McThenia Research Assistants

The Andrew W. McThenia Faculty Research Assistants, a group of second- and third-year law students selected and overseen by the Law Library, provide curated research support for the scholarly activities of the W&L Law faculty and administration.

The McThenia RAs assist with projects of varying scope and duration, and may be assigned to work with any full-time faculty member in need of support during the academic year or summer. Projects assigned to the McThenia RAs usually require 20 hours or less of research time. Our law librarians strive to pair McThenia RAs with projects and professors that are a good fit for their interests and ambitions, and collaborate with the faculty member and RAs to ensure timely, high-quality work product.

W&L Law faculty members in need of research assistance, as well as students interested in serving as McThenia RAs, should contact librarian Andrew Christensen at ChristensenA@wlu.edu. Opportunities for McThenia RA positions may also appear on SCORE, maintained by the Office of Career Strategy. As with other student jobs at the Law School, McThenia RAs are paid at an hourly rate for their work.

Funding for the McThenia RA program is generously provided through the Frances Lewis Law Center. The program is named in honor of Andrew W. "Uncas" McThenia, Professor of Law, Emeritus at W&L Law.

2022-2023 McThenia Research Assistants

	Max Blumenthal - Max is a second-year law student from Norwalk, Connecticut. He received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rhode Island. During his 1L Summer, Max worked in the Criminal Appeals section of the Virginia Office of the Attourney General. Before law school, Max worked as an LSAT tutor and spent a brief stint as a freelance copywriter. He is the current president of the Antitrust and Consumer Law Society at Washington and Lee and is an avid Law School Football League enthusiast.
	Dylan Jarvis - Dylan is a third-year law student from Oxnard, California. He received a B.A. in History from the California State University, Channel Islands. While studying for his undergraduate degree, Dylan worked as a deckhand on a commercial lobster fishing vessel operating off the coast of Southern California. During his 1L Summer, Dylan interned in the Ventura County District Attorney's office and over his 2L Summer Dylan interned with the Navy Judge Attorney General at Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme/Point Mugu. In addition to being a McThenia Research Fellow, Dylan is a member of Washington and Lee's Immigrant Rights Clinic. In his free time, Dylan enjoys swimming and reading books on history.
	Grant McClernon - Grant is a third-year law student from West Chester, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Penn State in 2016, where he majored in finance. In between undergrad and law school, Grant worked for Recovery Centers of America, a startup behavioral healthcare company, where he ultimately served as the company’s director of advertising. During his 1L summer, Grant interned with the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of General Counsel and with the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy & Practice (CTIPP). This past summer, he worked as a summer associate at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C. In addition to being a McThenia Fellow, Grant is an extern with The Honorable Thomas T. Cullen of the United States 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, and a Senior Articles Editor of the German Law Journal. In his free time, Grant enjoys lifting weights with friends and playing hoops.
	Lara Morris - Lara is a third-year law student from Charlottesville, Virginia, who received her B.A. in History and Classics from the University of Virginia. Prior to law school, Lara worked in the equestrian industry. During both her 1L and 2L summers, Lara worked with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Nashville, TN and Southern Virginia Legal in Danville, Virginia. In addition to being a McThenia RA, Lara is a Burks Scholar and a Managing Editor of the Washington and Lee Law Review. Lara dedicates all her free time to her horse, her two cats, hiking, and baking.