Gould G&IP graduates represented 32 countries worldwide, across 11 different academic degree programs
The USC Gould School of Law commemorated the achievements of its Graduate and International Programs (G&IP) Class of 2025 with a milestone commencement ceremony held May 16 on the USC University Village Great Lawn. The 452 graduates heard a keynote address by distinguished Gould alumnus Pēteris Zilgalvis (JD 1990), a judge on the general court of the European Union who serves on the court’s Management Board and the AI Management Board of the Court of Justice of the EU.
“The practice of law is more than a mechanical application of rules; it’s a vocation, and a forward-looking one, at that,” Zilgalvis said, encouraging the graduates to use their life experience to interpret the law rather than relying solely on artificial intelligence. “Innovating in the law and using technology is essential for practitioners of the law. But the human element will become even more important to distinguish our profession from mechanistic offers on the market.”
The G&IP Class of 2025 is made up of students from 32 countries across 6 continents. It is the 23rd class for the Master of Laws (LLM); the ninth class for the Master of Studies in Law and LLM in Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the Master of Dispute Resolution; the sixth class for the LLM in International Business and Economic Law; the fifth class for the LLM in Privacy Law and Cybersecurity; and fourth class for the Master of International Trade Law and Economics. This year also marked the first class of Master of Laws in Business Law, Master of Laws in Media and Entertainment Law, and Master of Science in Innovation Economics, Law and Regulation.
Franita Tolson, USC Gould Dean and Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law, reminded the graduates of the inscription on the base of the Tommy Trojan statue on campus: Faithful, Scholarly, Skillful, Courageous and Ambitious.
“Those traits describe what you have accomplished here at USC,” she said, adding one more trait: Transformative. “Through your academic commitment, you showed an openness to improving and transforming yourself. … Please continue to embrace learning as a lifelong journey, make the most of every opportunity to shape your future and to shape your world around you for the better. It’s just what Trojans do.”
Student Speaker Joana Arilyn Castro, a graduate of the Master of Laws in Privacy Law and Cybersecurity, delivered the student address.
To see more photos from the day, click here. To see coverage of the JD/Undergraduate ceremony, click here.
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