Law Schools Are Bringing Out The Best Legal Names As Speakers For In-Person Graduation Ceremonies

After years of virtual ceremonies thanks to COVID, law schools seek to impress this time around.

graduation commencement speech speaker cap gownLaw school commencement ceremonies during COVID times have been a lot different than usual, with all the pomp and circumstance delivered in a virtual format. But this year, things are much different, with in-person ceremonies finally returning at many schools after years of absence. In fact, some schools have even invited their 2020 and 2021 graduates to share in the 2022 celebrations. And with the return to normalcy, many law schools are bringing out big-time speakers to address their graduating students (although Supreme Court justices are notably missing from this year’s line-up).

Above the Law tracks law school graduation speakers each year, and we rely on the help of our readers for this task. We know some speakers (gavel bang: Reuters), but we’re not psychic. Please get in touch with us at tips@abovethelaw.com and tell us who’s speaking at your graduation. We’ll update the list accordingly.

American: Lisa Monaco
Berkeley: Mónica Ramírez Almadani
Boston College: Chief Justice Kimberly Budd (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court)
Brooklyn: Preet Bharara
Columbia Law School: Andrew Yang
Duke: Judge Michelle Childs (District of South Carolina)
Harvard: Loretta Lynch
Indiana University (Maurer): Judge Jed Rakoff
Michigan: Chief Judge Roger Gregory (Fourth Circuit)
New York Law School: Judy Sheindlin (aka Judge Judy)
NYU: Vanita Gupta
Virginia: Kim Keenan

In-person law school commencements return, drawing legal boldface names [Reuters]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.