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Nearly 420 new students took the first step toward becoming lawyers at ӣ����Ƶ’s Convocation ceremony Monday evening at the U.S. District Courthouse for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY), where they received a warm welcome and sage advice from the school’s leadership, faculty, and alumni before rising to their feet to take oaths of professionalism.  

President, Joseph Crea Dean and Professor of Law Dean David D. Meyer welcomed students to the Law School, emphasizing that they are now part of an academic community that stands out for its distinctive mission of promoting inclusivity in the legal field and mobilizing social change. 

“Next year will be our 125th anniversary, and at the time of our founding, most law schools, as you know, were exclusionary and focused on maintaining law’s service to the established order,” Meyer said. “ӣ����Ƶ defied critics at the time by opening its doors to women, people of color, people of every religious faith, and immigrants from every corner of the globe. By embracing talent and ambition that others turned away, ӣ����Ƶ has been a beacon of excellence and an engine of social mobility and transformation for generations of our graduates and their families, and for the clients and the communities they go on to serve.” 

His own convocation, Meyer said, marked a turning point toward viewing the world through a legal lens, a transition that was thrilling. “What I didn't know then was that the next three years would transform me, just as your time at ӣ����Ƶ will transform you,” Meyer said. “So, I welcome you to the adventure ahead. I congratulate you on your choosing ӣ����Ƶ, and I look forward to getting to know you better in the years to come.”  

The formal portion of the event culminated when alumna Hon. Claire Kelly ’93, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade, administered the “ӣ����Ƶ Oath of Professionalism,” in which students stood and pledged to conduct themselves with the dignity and civility the legal profession required. Kelly explained the oath’s importance. 

“Whether you’re in class or in court, you're going to disagree with your learned colleagues, sometimes strongly, and you may feel passionately about your position, the issue, or your client,” she said. “You may be pursuing justice, but if you want to be successful for your client, your issue, or justice, be civil. When people are afraid of uncivil responses, they stop talking, and that benefits no one.” 

Kelly, a former adjunct professor at the Law School, added that “there’s no winging it” as a lawyer and that doing hard work is what professionalism demands. “You will see that the Law School, as an institution, values service to the larger community, and you will have opportunities to participate in that service. I hope you enjoyed doing so as much as I did,” Kelly said.  

Celebrating the Incoming Class 

Vice Dean and Stanley A. August Professor of Law Professor William Araiza provided opening remarks at the Aug. 18 event, welcoming students to Brooklyn, “one of the most diverse and exhilarating places on earth,” and said that it was no surprise that the impressive incoming class landed in a borough that is widely known as a bastion of cool. 

“We are immensely proud to have you at ӣ����Ƶ,” Araiza said.  “You are an extraordinary bunch of people, and you traveled many different paths to get to where you are tonight.” 

The class includes 35 part-time students in the four-year program, 11 LL.M. students, and people from a remarkable range of backgrounds and places, with 14 full-time international students joining from six different countries.  The LL.M. students, all foreign, join from countries including Guyana, Georgia, and Turkey. 

“Eleven percent of the entering class are first-generation Americans and over 50 of you speak a second language, including over 35 languages and dialects other than English; including Arabic, Burmese, Haitian Creole, Mandarin Chinese, Nepali, Russian, and Twi,” Araiza said. “You hailed from 32 U.S States prior to the start of law school, and 80 of you already resided in Brooklyn—pretty good advanced planning.” 

Among the ranks of the incoming students, he noted, are the youngest Iranian in the world to give a TED  Talk, a leading oral formulation scientist at Merck Research Laboratories, a tenured professor of philosophy and religious studies at St. Francis College, a pastry line and prep cook at Gramercy Tavern, an active-duty U.S. Marine Corps captain, a senior program manager for Google’s global affairs strategy, a talent agent from Los Angeles, and the cofounder of a sports management company. Others worked in public service, including a student who worked with North Korean refugees seeking asylum, another who supported Holocaust survivors, and yet another who raised puppies to become service dogs to U.S. disabled veterans. Still others worked in public service or law, among them an investigator for the Legal Aid Society, a paralegal for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and a victim’s advocate for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.  

Professor’s Advice: “Give Yourself Grace” 

The evening’s faculty speaker was Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, the David Dinkins ’56 Professor of Law and co-director of the Center for Criminal Justice, who teaches and writes in criminal law and procedure, evidence, and abolition, and is a nationally recognized expert in indigent defense and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. In her remarks, Hoag-Fordjour emphasized the importance of students knowing that they “belong” in law school, no matter how intimidating it can be at first. As a young law student herself, Hoag-Fordjour recalled floundering in class after a Civil Procedure professor called on her and peppered her with a series of questions about a complex legal case. She remembered fearing that she would never make it through law school, let alone have the career she has now.  

“What tripped me up is that the casebook seemed like it was written in a foreign language, but like all foreign languages, the law is learnable, as long as you devote time to it, you practice speaking it to other people, you immerse yourself in it,” she said. “Give yourself grace as you navigate this very new learning experience and allow yourself to stumble a few times along the way.” 

Hoag-Fordjour urged students to join student groups and lean on their classmates as both allies and resources on their journey through school. “These are your people. They will study with you, lift you up and explore the city with you,” she said.  A first-generation lawyer and the daughter of immigrants, herself, the professor also noted that the legal profession is always in need of diverse perspectives, a lesson that she learned while defending people on death row.   

“Being a successful lawyer doesn't require you to stifle any aspect of your identity,” Hoag-Fordjour said. “In law school, don’t let go of the qualities that make you you: your compassion, your empathy, your creativity. Attributes like these are valued in our profession. They enable you to connect with clients and recognize issues that may elude others. Lean into these superpowers.”  

Alumni Advice: “Don’t Just Study Law. Live It.”

Alumni speaker ’12, managing director and global head of commercial operations and transactions for the Aladdin business at BlackRock and a member of the Law School’s Board of Trustees, also shared her journey and advice with students. She came to the United States as a refugee from the Soviet Union and after college worked in finance and corporate strategy, including as a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs. 

When she decided to go to law school part-time, while working full-time, she was the mother of a 1-year-old.  

“It was a constant juggling act, and balls dropped more often than I’d like to admit,” Ashurov said. "But I not only survived, I loved it. Law school became my sanctuary. I loved the late nights in the library when I felt like the building itself was buzzing with ambition. I loved the debates in con law when half the class was convinced they already  clerked for [Supreme Court] Justice [Antonin] Scalia. … I really loved torts, where somehow spilled coffee and falling pianos turned into life-changing lessons.” 

Her advice to students? “Don’t just study law, live it Yes, read the cases, memorize the rules, read until your highlighters run dry. But also notice how the law shows up around you, in your neighborhood, in the news, even in your own life,” she said.  

At the same time, like Hoag-Fordjour, she recommended cherishing what free time they have.  

“Make space for joy,” Ashurov said. “Law school is intense, and there will be moments when it feels overwhelming, but the moments you’ll carry forever are the joyful ones; the professors who crack the joke just when your brain is fried, the delirium of late-night study sessions where you and your friends laughed harder than you studied, the relief and celebration after finishing your first year. Don't rush through these moments. They are the ones you’ll treasure forever.”

Photos from Convocation can be found on Flickr .