Judge Roger Gregory to Deliver Smith Lecture at W&L Law The title of his talk is "An Unduly Restrictive View of Justice of Trial."

By Law Communications
January 30, 2025

Judge Roger L. Gregory will deliver the annual Leslie Devan Smith, Jr., Lecture at W&L Law in February. The title of his talk is “An Unduly Restrictive View of Justice of Trial.” The lecture is scheduled for Thursday, February 20 at 1:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall, on the campus of Washington and Lee University. The event is free and open to the public.

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 served as the Court’s Chief Judge from 2016 through 2023.

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, Saint Paul’s College, The American University, Albright College, and Randolph-Macon 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’s numerous awards include the National Conference of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award, the National Bar Association’s Gertrude E. Rush and Equal Justice Awards, the American Bar Association’s Spirit of Excellence Award, the Washington Bar Association’s Charles Hamilton Houston Merit Medallion, the University of Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson Medal in Law, the Old Dominion Bar Association’s L. Douglas Wilder Vanguard Award, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Award of Excellence, the University of Richmond School of Law’s William Green Award for Professional Excellence, and the William & Mary Law School’s William B. Spong, Jr., Award.

The annual Smith Lecture is named in honor of Leslie Devan Smith, Jr., who graduated from the law school in 1969 and was the law school’s first African American graduate. In 2019, the Law School unveiled a new installation in Lewis Hall that celebrates Smith’s life and legacy. The display, located in the lobby outside the Millhiser Moot Court Room, tells the story of Smith’s arrival in Lexington, his many accomplishments as a student, and his all-too-short career with the U.S. Department of Justice before his tragic passing.