B.A., University of Virginia; M.T., University of Virginia; M.Div., Virginia Union University; J.D., University of Virginia
Ray D. McKenzie is an adjunct faculty member teaching Trial Practice. Prior to co-founding a boutique law firm (WTAII PLLC), which assists clients with litigation, internal investigations, and anti-corruption compliance, Professor McKenzie was an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Maryland. As a former federal prosecutor, Professor McKenzie has tried cases involving violent crimes, racketeering, narcotics distribution, money laundering, wire fraud, and bank fraud. In addition, Professor McKenzie oversaw federal investigations involving the foregoing areas, tax crimes, and child exploitation crimes. He also coordinated with state and local law enforcement and prosecutors to bring violent and gun-trafficking offenders to justice through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and the District of Maryland’s Violent Repeat Offenders (VRO) initiatives. In 2018, Professor McKenzie received the U.S. Attorney’s Award for Excellence in the Prosecution of Fraud.
Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Professor McKenzie was a litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he worked on civil, False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, white collar criminal, and numerous pro bono matters. As a part of his pro bono practice, Professor McKenzie represented domestic violence victims the D.C. Superior Court’s Domestic Violence Intake Center and drafted amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Before joining the litigation department at Skadden, Professor McKenzie clerked for the Honorable James R. Spencer, who was the chief judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. During Professor McKenzie’s clerkship, Judge Spencer sat by designation on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Professor McKenzie earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law. Professor McKenzie also holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching from the University of Virginia and a Master of Divinity Degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. Professor McKenzie serves as an associate minister at the Metropolitan Baptist Church and on the Board of Trustees of Statesmen College Preparatory Academy for Boys, a public charter school in the District of Columbia.