Immediately after graduation, he became a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. before serving briefly in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant.

[3] He put the Law School on a new financial foundation by renouncing dwindling state funds and relying on increased tuition.

To soften the impact of higher tuition, he initiated an extremely generous loan-forgiveness program for graduates engaged in public service.

In 2017 he received the Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in scholarship, the highest honor given to members of the University community.

[8] After stepping down from that position, he retained a part-time appointment as counselor to UVA President Jim Ryan while continuing to serve on the law School faculty.