Commencement 2023

Jessica Mika Matsuda

John W. Davis Prize for Law (highest cumulative grade point average)

Colin John Manchester

American Bankruptcy Institute Medal (excellence in study of bankruptcy law)

Joseph M. Aminov & Lara Nicole Morris Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Commercial Law Award (excellence in Commercial Law)

Jarod Christopher Dye

Virginia Trial Lawyers Association Award (effective trial advocacy)

Jessica Mika Matsuda

A. H. McLeod-Ross Malone Oral Advocacy Award (distinction in oral advocacy)

Dylan S. Jarvis & Lara Nicole Morris

The Washington and Lee University School of Law celebrated its 168th commencement on Friday, May 12, awarding 106 juris doctor degrees.

W&L President Will Dudley welcomed the graduates and their families gathered on the front lawn between the University Chapel and the Colonnade, an apt setting for remarks that were rich in the recollection of the law school’s long history as well as the history of this particular class. President Dudley noted that the Law Class of 2023 arrived in the fall of 2020, when the pandemic was in full swing, and he complimented them for persevering through a first year of law school unlike any before it.

“The tradition of excellence at the Washington and Lee School of Law stretches backward more than 150 years, but it also aspires ever forward, in keeping with our motto—non incautus future—not unmindful of the future,” said President Dudley. “You are all a part of this tradition. Take W&L—the place, the people, and the lessons learned—with you, into the world, and you and the world will be better for it.”

Melanie D. Wilson, dean of the Law School, followed President Dudley to the podium. Dean Wilson recounted by name many of the students and accomplishments that she would remember from her first year leading the law school.

“This class exhibits a rare community spirit mixed with kindness and tenacity that has allowed you to traverse three really tough years under unusual conditions,” said Dean Wilson. “And that journey makes this day all the more special.”

After the graduates were awarded their degrees, Dean Wilson introduced Justice Cleo Powell as this year’s commencement speaker. A trailblazer throughout her career, Justice Powell was the first

Black woman elected to the Commonwealth’s highest court and the first Black woman to serve at every level of Virginia’s state court system, beginning in 1992 when she joined the 12th Judicial Circuit as a general district and circuit judge in Chesterfield County. She was named to the Virginia Court of Appeals in 2008 and then was elected by the Virginia General Assembly to the Supreme Court in 2011.

Justice Powell noted at the outset of her speech that “few things give me as much pleasure as watching new lawyers join the profession that has brought me so much satisfaction for the past 41 years.” But as satisfying as that career has been, Justice Powell cautioned that the Law Class of 2023 enters the profession during a challenging time for the nation, a time marked by the inability to communicate and growing lack of tolerance. However, she also noted that lawyers are uniquely trained for this environment.

“And as you deal with your client’s issues, you will have an opportunity and an obligation to lower the volume on the clamoring noise, to calm their fears, to reintroduce civility, to bring reason to bear,” said Justice Powell.

Justice Powell also acknowledged the shifting terrain of the law, with once settled law becoming disturbed as a new generation of lawyers looks at the world through a different lens, even as they do their sworn duty to uphold the rule of law.

“I challenge you to so live that in years to come you will look back and see your fingerprints all over a world left better because you were in it,” she said.

The Student Bar Association Teacher of the Year and Staff Member of the Year award were presented at the awards ceremony on May 11. Allison Weiss was named Teacher of the Year, and Jane Pultz won the staff award.

Frederic L. Kirgis Jr. International Law Award (excellence in international law)

Christina Jane Fallon Virginia Bar Family Law Section Award (excellence in the area of family law)

Alicia F. Ochsner Utt

Barry Sullivan Constitutional Law Award (excellence in constitutional law)

Benjamin Michael Halligan & Kellen Elizabeth Spradlin

James W. H. Stewart Tax Law Award (excellence in tax law)

Mallory Rebecca Kostroff, Jessica Mika Matsuda & Samuel D. Romano

Thomas Carl Damewood Evidence Award (excellence in the area of evidence)

Jessica Mika Matsuda & Samuel D. Romano

Criminal Law Award (excellence in courses of criminal law)

Catherine I. Bulger & Lara Nicole Morris Business Law Award (excellence in courses of business law)

Samuel A. Adams

Administrative Law Award (excellence in courses of administrative law)

Jessica Mika Matsuda

Clinical Legal Education Association Award (outstanding clinic student)

Brenna M. Rosen

Clinical Legal Education Association

Outstanding Externship Award (outstanding externship student)

Adam Thomas Kimelman

Charles V. Laughlin Award (outstanding contribution to moot court program)

Brighid Ann O’Donoghue Student Bar Association President Award (recognition for services as president of the Student Bar Association)

Christina Jane Fallon & Caroline Jane Barbara Kerr

The Washington and Lee School of Law Women’s Law Award (outstanding contribution to women in the law)

Kobie Justin Crosley & Jessica Mika Matsuda Calhoun Bond University Service Award (significant contribution to the University community)

Kobie Justin Crosley & Jessica Mika Matsuda

Randall P. Bezanson Award (outstanding contribution to diversity in the life of the Law School community)

Kerin Rose Daly

Professionalism and Service Award (significant contribution of public service in the community)

JESSICA (SICA) MATSUDA ’23L graduated from the University of Richmond, where she received a degree in Business Administration and Political Science. After college, she was as a legal assistant for a private criminal defense firm in Northern Virginia, working for W&L alumna Mary Nerino ’13L. At W&L, Sica was a student attorney in the Criminal Justice Clinic, a senior articles editor on the Law Review, the appellate advocacy chair on the Moot Court Board, and the co-president of OutLaw. She will be a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, D.C. Then she will clerk for Judge Amy Berman Jackson at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

“In my first summer after 1L, I was an intern for Judge Thomas Cullen in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia and Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. I cannot speak highly enough of the judicial internship experience. Not only is it unbeatable in terms of key research and writing practice, but as an intern I was able to watch extremely good attorneys actually do their thing in the courtroom. I really enjoyed the fast-paced nature of the trial court, so that confirmed my decision to clerk after law school. Judge Jackson was an especially great mentor during my summer in her chambers, so I’m absolutely ecstatic to be returning to work for her.”

GRANT MCCLERNON ’23L graduated from Penn State in 2016 where he majored in finance. Between undergrad and law school, Grant worked for Recovery Centers of America, a startup behavioral healthcare company based in the Philadelphia area. At W&L, Grant was an extern with the Honorable Thomas T. Cullen of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, the co-chair of the Robert J. Grey, Jr. Negotiations Competition, the co-president of the Powell Lecture Series, a McThenia research assistant, and a senior articles editor of the German Law Journal. He will join the healthcare transactions team at Kirkland & Ellis in the Washington, D.C., office.

“I guess I’ve had a pretty unusual law school path for someone going into transactional work. I’ve taken a lot of classes related to constitutional law and civil procedure. I figured I had a good enough background in business that I could use my time in law school to learn about other things that were interesting to me but which I had zero basis in. And that’s what I did. I don’t know if I would have ever had the chance to learn those things at any other point in my life. And, in the long run, I think I’ll be a better off for it.”

SIERRA TERRANA ’23L is a 2020 graduate of W&L, where she received a B.A. in English Literature and a minor in Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies. Sierra spent her 1L summer working as a judicial intern for the Honorable Thomas Barber of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and as a legal intern at the Social Media Exchange, a Beirut-based NGO advocating for privacy rights in the MENA region. She worked at an international trade boutique in Washington, D.C., during her 2L summer. At W&L, Sierra was on the German Law Journal and served as Law School Key Staff for the Outing Club. She will work for IBM in New York exploring a range of practice areas, including IP, international trade, global markets, and cybersecurity/data privacy.

“Coming into law school, I actually had very little idea of what I wanted to do. I had a broad interest in international law that stemmed from my undergraduate studies, but I was unsure of how that would translate into tangible job prospects. Had I known that in-house opportunities existed for new graduates, they would have been higher up on my list. After my 1L summer in Beirut, I knew that cybersecurity and data privacy were areas I wanted to keep exploring. I felt the same about IP and trade law after my 2L summer in D.C. Working at IBM struck me as a unique opportunity to continue engaging with these and other areas of interest directly out of law school.”

FRANCIS MORENCY ’23L received a B.A. in International Relations and African American Studies from Syracuse University. Between undergrad and law school, Francis taught 7th grade Civics and Law Studies in North Miami. At W&L, he served as the managing editor of W&L’s Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice, a Burks Scholar for Legal Writing, a student attorney for Small Business Start-Up Practicum, a research assistant for Professor Carliss Chatman, a judicial extern for the Judge Joel R. Branscom of the Botetourt Circuit Court, and a mock trial coach for BLSA. After graduation, he will work in the Bankruptcy group at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP in the firm’s Tampa Office.

“During 1L, the Black Law Students Association invited me to moderate a bankruptcy panel with Dean Mason. The judge and lawyers on the panel were candid about the lack of diversity in bankruptcy. But they explained bankruptcy law as an area with litigation and transactional elements. I was sold. After the panel, I shifted my summer internship search and applied to intern for Judge Russin in Bankruptcy court. At court, I witnessed lawyers, pro se parties, creditors, and debtors communicate their positions, focusing on the merits instead of the personal discourse that could come out when someone owes someone else money. I always knew I wanted to return to Florida after graduation. Living close to my family is important to me. Starting my legal career in a medium or small law firm was equally important.”