List of Washington and Lee University School of Law alumni

Washington and Lee University School of Law is a private law school in Lexington, Virginia. Following are some of its notable alumni.

Newton D. Baker, Class of 1894, United States Secretary of War

Terry Brooks, Class of 1969, New York Times Best Selling Author

John W. Davis, Class of 1892, United States Solicitor General

John Goode, class of ~1851, United States Solicitor General

Bob Goodlatte, Class of 1977, former Chair of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary

Joseph Rucker Lamar, Class of 1878 (did not graduate), Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court

John Otho Marsh Jr., Class of 1951, United States Secretary of the Army

Lewis F. Powell Jr., Class of 1931, Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court

Henry St. George Tucker III, Class of 1879, United States Representative from Virginia

H. Emory Widener Jr., Class of 1953, former Senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Academia

• Ronald J. Bacigal, 1967, professor at the University of Richmond School of Law^[1]
• Charles A. Graves, 1872, professor at Washington and Lee School of Law and at the University of Virginia School of Law^[2]
• Robert Huntley, 1950 and 1957, dean and president of Washington and Lee University and former president and CEO of Best Products
• Robert Shepherd, 1959 and 1961, professor emeritus of law at the University of Richmond School of Law^[3]
• Paul S. Trible Jr., 1971, president of Christopher Newport University and United States Senate^[4]
• Henry St. George Tucker III, 1876, dean of Washington and Lee School of Law and the George Washington University Law School, and United States House of Representatives from Virginia^[5]

Business

• Robert Huntley, 1957, president and CEO of Best Products and dean and president of Washington and Lee University
• Sydney Lewis, 1943 (finished his J.D. degree at George Washington University), founder of Best Products and recipient of the National Medal of Arts^[6]
• Gordon P. Robertson, CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network

Entertainment

• David Brown, 2000, former host of the Marketplace radio program, current anchor of the Texas Standard

Government

• Mary Beth Long, 1998, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the United States Department of Defense

Judiciary

U.S. Supreme Court

• Joseph Rucker Lamar, 1878 (attended, did not graduate) Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia^[7]
• Lewis Franklin Powell Jr., 1931, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court^[8]

Federal Courts

• Nathan P. Bryan, 1895, judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and US Senator from the State of Florida^[9]
• Mark Steven Davis, 1988, United States District Court judge for the Eastern District of Virginia^[10]
• Duncan Lawrence Groner, 1894, judge for United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit^[11]
• James Hay 1877, judge on the United States Court of Claims and United States Representative from Virginia^[12]
• Jerrauld Jones, 1980, a judge on the Norfolk Circuit Court
• Walter DeKalb Kelley Jr., 1977 and 1981, former federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia^[13]
• Jackson L. Kiser, 1952, judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• Harry Jacob Lemley, 1910, judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
• John Ashton MacKenzie, 1939, judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia^[14]
• Robert E. Payne, 1967, judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia^[15]
• Heartsill Ragon, a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas and US Congressman from Arkansas
• James Clinton Turk, 1952, chief judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia
• Sol Wachtler, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals^[16]
• H. Emory Widener Jr., 1953, former judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit^[17]

State Supreme Courts

• Brynja McDivitt Booth, 1996, justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland
• William T. Brotherton Jr., chief justice of the Supreme Court of West Virginia
• Archibald C. Buchanan, 1914, justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia
• Christian Compton, 1950 and 1953, justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia^[18]
• John W. Eggleston, 1910, Chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
• Herbert B. Gregory, 1911, justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia
• Daniel B. Lucas, poet and justice on the Supreme Court of West Virginia
• Charles W. Mason, 1911, justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
• William Ray Price Jr., 1978, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri^[19]
• Daniel K. Sadler, justice on the New Mexico Supreme Court
• Abram Penn Staples, 1908, justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia and Attorney General of Virginia
• Roscoe B. Stephenson Jr., 1943 and 1947, justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia
• Kennon C. Whittle, 1914, justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia

Law

Attorney General

• Bruce L. Castor Jr., 1986, Attorney General (interim), Solicitor General of Pennsylvania, and presidential Impeachment Counsel 2021^[20]
• Tom Sansonetti, 1976, United States Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division
• Abram Penn Staples, 1908, Attorney General of Virginia and justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia

Solicitor General

• Bruce L. Castor Jr., 1986, Solicitor General of Pennsylvania, Attorney General (interim), presidential Impeachment Counsel 2021^[20]
• John Goode, ~1851, Solicitor General of the United States and United States Congressman from Virginia^[21]
• John W. Davis, 1895 and 1892, Solicitor General; Ambassador to Britain; argued more cases before the Supreme Court than anyone else in the twentieth century^[22]

Government

• John P. Fishwick Jr., former United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Attorney in private practice in Roanoke, Virginia
• R. Booth Goodwin, 1996, United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia
• Robert W. Ray, 1985, former head of the US Office of the Independent Counsel and partner at Fox Rothschild^[23]
• Peter G. Strasser, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Private practice

• Robert J. Grey Jr., 1976, American Bar Association President 2004–2005^[24]
• Linda A. Klein, 1983, past president of the American Bar Association and a managing partner for the Georgia offices of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz^[25]
• Morgan Meyer, 1999, lawyer for Bracewell & Giuliani in Dallas, Texas, and Texas House of Representatives^[26]
• Prescott Prince, 1983, attorney defending Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
• Christopher Wolf, 1980, partner at Hogan Lovells and founder and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum

Literature and journalism

• Terry Brooks, 1969, The New York Times bestselling author of fantasy fiction^[27]
• Clarence J. Brown, 1915, president of Brown Publishing Company and United States Congressman from Ohio
• Daniel B. Lucas, poet and justice on the Supreme Court of West Virginia

Military

• Newton D. Baker, 1894, U.S. Secretary of War and Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio^[28]
• Edwin Gray Lee, 1859, Brigadier General in the Confederate States of America
• John Otho Marsh Jr., 1951, Secretary of the Army and United States Congressman^[29]

Politics

United States Senate

• Nathan P. Bryan, 1895, United States Senate from Florida and judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit^[9]
• William James Bryan, 1899, United States Senate from Florida^[30]
• Joe Donnelly, 1981, United States Senate from Indiana^[31]
• Scott Marion Loftin, 1899, United States Senate from Florida ^[32]
• Miles Poindexter, 1891, United States Senate from Washington ^[33]
• Alfred E. Reames, 1893, United States Senate from Oregon^[34]
• Paul S. Trible Jr., 1971, United States Senate from Virginia and president of Christopher Newport University^[4]

United States Congress

• Samuel B. Avis, United States House of Representatives
• Franklin Brockson, United States House of Representatives
• Clarence J. Brown, 1915, United States House of Representatives and president of Brown Publishing Company
• Edward Cooper, United States House of Representatives
• William Fadjo Cravens, United States House of Representatives
• John J. Davis, 1856, United States House of Representatives^[35]
• John Goode, United States House of Representatives and Solicitor General of the United States^[21]
• Bob Goodlatte, 1977, United States House of Representatives^[36]
• Morgan Griffith, 1983, United States House of Representatives^[37]
• James Hay, 1877, United States House of Representatives and judge on the United States Court of Claims^[12]
• James Murray Hooker, 1896, United States House of Representatives
• John Otho Marsh Jr., 1951, United States House of Representatives and U.S. Secretary of the Army^[29]
• Robert Murphy Mayo, 1859, United States House of Representatives^[38]
• Heartsill Ragon, United States House of Representatives and judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
• Henry St. George Tucker III, 1876, United States House of Representatives and dean of Washington and Lee School of Law and the George Washington University Law School^[5]
• David Gardiner Tyler, 1869, United States House of Representatives^[39]
• Seward H. Williams, 1895, United States House of Representatives
• Harry M. Wurzbach, 1896, United States House of Representatives

Diplomacy

• John W. Davis, 1895 and 1892, Ambassador to Britain and U.S. Solicitor General; argued more cases before the U. S. Supreme Court than anyone else in the twentieth century^[22]

Governor

• Spencer Cox, 2001, Governor of Utah^[40]
• George Washington Hays, Governor of Arkansas
• Homer A. Holt, 1918 and 1923, Governor of West Virginia^[41]
• James L. Kemper, 1842, Governor of Virginia^[42]
• Ruby Laffoon, 1890, Governor of Kentucky^[43]
• Henry M. Mathews, 1857, Governor of West Virginia^[44]
• Thomas Chipman McRae, Governor of Arkansas and United States House of Representatives^[45]
• Charles L. Terry Jr., Governor of Delaware^[46]
• William M. Tuck, 1921, Governor of Virginia^[47]
• Junius Edgar West, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Virginia

State

• William Ross Allen, Virginia House of Delegates^[48]
• Robert D. Bailey Jr., West Virginia Secretary of State
• Morgan Meyer, 1999, Texas House of Representatives and lawyer with Bracewell & Giuliani in Dallas, Texas^[26]
• Mark Obenshain, 1987, Senate of Virginia
• Mark J. Peake, 1988, Senate of Virginia
• Lacey E. Putney, Virginia House of Delegates^[49]
• Susan Swecker, chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia^[50]

Local

• Newton D. Baker, 1894, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio and U.S. Secretary of War^[28]
• Vance A. Funk III, 1968, Mayor of Newark, Delaware

Sports

• Gay Elmore, Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year

References

1. "Ronald J. Bacigal". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
2. "Charles A. Graves". Washington and Lee School of Law. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
3. "Robert Shepard".
4. "Paul S. Trible, Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
5. "Henry St. George Tucker III". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
6. "National Medal of the Arts". National Endowment for the Arts. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
7. "Joseph R. Lamar". Oyez. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
8. "Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr". NNDB Soylent Communications. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
9. "Nathan P. Bryan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
10. "Mark Steven Davis". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
11. "Duncan Lawrence Groner". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
12. "James Hay". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
13. "Walter Kelley". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
14. "John Ashton MacKenzie". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
15. "Robert E. Payne". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
16. "Historical Society of the New York Courts | New York Legal History / Oral Histories". www.nycourts.gov. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
17. "H. Emory Widener, Jr". Biographical Directory of Federal Judges. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
18. "Powell News archive :: Powell Archives :: W&L Law School". law2.wlu.edu. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
19. "William Ray Price, Jr". Your Missouri Courts. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
20. "Bruce L. Castor, Jr". County of Montgomery, PA. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
21. "John Goode". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
22. "John W. Davis". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
23. "Robert W. Ray".
24. "Robert J. Grey Jr. | Professionals | Hunton & Williams LLP". www.hunton.com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
25. "W&L Alumna Linda Klein '83L Named President of the American Bar Association". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
26. "Morgan D. Meyer". bracewellgiuliani.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
27. "Terry Brooks". NNDB Soylent Communications. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
28. "Newton D. Baker". NNDB Soylent Communications. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
29. "John Otho Marsh, Jr". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
30. "William James Bryan". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
31. "W&L Law Alums Win Elections in Virginia, Indiana". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
32. "Scott Marion Loftin". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
33. "Miles Poindexter". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
34. "Alfred E. Reames". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
35. "John J. Davis". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
36. "Bob Goodlatte". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
37. "Morgan Griffith". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
38. "Robert Murphy Mayo". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
39. "David Gardiner Tyler". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
40. "Spencer Cox". Washington and Lee University. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
41. "Homer A. Holt". West Virginia State Archives. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
42. "James L. Kemper". National Governors Association. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
43. "Ruby Laffoon". National Governors Association. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
44. Addkison-Simmons, D. (2010). Henry Mason Mathews. e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1582
45. "Thomas Chipman McRae". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
46. "Charles L. Terry, Jr". National Governors Association. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
47. "William M. Tuck". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
48. Lyon G. Tyler, ed. (1908). Men of mark in Virginia, ideals of American life; a collection of biographies of the leading men in the state. Vol. 4. Men of Mark Publishing Company. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 2023-04-30 – via Archive.org.
49. "House Joint Resolution No. 203". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
50. "Chairwoman Susan Swecker". Democratic Party of Virginia. Retrieved 2023-11-16.