Hunton & Williams Mourns Loss of Lewis Thomas Booker

Hunton & Williams announces with great sadness the passing of Lewis T. Booker, whose services over many decades to his community, his country, his profession and his alma mater, the University of Richmond, were extraordinary. He died on Saturday, April 4, at the age of 85.

“Lewis’s leadership at the bar was legendary,” said Thurston R. Moore, former chairman of Hunton & Williams, “but we remember him most for his integrity and how, in a world of increasingly gladiatorial litigation, he always chose the path of fairness and respect, and succeeded all the more for having done so. He was a true Virginia gentleman, whose loss hurts, but whose life will be a model and inspiration for those who follow.”

A native of Richmond, Booker was the fourth generation of his family to attend the University of Richmond. He graduated from the University in 1950 and from Harvard Law School in 1953. He then began a long and distinguished military career by serving an 18-month tour of duty in Korea with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He later described his experience as follows: “I was a 24-year-old First Lieutenant, trying people for capital offenses all of the time and had a tremendous amount of trial work for homicides, assaults, and black marketing. It was a very maturing experience.”

Booker continued his military service in the Army Reserve. At the time of his retirement, in 1983, he was the Chief of Staff of the 310th Theater Army Area Command and held the rank of Colonel. Upon his retirement, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. After retirement, he served in the Virginia Militia as Brigadier General and Aide-de-Camp to Gov. Charles S. Robb (1983-1987), and as Major General to Gov. George Allen (1987-1990).

National Law Practice

After joining the firm that is now Hunton & Williams LLP in 1956, Booker built a national reputation as a trial lawyer who could master massive, complicated litigation. His cases include the Westinghouse uranium case, where a number of electric utilities, including Virginia Power, sued Westinghouse in a case before Judge Robert R. Merhige Jr. in Richmond that lasted more than nine months and attracted international attention before a complicated settlement was reached; the wrongful death claims arising from the 1974 crash of TWA flight 514 into a mountain near Upperville, Virginia; and multiple other complicated cases throughout the country with clients such as Philip Morris and Dan River.

University of Richmond Service

Booker’s prodigious work ethic permitted him to build a national litigation reputation while establishing a remarkable record of service to the University of Richmond and his local community.

“Lewis Booker was the soul and conscience of the University of Richmond’s governing board for more than 40 years, as its Rector for three terms, and as a trustee and trustee emeritus,” stated Dr. Richard L. Morrill, president of the University of Richmond, 1988-1998. “The Booker Hall of Music and the Booker Professorship of Religion and Ethics are enduing testimonies to his exceptional leadership, and the deep and historic influence of Lewis and his family on the University.

“As a trustee, he displayed a stunning depth of intelligence and wisdom, and he would make the most complex issues understandable in a few well-chosen words. He showed deep respect for everyone and for their opinions, demonstrating a faith that open and honest democratic discussion would yield the best decisions. I will miss him terribly as a mentor and friend, and remain always grateful that a person of his stature graced our presence and served the University with such loyalty and distinction.”

The University awarded Booker an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1977, the Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award in 1982 and the President’s Medal in 2002. He also received Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Service in 1979. The University established the Lewis T. Booker Professorship in Religion and Ethics in 1994 in his honor, when he completed his service as Rector for the third time. He served as Rector from 1973 to 1977, 1981 to 1985, and 1991 to 1994—and remains the only Trustee in the University’s history to have served as Rector three separate times. Mr. Booker was also a generous benefactor to the University, supporting projects across the institution, including endowed chairs and scholarships.

“Lewis Booker was, quite simply, one of the finest people I’ve ever known,” said Edward L. Ayers, president of the University of Richmond. “For decades, he held the University of Richmond to the highest standards and helped us fulfill those aspirations with wise counsel and generous encouragement. Lewis left a living legacy, visible every day at the university he loved so much.”

Richmond School Board

Booker also served his native city in many capacities. He joined the Richmond School Board in 1970 and worked intensely to keep the public schools of Richmond open at a time when public schools in parts of the Commonwealth were closed as part of resistance to desegregation and cross-town busing.

“I was vice chair for eight years,” Booker recalled some years later. “I’m proud that we never lost a day. We never closed. The schools in Norfolk had closed. The schools in Charlottesville had closed. The schools in Fairfax and Roanoke closed, but we never did. The school board had been hopelessly divided. City Council had also been hopelessly divided, but Chairman Miles J. Jones and I held a strong united front. We held the school system together.”

Community Service

Booker became general counsel to Christian Children’s Fund in 1974 — visiting more than 20 countries on its behalf — and served for 26 years, after which he was named a member of the board of what is now ChildFund International.

He also served as chairman of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and after his retirement from Hunton & Williams, he served as a substitute general district court judge in Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield. He was a recipient of the Hunter Martin Professionalism Award (1994) and the Hill-Tucker Public Service Award (2000), both from the Bar Association of the City of Richmond.

Other service included the board of multiple foundations, including the Westminster-Canterbury Foundation, the Richmond Eye and Ear Foundation, the Rouse-Bottom Foundation, the Robins Foundation, and the Richmond Ballet.

Judge Roger L. Gregory, who sits on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, worked as an associate for Booker at the beginning of Judge Gregory’s legal career. “He was truly a remarkable man who served so ably and faithfully in so many capacities for so many years,” said Judge Gregory. “I cherish the privilege and honor of serving on the ‘Booker Team’ at Hunton & Williams. I learned so much from Lewis about serving with passion and living with purpose.”

Booker also was a great fan of classical music. The Booker Hall of Music at the University of Richmond’s Modlin Center for the Arts was named in honor of him and his parents through a gift from the Robins family. Planning for the Modlin Center complex began during Mr. Booker’s final term as Rector.

He was a long-standing member of the Richmond Symphony Board of Directors, a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Richmond Symphony Foundation, and served as President of the Richmond Symphony Council.

On behalf of the Richmond Symphony, Executive Director David Fisk commented: “Lewis Booker was an irreplaceable member of the Richmond Symphony family, and as a friend we shall miss him terribly. His contribution to the Symphony’s growth and stability has been immense, in the many ways in which he provided leadership and wise counsel over the decades. It is a small consolation that we were able to appreciate him in his lifetime through the vision and generosity of others, and even ― for once! ― completely to surprise him, through the establishment of the Richmond Symphony Lewis T. Booker Music Director Chair: we shall forever be grateful to him.”

Work Ethic

At Hunton & Williams, Booker’s work ethic amazed young associates. Gregory N. Stillman, now a partner in the Norfolk office of Hunton & Williams, recalled his unsuccessful efforts to get into the firm’s office before Booker did. “But it seemed that whenever I got there, he was already there.”

“The breadth of Lewis Booker’s interests and the depth of his commitments were wonderful to behold,” said W. Taylor Reveley III, president of William & Mary and former managing partner of Hunton & Williams. “They stemmed from his superhuman energy, passion for life, and deep concern to serve the larger good. By any measure, this rare and marvelous mortal left the world better than he found it.”

Another Hunton & Williams lawyer, J. Waverly Pulley III, recalls that despite his remarkable schedule, Booker always found time to answer questions and provide advice to young lawyers. “Lewis Booker was a wonderful human being and a great force for good at the Richmond Bar, Hunton & Williams, and in the Richmond Community.”

Lonnie D. “Chip” Nunley III, a partner at the firm who joined the firm as an associate for Booker, added, “For young lawyers, both inside and outside our firm, Lewis was a fantastic mentor. He conducted himself with the utmost professionalism and was a gentleman to judges, opposing counsel, witnesses, court personnel, and everyone involved in the judicial process. Lewis was the epitome of civility. Plus, he had a wonderful sense of humor.”

“Our firm and the community have lost a dear and able friend in Lewis Booker. He was a lawyer’s lawyer with an enormous work ethic and a deep sense of commitment to our community and particularly to higher education. He will be greatly missed,” said Gordon F. Rainey Jr., a former chairman of Hunton & Williams.

Deep Faith

Booker was a life-long member of Second Baptist Church. He served as church treasurer for 35 years and as Bible school teacher for more than 50 years. He served as counsel to Virginia Baptist General Association and the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 1985, he took a sabbatical leave from his firm and taught American constitutional law at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan. During his sabbatical, he studied and prepared a law review article on comparing freedom of religion as interpreted in American courts, in contrast with the way it is interpreted in Japanese courts.