USC Law celebrates 109th commencement

Jerry Brown tells new lawyers to transform society

—By Lori Craig

Delivering the keynote address at the USC Law Commencement ceremony May 15, California Attorney General Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. told USC Law’s Class of 2009 that they have the ability to lead the country from breakdown to breakthrough.

“There are deep problems: climate change, huge and continuing budget deficits, persistent school failure, a very expensive prison system,” Brown said. “In so many ways, we’re at a dead end, a clear and convincing breakdown. Necessity, however, will push us toward the breakthrough.

“Your studies in the law have taught you how to think, how to unravel legal problems; you’ve also learned how to learn, how to reframe a problem, how to know when there is no problem. Go forth with the confidence that you can transform this society.”

Brown addressed the 209 juris doctor recipients, along with 95 foreign graduate students receiving master of laws degrees and two receiving master of comparative law degrees.

“You need both rigor and imagination, but mostly relentless curiosity, love of learning, open to the unfamiliar, a sense of the aesthetic, of beauty,” Brown said. “We need something new, all right, but the new comes only out of the random. If it’s all planned, there’s no room for change.”

Among the many family and friends attending the ceremony were Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, who were on hand to celebrate the USC Law graduation of a family member.

Dean Robert K. Rasmussen acknowledged Biden, to a resounding round of applause.

“Mr. Vice President, I invite our graduates to take inspiration from you as someone who has used the great gift of a legal education to launch a lifelong career of distinguished public service,” Rasmussen said. “We are grateful to you for your service to our country.”

Public service is one of the fundamental principles upon which USC Law is built, Rasmussen said. Another is life-long learning. Rasmussen told the graduates their faculty, students and USC community have sought to inspire the intellectual passion for life-long learning.

“You are embarking on a career that not only enables you to continue to learn, but demands it at the highest levels,” he said. “The merely educated will earn a living, but the life-long learner will enjoy a life well-led … [and] the lawyer who is trained to be a life-long learner will always be needed and will always have a path to satisfaction from her career.”

Third-year Class President Paula Mayeda encouraged her fellow graduates to live for the present.

“Your strength and determination are the reasons I know even in the most uncertain times you will float like oil in water all the way to the top,” Mayeda said. “Although it may take longer than expected and there may be a few unexpected obstacles to overcome, after spending the past three years with you, I have faith that you will all succeed as you will all create your own definitions of success.”

Student Bar President Alyson Parker addressed her classmates and named them “a team of superstars.” When she first arrived at USC Law, Parker said she was intimidated and scared by her fellow 1Ls, but when she began meeting them she was shocked by how supportive they were.

“I expected law school to be cutthroat, and my classmates are giving me notes and studying tips? Not that I needed them,” Parker said with a wink. “Over the following two years, I learned how open, non-judgmental and warm my classmates are.”

LL.M. recipient Yumi Ahn, a South Korean native educated in the United Kingdom, spoke on behalf of the Graduate and International Programs class, who hailed from 23 different countries and careers in law, business and government.

“The study of American law has improved our understanding of American society, history and culture beyond measure,” Ahn said. “We feel very privileged to have come to this country at the right time, to witness one of the most critical moments in US history: the election of president Obama.

“I’m so proud to be graduating with all my classmates. Words fail miserably to express my gratitude for the love and support you’ve given me.”