page_title: Washington and Lee University School of Law
section_title: Notable alumni
hierarchical_section_title: Washington and Lee University School of Law / Notable alumni
caption_attribution_description: English: American politician John William Davis (1873-1955)
context_page_description: The Washington and Lee University School of Law is a private American Bar Association-accredited law school located in Lexington in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. 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 program and a 6-to-1 student to faculty ratio.
context_section_description: W&L Law has produced many notable graduates in Virginia, and at the national and global level. Included amongst the alumni ranks are two Justices of the United States Supreme Court, seven Presidents of the American Bar Association, two Solicitors General of the United States, one major party candidate for President of the United States, Presidential Cabinet members, as well as numerous state governors, United States Congressmen, United States Senators, federal and state judges, influential academics, business leaders, and distinguished attorneys. The list below is not exhaustive. The date following the name is the Law School class. Alumni with two dates also attended as undergraduates and the order is alphabetical.
  Academia
  Ronald J. Bacigal 1967 — Professor of law, University of Richmond School of Law
  Charles A. Graves 1872 - Professor at W&L Law and at the University of Virginia School of Law
  Robert Huntley 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 of law, University of Richmond School of Law
  Arts and entertainment
  Terry Brooks 1969 —  New York Times bestselling author of fantasy fiction and creator of the Shannara fantasy series
  David Brown 2000 - Former host of the Marketplace radio program, current anchor of the Texas Standard
  Gay Elmore - Two time Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year
  Business
  Sydney Lewis 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 - CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network
  Government and politics
  Samuel B. Avis - United States Congressman from West Virginia from 1913 to 1915
  Robert D. Bailey, Jr. - West Virginia Secretary of State from 1965 to 1969
  Newton D. Baker 1894 — Secretary of War under President Woodrow Wilson, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, and named partner at BakerHostetler
  Franklin Brockson - United States Congressman from Delaware from 1913 to 1915
  Clarence J. Brown 1915 - President of Brown Publishing Company 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
  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 (2000–2008); Commissioner, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (2008-2016 ); President Pennsylvania District Attorneys' Association
  Edward Cooper - US Congressman from West Virginia from 1915 to 1919
  Spencer Cox 2001 - Lieutenant Governor of Utah
  William Fadjo Cravens - US Congressman from Arkansas
  John J. Davis 1856 - United States Representative from West Virginia
  John W. Davis 1895, 1892 — 1924 Democratic nominee for United States President; Ambassador to Britain; Solicitor General; argued more cases before the Supreme Court than anyone else in the twentieth century; American Bar Association President; first President of the Council on Foreign Relations; and named partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell
  Joe Donnelly 1981- United States Senator from Indiana
  John P. Fishwick, Jr., former United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Attorney in private practice in Roanoke, Virginia.
  Vance A. Funk, III 1968 - Mayor of Newark, Delaware
  John Goode - 3rd Solicitor General of the United States and United States Congressman from Virginia
  Bob Goodlatte 1977 - United States Congressman from Virginia and Chair of the United States House Committee on the Judiciary
  R. Booth Goodwin 1996 - United States Attorney 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
  James Hay 1877 - United States Representative from Virginia and Federal Judge on the United States Court of Claims
  Geor
caption: John W. Davis, Class of 1892, United States Solicitor General
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