furthered ...

, 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. * Vance A. Funk, III 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 ...

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 Un ...

* John Goode - 3rd Solicitor General of the United States and

from Virginia * Bob Goodlatte 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 1996 -

for the Southern District of West Virginia * 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 (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

* 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 th ...

1918, 1923 - Governor of West Virginia from 1937 to 1941 * James Murray Hooker 1896 - US Congressman from Virginia *

James L. Kemper James Lawson Kemper (June 11, 1823 – April 7, 1895) was a lawyer, a Confederate general in the American Civil War, and the 37th Governor of Virginia. He was the youngest brigade commander and only non-professional military officer in the div ...

- 1842, Governor of Virginia, Confederate General Leading Pickett's Charge *

Ruby Laffoon Ruby Laffoon (January 15, 1869March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17 Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. R ...

1890 - Governor of Kentucky *

Edwin Gray Lee Edwin Gray Lee (May 27, 1836 – August 24, 1870) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Lee family and first cousin once removed of Robert E. Lee. Biog ...

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 appointe ...

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 Confeder ...

* Scott Marion Loftin 1899 - US Senator from Florida and president of the

* Mary Beth Long 1998 - Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs 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 sec ...

and former attorney with Williams & Connolly LLP * John Otho Marsh, Jr. 1951 -

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

, 1981–1989, United States Congressman *

Henry M. Mathews Henry Mason Mathews (March 29, 1834April 28, 1884) was an American military officer, lawyer, and politician in the U.S. State of West Virginia. Mathews served as 7th Attorney General of West Virginia (1873–1877) and 5th Governor of West Virgi ...

1857 - Governor of West Virginia 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 te ...

in the 2013 Virginia election * Mark J. Peake 1988 - Member of the

Miles Poindexter Miles Poindexter (April 22, 1868September 21, 1946) was an American lawyer and politician. As a Republican and briefly a Progressive, he served one term as a United States representative from 1909 to 1911, and two terms as a United States senat ...

1891 - Senator from the State of Washington * Lacey E. Putney — 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-number ...

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, 16 ...

* 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 The Office of Special Counsel was an office of the United States Department of Justice established by provisions in the Ethics in Government Act that expired in 1999. The provisions were replaced by Department of Justice regulation 28 CFR Part ...

(succeeded Kenneth Starr) *

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 Democrat, he practiced law in Portland, Euge ...

1893 — US Senator from

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

* Tom Sansonetti 1976 - United States Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division * Abram Penn Staples 1908 -

and justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia * Charles L. Terry, Jr. - Governor of Delaware 1961–1965 * Peter G. Strasser -

for the Eastern District of Louisiana *

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 ...

1971 — Former US Senator from Virginia, president of Christopher Newport University * William M. Tuck 1921 - Governor of Virginia *

Henry St. George Tucker III Henry St. George Tucker III (April 5, 1853 – July 23, 1932) was a representative from the Commonwealth of Virginia to the United States House of Representatives, professor of law, and president of the American Bar Association. Early and fam ...

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 in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

, Present at Lee's surrender at Appomattox * Junius Edgar West - 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 ...

Seward H. Williams Seward Henry Williams (November 7, 1870 – September 2, 1922) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1915 to 1917. Biography Born in Amsterdam, ...

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: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Judiciary * William T. Brotherton, Jr. - 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 t ...

from 1989 to 1994 * Archibald C. Buchanan 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 administrativ ...

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 Ash ...

1950, 1953 - Justice of the

from 1974 to 2006 *

Mark Steven Davis Mark Steven Davis (born 1962) is the United States federal judge, Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Education and career Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virgin ...

1988 - United States District Court Judge 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 Ro ...

* John W. Eggleston 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 ...

, 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. He then entered Wash ...

- 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 ...

in the

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 le ...

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 Four ...

* Joseph Rucker Lamar 1878 —

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of ...

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 o ...

(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 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 ...

- Poet and justice on the Supreme Court of West Virginia from 1889 to 1892 * John Ashton MacKenzie 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 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. 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. 1943, 1947 - Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia * James Clinton Turk 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 (1985–1993) * Kennon C. Whittle 1914 - Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia and president of the

Virginia Bar Association The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) is a voluntary organization of lawyers, judges and law school faculty and students in Virginia, with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Key elements are advocacy, professionalism, service and collegiality. It provid ...

* H. Emory Widener, Jr. 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 exec ...

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 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz P.C. is a large U.S. law firm and lobbying group with offices in the Southeastern United States and Washington, D.C. ''Fortune'' has selected Baker Donelson as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work ...

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 third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, 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 abo ...

* Prescott Prince 1983 — Attorney defending Khalid Sheikh Mohammed *

Christopher Wolf Christopher Wolf (born Washington, DC 1954) is an American attorney known for his career in Internet and privacy law. He was one of the first lawyers to practice Internet law and Privacy law. He is a retired partner in the international law ...

1980 - Partner at

Hogan Lovells Hogan Lovells is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the merger of the American law firm Hogan & Hartson and the British law firm Lovells. It employs about 2,400 lawyers ...

, 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 ...

and data security law, and founder and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum

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 administrativ ...

David Bruck David Isaac Bruck (born 1949) is a Canadian-American criminal defense attorney, clinical professor of law at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and director of the Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse. Bruck was raised in Montreal, Queb ...

- Noted capital defense attorney, Supreme Court advocate, and Director of the Virginia Capital Clearinghouse at W&L Law *

Judy Clarke Judy Clare Clarke (born 1952) is an American criminal defense attorney who has represented several high-profile defendants such as Ted Kaczynski, Eric Rudolph, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Joseph Edward Duncan, Zacarias Moussaoui, Jared Lee Loughner, ...

- 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,

Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...

, Eric Rudolph, Jared Lee Loughner, 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 уул ...

* John W. Davis 1895, 1892 - 1924 Democratic nominee for U.S. President; United States Solicitor General; and

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 Virgin ...

- 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 *

- 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 The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law is a public law school, part of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock). The school is both American Bar Association (ABA) accredited and a member of the Association of America ...

* Charles A. Graves 1872 - Professor at W&L Law and at the

* Roger Groot - Professor of Criminal Law and noted death penalty expert *

1918, 1923 - Governor of West Virginia from 1937 to 1941 *

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 fe ...

and Civil Procedure 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 - 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, chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in sever ...

Blake Morant Blake D. Morant is an American legal educator and professor of law at George Washington University Law School, where he was the Dean in 2014-2019. History Morant received a bachelors (BA) degree in 1975 and juris doctor (JD) degree in 1978 from ...

- 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) accredite ...

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 S ...

- 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 one ...

* 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 and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the schoo ...

-Delaware Law, Former Dean of W&L Law and

, First Amendment scholar, and former president of

Furman University Furman University is a Private university, private Liberal arts college, 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 hig ...

* Abram Penn Staples 1908 -

and justice on the Virginia Supreme Court *

Waller Redd Staples Waller Redd Staples (February 24, 1826 – August 21, 1897) was a Virginia lawyer, slave-owner and politician who was briefly a member of the Virginia General Assembly before the American Civil War, became a Congressman serving the Confede ...

- Member of the

Confederate House of Representatives The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new na ...

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) Barry Sullivan is ...

- 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. ...

1876 - Former Dean of W&L Law, Dean of the

, Congressman from Virginia, and former president of the

* 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 & World ...

, and Dean of W&L Law,

, and the University of Minnesota Law School * H. Emory Widener, Jr. 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