USC Law holds 108th Commencement

Chemerinsky addresses nearly 300 graduates

—By Lori Craig

In his address at USC Law’s 108th commencement ceremony May 16, Erwin Chemerinsky, inaugural dean of U.C. Irvine’s Donald Bren School of Law, urged graduates to find joy in their careers, maintain integrity and pursue justice.

USC bestowed nearly 300 law degrees May 16

“As lawyers, especially as you advance in your careers, you will have tremendous power: The power to take away people’s lives or to protect them, the power to enhance freedom or diminish it, the power to protect the environment or participate in defiling it,” said Chemerinsky,  who served on the USC Law faculty from 1983 to 2004.

“Here at USC Law, you’ve been taught so well how to think critically and how to contemplate. I want to remind you to care. To care about what the effects of your actions are on others and on our society.”

USC Law conferred 210 Juris Doctor, 84 Master of Laws and two Master of Comparative Law degrees during an afternoon ceremony held in USC’s McCarthy Quad. Chemerinsky told the graduates that it’s possible to find enormous pleasure in the practice of law. If the first job after law school doesn’t provide happiness, he said, change jobs, and change jobs again if need be.

Keynote Speaker Erwin Chemerinsky

“Don’t stay in a job because you think you should like it – because it’s prestigious or lucrative. Focus on what you actually do feel about it,” said Chemerinsky., “We simply spend too much of our lives at work, we’ve all worked too hard to get here, to be satisfied with anything but joy in this chapter of our lives.”

Another rule to live by: Practice law as you want others to practice it, Chemerinsky said. Too many lawyers use the adversarial nature of legal practice as an excuse for unpleasant or obnoxious behavior.

Graduates should also strive to use their law degrees to vindicate the practice of law, he said.

“Each of you, whatever your field of practice, can take some of your time to help individuals and causes that can’t afford representation,” Chemerinsky said. “Each of you, no matter your specialty, can take the time to make people’s lives better.”

USC Law Dean Robert K. Rasmussen congratulated the first class to graduate since he joined the law school almost a year ago. He saluted the legacy of the Class of 2008 and its contributions to the law school: excellence inside and outside the classroom; contributions to student groups, law journals, Moot Court and pro bono clinics; and new traditions, including an Empowerment Day for local high school students and the Legal Aid Alternative Breaks project.

3L Class President   Shiri Klima '08

The Class of 2008 has proven that it cares for the community, said 3L President Shiri Klima during her remarks on behalf of the J.D. graduates.

“We have demonstrated drive, passion, leadership and dedication in the three years that we’ve been here. And now, as we graduate and join the working profession, we have choices to make,” Klima said. “Will we sit idly by, or bank on this momentum of change in our national leadership to do the critical legal work in health care and education reform? As a terrible disaster hits Myanmar and its government impedes aid efforts, as the war in Iraq continues and a nation needs rebuilding, as the atrocities persist in Darfur, is our class going to ignore it all, or are we going to continue our legacy of service?

“On this, our graduation day, we now better understand the law. We’ve seen in it action, we’ve been a part of it, and now we finally see ourselves as attorneys. While the theory is still complex, one thing has become quite clear: Its force is unequivocal in changing the world. And as the legal profession evolves, we can propel that change.”

Graduate and International Programs graduates selected as their speaker LL.M. recipient Peter Steinwachs, a lawyer from Germany who has practiced in his home country and in Santa Monica. This year’s 86 G&IP students come from five continents and 16 countries and are judges, Fortune 500 executives and associates at top law firms around the globe.

“In some classes here, the number of international students is as high as the number of J.D. students,” Steinwachs said. “The result is a level of international diversity that allows students and their professors to be exposed to radically different ideas, mentalities and experiences every day. It created a learning environment that incited our inspiration and stimulated our academic development.”

The full USC Law commencement ceremony was webcast live during the event and may be viewed at http://law.usc.edu/grad2008.