School of Law Celebrates Distinguished Graduates during 2026 Law Alumni Weekend Nan ‘76L and Hal Clarke ‘76L were honored with the Outstanding Alumnus Award. Kristin Ray ‘96L and MK Mallery ‘21L were recognized for volunteer work.

By Law Communications
April 15, 2026

More than 400 Washington and Lee law school alumni and guests returned for this year’s reunion celebration, making it the best-attended alumni weekend since the law school began holding separate reunions almost 20 years ago.

Perfect Lexington weather greeted alumni as they arrived Friday afternoon to take part in such popular events as “Back to the Classroom,” featuring a discussion of AI with Professor Josh Fairfield and the class dinners held in locations across campus and elsewhere. Saturday morning kicked off with a student and alumni breakfast, followed by updates from Dean Melanie Wilson and President Will Dudley.

Next, during the Law Alumni Association annual meeting, Law Council president Rae Mueller ‘12L passed the gavel to Kevin Batteh ‘95, ‘98L, who will lead the association in the coming year. Afterwards, Dean Melanie Wilson announced the recipients of the Outstanding Alumnus/a Award, Volunteer of the Year Award and Young Volunteer of the Year Award. Information about the award winners is below.

Thanks to a class gift of $2,881,123 from the Law Class of 1976—celebrating their 50th reunion—a total of $4,210,054 was raised from the classes returning for milestone reunions. The total moved the law school very close to its fundraising goal of $55 million for the Leading Lives of Consequence campaign, with more than a year remaining in the University’s fundraising effort.

In the afternoon, hundreds gathered at the Village Pavilion on the law school lawn to celebrate the extraordinary career of Professor Brian Murchison, who is retiring from full-time teaching at the end of the academic year after 44 years of distinguished service. Speakers during the emotional event included emerita professor Mary Natkin, who shared the history of her work with Murchison to create the Black Lung Clinic, noting the many hours he spent helping establish the clinic and his ongoing work preparing students for hearings and appellate arguments.

Former student Richard Welch ‘88L also spoke of Murchison’s importance in his students’ lives, a connection which for many continued well beyond graduation. Welch finished his comments with a quote that perfectly captured Murchison’s impact on the W&L Law community.

“Leadership is communicating somebody’s worth and potential so clearly, that they are inspired to see it in themselves,” he said. “That fits Brian Murchison to a T.”

The 2026 Outstanding Alumnus/a Award was given to Nan ‘76L and Hal Clarke ‘76L for exceptional achievements in their careers and unselfish service to their community and alma mater. The Clarkes met at W&L Law—specifically in the library at Tucker Hall—as classmates in the Law Class of 1976. They became good friends during their second year and started dating during their third year. Hal was an Articles Editor for the Washington and Lee Law Review, Nan was editor-in-chief of the Law News, and both helped the Law Class of 1976 win the intramural sports trophy all three years.

After graduation Nan moved back to Birmingham, where she was in private practice with a firm including several W&L alumni. Hal moved back to Atlanta and joined his father’s firm there. They became engaged in the fall of 1977 and were married on April 1,1978 in Birmingham. Nan moved to Atlanta shortly after their engagement and practiced in-house with Chicago Title Insurance Co. until their daughter was born. As the children grew up, Nan moved to volunteer and non-profit work. Hal continued in private practice for ten years. He left the firm when he was asked to set up a legal department in an Atlanta bank and serve as general counsel. When the bank was acquired in 1994, Hal was asked to join the legal division of the acquiring bank, which led to the family moving to Charlotte, North Carolina. Hal continued to work in the bank’s legal division through two more mergers retiring at the end of 2018. The Clarkes have been devoted alumni over the years, including serving multiple years as Class Agents and Reunion Chairs, as well as service on the Alumni Board and Law Council.

The Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes those individuals who go above and beyond assisting the Law School. Whether it is hosting an alumni event, mentoring a student, serving as a class agent, raising money in honor of a reunion, or serving on the Law Council, Alumni Board, or Board of Trustees, volunteers take this school to the next level. This year’s recipient is Kristin Ray 96L.

Kristin is Associate General Counsel at The Home Depot, supporting the Strategic Business Development (SBD) team.  In this role, she partners closely with SBD to help drive the design and execution of The Home Depot’s enterprise and business unit-level strategy, including through mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and corporate venture capital investments. Prior to joining The Home Depot in 2006, Kristin spent 10 years in private practice in Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia. She has served as a member and President of the Law Council, a Reunion Volunteer, a Law Class Agent, and currently serves on the Lettie Pate Evans Leadership Committee, the giving society celebrating philanthropy by women.

The Young Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes those young alumni who go out of their way to assist W&L Law in recruiting students and mentoring students in their career searches. The recipient this year is MK Mallery ‘21L.

MK graduated from the University of North Carolina in 2016, where she majored in business administration, and then worked for MillerCoors in Baltimore before attending law school.  While at W&L Law, MK interned for Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham, Alabama, the Honorable Tom Jarrell in the Guilford County (NC) District Court, and Sidley Austin in Dallas. MK is currently a managing associate in the Global Finance Group at Sidley Austin in Dallas, where she represents borrowers in a variety of lending and debt transactions. MK has volunteered extensively as a member of the Young Alumni Council, helping Admissions with recruitment. She also has provided consistent support to the W&L Law Fund.

The next Law Alumni Weekend is schedule for April 9-10, 2027.