Harvard Law School celebrates Class Day

“Let us leave this place more willing to stand with those the law too often keeps at a distance, more committed to using what we have learned in service of those who need it most, and more devoted to becoming agents of change in the pursuit of a more just world. Let us remember that the measure of this education is not only what doors it opens for us, but what doors we help open for others.”

“Today I just want to express my admiration and gratitude to all of you for everything you’ve brought to HLS. You’ve worked hard — really hard. You’ve mentored, you’ve counseled, you’ve supported your fellow students.  You’ve teamed with faculty on cutting-edge research. You’ve skillfully represented clients and have generously donated your time to people in need. I am so proud to be here today to acknowledge all that you have accomplished.”

“For many of us, this day represents something much greater than our individual accomplishments. It represents the countless sacrifices and risks that made this journey possible long before we ever stepped foot on Harvard Law School’s campus. This degree is not ours alone; it is the culmination of the hard work of the families, the loved ones, and the communities that have supported us, believed in us, supported us, and sacrificed alongside us every single step of the way.”

“You join a long list of alumni — presidents, prime ministers, partners, professors, justices, judges, authors, non-profit business leaders, elected representatives, stay-at-home parents, teachers — each offering something to better our world. However you end up utilizing your Harvard Law School degree, prioritize your lives and leave room for activities outside your work. There will be much more to your life than just the law. Guard your time and your souls. Your professional reputation will always be all that you have in a profession that is built on trustworthy counseling.”

“The summer after high school, I went abroad working as a waitress and I wasn’t paid what I was due. I did not know the statutes. I did not know the system. It was a foreign country. And I didn’t know who to turn to. This feeling of being completely powerless and clueless is the reason why I went to law school. I’m sure many of you can remember how it was to walk through the doors of the Langdell library for the first time and being confused by concepts such as jurisdiction, res judicata, and mens rea. We will leave Harvard literate in a language most people will never learn. My hope is that we remember this when walking on our new paths.”

“As we graduate from Harvard Law School, we have the opportunity — and, frankly, the duty — to help people. To do good. I hope that as we see each other over the next 10 or 20 years, the stories we trade aren’t about what was easiest or most comfortable, but about how we tried to make our spaces and our communities — without whom we would not be here — stronger and safer than we found them. About how we grew into opportunities and challenges in trying to do the most good for the most people.”

“As many of us have already done in clinics, we can help ensure that workers get their due; immigrants are treated fairly; prisoners live with dignity; tenants have steady shelter. And as graduates of Harvard Law School, we can help ensure that everyone might focus, not on scraping by, but on contributing, in their own way, to the common good, without that contribution being constrained to careers, or dependent on a degree, or confined to the coasts. … Along with our salaried position, we also have another job, a new mission, to risk something of ourselves to change this world, so that those desperate for a chance to contribute might join us, as we do today, in celebrating their own achievements. It is the possibility that we might, as lawyers, help build this new world.”

“To all of our families, friends, and guests who have joined us today: please let me say clearly that we would never have made it here without you. Thank you for your advice, your support, and your love. Thank you for your patience when we were stressed, as well as when we were still stressed, but pretended not to be. … To the entire Harvard Law School Class of 2026: Congratulations on graduating from the most renowned law school in the world. We have a saying in Irish: Go n-éirí an bóthar leat. May the road rise to meet you. And in that vein, allow me to wish you tremendous happiness and success in the years to come.”