BROOKLYN LAW SCHOOL celebrated its 118th
commencement ceremony on May 17, at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, where 328 J.D. and 21 LL.M. degrees
were conferred. Barbara
D. Underwood, solicitor
general of New York, was the
commencement speaker and
recipient of an honorary degree.
Underwood was appointed
as New York’s solicitor general
in 2007. She served in that
position until May 2018, when she was appointed the
state’s acting attorney general, the first woman to
hold that office. She was reappointed solicitor general
by Attorney General Letitia James in January 2019.
Underwood, who served as the acting solicitor general
and principal deputy solicitor general of the United
States from 1998 to 2001, was also the first female
solicitor general in U.S. history. She has argued 21 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently
challenging the Trump administration’s plan to add a
citizenship question on the 2020 census.
“Don’t be afraid of being a pioneer. It turns
out to be a pretty rewarding thing to do,” she told
the graduates.
Stuart Subotnick ’68, chairman of the Board of
Trustees, presided over the ceremony and led the
conferring of degrees. He acknowledged the alumni
celebrating their 50th reunion year who joined the
graduates on stage, David Berkowitz ’69, and Jeffrey
D. Forchelli ’69, a member of the Board of Trustees.
Amina Darwish, coordinator of Muslim life at Columbia
University, delivered the opening invocation.
U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer, who was
the commencement speaker in 2015, made a surprise
appearance. Schumer extended special congratulations
to Jenna Jones ’19, who served as the senator’s director
of scheduling while attending law school.
The graduates
also heard from
valedictorian Nastassia
Shcherbatsevich ’19 and
Spencer Eliot Smith ’19,
who was elected student
speaker by his classmates.
Interim Dean Maryellen
Fullerton spoke of the
Law School’s history of
admitting women in the
early 20th century when
other schools barred
them from pursuing law
degrees—and how far
women have come in
the profession. “Today,
women make up 53
percent of the class of
2019. I’m proud to say
Brooklyn Law School has
played an important role
in allowing women access
to the law,” she said.
The Law School
continued its annual
tradition of hosting a
picnic for graduates
and their families in the
courtyard of the main
campus building.