An Interview with Margaret Spencer

Authors

Margaret Spencer
Mary Gorham

Files

Interview Date

3-27-2025

Description

I enjoyed talking to the other professors about what's new, what's going to happen in the future, where are we now, what changes should we make? Why should we make these changes? What laws that existed in the past need to be changed? We talked about innovative theories and that's what I enjoyed most, I think, about my experience with my colleagues at William & Mary. They were always open, always objective, and always supportive. -- Margaret Spencer

------------------------------------

Judge Margaret Spencer was interviewed on March 27th, 2025, in the William & Mary Media Center’s Production Studio. She begins the interview by explaining that she grew up with no interest in the legal field, but with a passion for helping others and serving the community. Judge Spencer then reflects on her time at law school at the University of Virginia (UVA) where she lived on campus and was one of only a few African American students, and how she helped start the Black Law Students Association at UVA. She then recounts her time working for Legal Aid and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), again feeling isolation from the people around her, but thriving in her ability to assist and care for others through her legal work. She then moves on to discuss her time at William & Mary Law School as a professor, connecting with students and faculty to build ideas and further service to the community. Judge Spencer then transitions to speak about her time as a judge, emphasizing her work as it relates to treatment courts which she still oversees today.

Run Time

00:33:22

Comments

A transcript and guide to the oral history are available as additional files, above.

Use the CC button on the video to toggle captions on and off.

Keywords

Black Law Students Association (formerly BALSA), Drug courts, Judges--Virginia, Richmond (Va.), University of Virginia. School of Law, Teaching--Law school, Women in law

Local Identifier

OH.2025.005

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright for these materials remains with their narrator. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce for reasons not covered by fair use must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Recommended Citation

Spencer, Margaret and Gorham, Mary, "An Interview with Margaret Spencer" (2025). William & Mary Law School Oral Histories. 19.
https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/oralhist_all/19