News and Events

Robert J. Grey Jr. earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University in Virginia in 1976, and his B.S. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1973. Mr. Grey, a partner in the Richmond, Va., office of Hunton & Williams, is president of the American Bar Association. He has long been active in the ABA, as chair of the policy-making House of Delegates in 1998-2000, the association’s second-highest office, and as a member of the Board of Governors. Mr. Grey’s service as House of Delegates chair made him the first person of color to serve in a top ABA office. He is the second consecutive person of color to serve as president, the association’s highest office.

Throughout his ABA career, Mr. Grey has been active in strategic planning and increasing diversity in the profession. In 2000-02 he chaired the Committee on Research about the Future of the Legal Profession, which analyzed trends affecting the practice of law and identified steps the profession should take to preserve and advance its fundamental values. From 1992-1995, Mr. Grey chaired the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession. He also chaired the Virginia delegation in the ABA House of Delegates from 1994-1998.

Mr. Grey came to Hunton & Williams from the law firm LeClair Ryan, where he was a partner. Prior to that he had co-founded the firm of Grey & Wesley, and then joined Mays & Valentine. He also received several gubernatorial appointments, including chair of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and vice chair of the Virginia Public Building Authority and member of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Board of Visitors.

November 12, 2003	James B. Comey United States Attorney Southern District of New York "Fighting Terrorism and Protecting Civil Liberties"
January 22, 2003	Stanley L. Cohen, ‘83 Attorney of Law "Deconstructing Ethical Considerations 2-26, 2-27, 2-28, and 2-29 A textual and historical analysis"
October 11, 2001	Professor William H. Simon Saunders Professor of Law Stanford University Visiting Professor, Columbia University "The Role of the Public Official's Lawyer: A Case Study from the Clinton Era"
October 11, 2000	Carrie Menkel-Meadow Professor of Law Georgetown University Law Center "Private Lives and Professional Responsibilities? The Relationship of Personal Morality to Lawyering and Professional Ethics"
November 9, 1999	The Honorable Roger J. Miner United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit "Professional Responsibility in Appellate Practice: A View from the Bench"
April 16, 1998	Ronald K. Noble Professor of Law, New York University School of Law Former Under Secretary for Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Treasury "Investigating Leaks: A Necessary Undertaking for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr"
April 3, 1997	Bill Wagner, Esq. Past President, Association of Trial Lawyers of America Senior Partner, Wagner, Vaughan & McLaughlin, P.A. "Legal Ethics in a Confrontational Society"
March 28, 1996	Monroe H. Freedman Howard Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics Hofstra University School of Law "Ethical Obligations of Prosecutors in Death Penalty Cases"
April 27, 1995	Linda Fairstein, Esq. Chief, Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit New York County District Attorney’s Office "Sex Crimes and the Media"
April 5, 1994	The Honorable E. Leo Milonas Chief Administrative Judge, State of New York "Matrimonial Lawyers and Ethical Problems"
Nov. 19, 1992	The Honorable Robert Johnson Bronx District Attorney
April 8, 1992	Professor Stephen Gillers New York University School of Law "The Owl and the Fox: The Transformation of Legal Work in a Commodity Culture"
May 3, 1990	The Honorable Guy J. Mangano Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, 2d Dept. Louis Gerstman, Esq. Chief Law Clerk, Appellate Division, 2d Dept. Gary L. Casella, Esq. Chief Counsel Grievance Committee, Ninth Judicial District Jerome Karp, Esq. Attorney to attorneys in disciplinary hearings