Haldane Robert Mayer

Class of 1971 · Washington, DC

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Judge Mayer earned his undergraduate degree at West Point and entered William & Mary after serving with great distinction in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He was editor-in-chief of the William and Mary Law Review and graduated first in his class.

After graduation Judge Mayer clerked for Judge John D. Butzner, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and was later special assistant to Chief Justice Warren E. Burger of the Supreme Court. He practiced law at McGuire, Woods & Battle in Charlottesville, VA, and Baker & McKenzie in Washington, DC, while also finding time to teach as an adjunct law professor at the University of Virginia and George Washington University.

President Reagan appointed him to what is now the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in 1982 and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1987. Judge Mayer served as chief judge of the Federal Circuit from 1997 to 2004. His daughter, Anne Mayer Turk ’98, practices law with Sidley Austin in Los Angeles.

It was a privilege to attend law school at William & Mary, and, believe it or not, I enjoyed every minute of it. I consider the preparation I received there second to none, and I am thankful that my daughter had the opportunity to study there as well.