Chief Judge Roger Gregory to Give MLK Day Address at W&L Law

By Peter Jetton
January 9, 2019

Roger L. Gregory, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, will deliver a lecture at W&L Law in conjunction with the University’s multi-day observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday.

Judge Gregory’s talk is set for Monday, Jan. 21 at 3:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall. The title of his lecture is “The Hard Work of Justice”. This event is free and open to the public.

See the full schedule of MLK Day events here.

Judge Gregory is the first African American to sit on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  On December 27, 2000, he was placed on the Court by recess appointment of President Bill Clinton.  Judge Gregory was re-nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate for a lifetime appointment to the Court on July 20, 2001.  Judge Gregory is the only person in the history of the United States to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals by two Presidents of different political parties.

Judge Gregory graduated from Virginia State University in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, summa cum laude and the University of Michigan Law School in 1978.  He holds honorary degrees from Virginia Union University, Virginia State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Widener University and Saint Paul’s College.

Judge Gregory began his legal career as an associate attorney with the firm of Butzel, Long, Gust, Klein & Van Zile in Detroit, Michigan.  He later associated with the firm of Hunton & Williams in Richmond, Virginia.  In 1982, he formed the law firm of Wilder & Gregory with former Governor L. Douglas Wilder.  He practiced law at Wilder & Gregory where he served as managing partner and head of the litigation section of the firm until his appointment to the bench.

Judge Gregory is a past rector and member of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth University.  He served on the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University and as an adjunct professor of Constitutional Law.

In April 2003 and August 2003, respectively, Judge Gregory received the National Bar Association’s prestigious Gertrude E. Rush Award and Equal Justice Award.  In October 2007, he received the Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence.  In 2010, the University of Richmond School of Law awarded Judge Gregory its highest recognition, the William Green Award for Professional Excellence.  In May 2015, he received the Washington Bar Association’s Charles Hamilton Houston Merit Medallion.