BU School of Law Commencement 2010

Good morning proud parents, bored siblings, extended family, supportive friends, dedicated administrators, esteemed faculty, and The Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Eric Holder. To my classmates, the BU Law Class of 2010, I say good morning and congratulations. Honestly, I don’t know what else to say.

What do you say to a graduating class rife with unemployment, burdened by a mountain of debt, trying to find its way in one of the harshest economic landscapes in decades?

A cloud of uncertainty shrouds our graduation and our future. Today, this speech, and this graduating class, has two options. We can look back at what we have accomplished and be proud. Or we can look ahead to what we will accomplish and be excited. I’m going to set out on both paths and let you, using the deductive reasoning garnered over the last 3 years, choose.

Law school is one of the most elaborate academic hazing rituals the world has ever known. Moreover, it’s a masochistic experience that we all chose. Now, ask any practicing lawyer about his or her 1L year and most won’t be able to recite case names or remember holdings. Some won’t remember professors’ names or even all of the subjects studied. Yet, almost everyone will remember 1L year as being…well, awful.

What makes 1L year awful? Let me count the ways. First, given that the faculty is sitting up here and I have my back to them—exposed—I should clarify that if anything, the BU Law faculty is the one bright light in the abyss that is 1L year.

However, the Socratic method, while effective, is in a word: evil. So let me get this straight, it’s my first week of law school, and now my professor wants me to speak publicly about topics that I don’t understand in front of people I don’t know? To the BU Law Class of 2010, we made it through the Socratic method 1L year, and of that we should be proud.

Add the panic-inducing Socratic method to brief writing, moot court, and the almost unavoidable discovery that despite constantly succeeding before law school, most of us will have to learn to love the curve. Of course, 1L year is defined by more than just academic experiences. Seeing the same 90 people, day…after day…after day…after day…can be a little trying as well. Law school becomes high school replete with lockers, gossip, a prom, and more gossip. To the BU Law Class of 2010, we made it through 1L year without killing each other, and of that we should be proud.

Beyond the generalities of law school life, BU Law provides some specific challenges that the BU Law Class of 2010 overcame. Oh, the tower. Within the first 2 weeks of school, we all realized the importance of layers, layers, layers. While the Boston weather can be at times unpredictable, it always seemed to pale in comparison to the unpredictability of the “weather” in the Tower. Too hot, too cold, but never really just right. Yet the Tower is our Tower. Much like making fun of a sibling, those of us that attended school in the Brutalist architectural excellence of the tower could mock it, but no one else could. In fact, the cramped elevators, bad coffee and cozy locker space served as an odd bonding experience. Still though, to the BU Law Class of 2010, we survived the Tower and of that we should be proud.

Within the cement walls of 765 Commonwealth Avenue, we thrived for three long years through good times and 1L year. Whether as a member of the criminal clinic or the Student Government Association, a moot court team or a journal, an intramural basketball squad or just a reliable study group, we, the BU Law Class of 2010, succeeded in our time in the Tower and of that we should be proud.

To define path number two, I turn briefly to one of the most influential and important men of the last two decades. In one of his works, it is said, “It ain’t where I been, but where I’m about to go!” Now, many of you may not know this, but Jay Z, or HOVA, as he’s known in the hard-knock streets of suburban Connecticut, did not write that line about legal education. Still, for the BU Law Class of 2010, in this rough economic environment, maybe it’s not about where we’ve been, but rather, where we’re about to go.

Looking at my classmates, I see an amazing future. I see success at law firms big and small. I see future legislators, governors, judges, professors and entrepreneurs. I see pillars of the community, the type of people that others look to for guidance and support. Beyond that, I see wonderful parents, supportive friends and happiness.

Now, we are not entitled to this success. Simply graduating from law school as we are doing here today guarantees nothing. Times are tough now. Expectations have been altered; loans are weighing us down, but we will succeed. We may have to break the typical legal model. We may have to work harder than our predecessors and face adversity at every turn, but the BU Law Class of 2010 will do great things. There IS a light at the end of this tunnel and it’s NOT the T.

Thank you for your time. Choose your paths wisely. To the BU Law Class of 2010: again, I say, good morning, and congratulations.

Welcome to all of our families, friends, guests, faculty and my fellow graduates. I am honored to speak on behalf of the Boston University LLM programs. As many of you are aware, Boston University School of Law offers advanced legal studies in Taxation, Banking, Intellectual Property and American Law. I want to acknowledge the rich diversity of the LLM student body and all of the families who are joining us here today. Some of you have travelled from quite a distance. In fact, in our LLM programs, we have students from over 25 countries across the globe. The international presence in the program made our social time and our time in the classroom much more interesting and enjoyable.

I started the LLM program in Tax Law several years ago and never thought I would finish. I am giddy and ecstatic to have made it to this day! As a mother of three young children, I have found that my studies have enabled me to maintain perspective and keep my intellect active. Yes, there are chips all over the floor and chocolate yogurt smooshed into the carpet, but I now understand what will happen if I ignore that notice of deficiency from the IRS. The frustrations of putting together a bicycle pales in comparison to understanding the intricacies of the American legal system. I have spent many hormonal nights during my pregnancies, reading my law school textbooks in order to help me sleep. I must confess that it usually worked. So, in a strange way, this program has brought balance into my life, and I am very grateful for it.

The graduate law program at Boston University has also brought a blend of intense challenge and utter joy. The entire experience made me feel young and alive—to be engaged in an international community; on this beautiful campus; with a fine teaching staff; a knapsack laden with stimulating, yet very heavy, books; and the tremendous sights of Boston around me. Of course, my kids have enjoyed the fact that I go to school too (just not on a big yellow bus).

I have come to appreciate that knowledge of the American legal system is so very valuable. It was the Commissioner of the IRS that brought down Al Capone with tax law violations, and the recent near-collapse of the banking system almost brought the entire world economy to a halt. Our legal system is an extremely messy and cumbersome system. I feel as if I have trained to be a guide for navigating down the Nile or through the jungle where the Wild Things Are. Armed with our specialized knowledge, we are now capable of helping people maneuver through an incredible maze of information and calculations.

I am keenly aware that it is a privilege to have attained an LLM degree and one that not many people can claim. In this time of economic turmoil, with so many unemployed and facing financial ruin, we are in a unique position. Perhaps you will:

• help a company work through some tax or financial issues so they can hire more employees
• assist individuals or businesses in handling affairs in multiple jurisdictions around the world
• represent someone through an audit
• help an inventor start a business or protect their life’s work
• win an important case
• or work to make policies in this country and around the world more compatible, more equitable and
• more understandable.

In small and large ways, I am sure we will each find this knowledge to be important.

Having a family has taught me that the best way to live life is to strive for the ideal while at the same time taking pleasure in the day-to-day. I have this image of the ideal wife and mother—you know the one from the ’50s in the neat white apron and the perfect smile. Every day I make mistakes, make amends, and find something to laugh about. I know I am far from my ideal—just ask my kids—but all I can do is keep trying.

As advocates, fighting for our clients, with the rigorous demands of a legal career and the burden of financial concerns, it is easy to lose perspective. There aren’t many images of the ideal lawyer, but there are many images of the greedy, ruthless and unfeeling attorney. Despite our individual challenges, we each have the opportunity to re-make this image. I am grateful for the wonderful role models I have found in our professors and many of my fellow classmates.

I encourage you all to embrace the best qualities and the wisdom that we have experienced in the LLM Program, and to use it to the best of your abilities—with kindness and integrity, humor and humility. Imagine what your contribution could be towards that Ideal Attorney.

My last and most important piece of advice:
Now that you are an Attorney with specialized knowledge, absolutely everyone you know is going to solicit your opinion and advice, so remember always, always to have on hand a colleague’s business card —or for my fellow tax attorneys—a really great calculator.

Congratulations on achieving such a fine degree—and remember to USE IT WELL!