Rambert Tyree, a law clerk with the firm during his 3L year at UVA Law, is this year’s recipient of the Gregory H. Swanson Award, named in honor of the first Black student to attend UVA and its law school. The award recognizes students who demonstrate courage, perseverance and a commitment to justice within the community. Tyree will join McGuireWoods as a Richmond securities and capital markets associate in fall 2022.
As an undergraduate at UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, Tyree was a fellow in the Meriwether Lewis Institute for Leadership, a three-year program in which selected participants put leadership skills to use through the examination of a key university issue. Tyree also served as the student member on the strategic planning committee led by UVA president Jim Ryan, was on the varsity football team, and co-founded “Building Bridges Lunches” with a classmate — a program inspired by his involvement with UVA’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which paired classmates from different backgrounds together to get to know each other over a meal.
At UVA Law, Tyree was inducted into the Raven Society, served as treasurer for the Black Law Students Association and was a BLSA Mock Trial Competition regional semifinalist. Tyree was a summer associate at McGuireWoods last summer.
“It’s truly an honor to receive this recognition and follow in the footsteps of great UVA Law student leaders, including McGuireWoods’ Jah Akande. I’ve always been passionate about doing the work behind equity and inclusion, and for those efforts to be recognized by university faculty, staff and peers is a testament to how important this work is. We’ve come a long way in the more than 70 years since Gregory Swanson’s landmark victory for equality and I look forward to continuing the work toward a better tomorrow for all,” Tyree said.
In 2019, the inaugural Swanson Award was presented to Jah Akande, now a Richmond McGuireWoods associate with the Government Investigations & White Collar Litigation Department.