For the second time in my life, I will be speaking at a law school graduation. Six years ago, I was selected by my classmates to serve as the student speaker. Giving that speech remains one of the greatest honors of my life.
When I gave that speech, I asked my classmates for help. I encouraged them to email me their thoughts on law school and graduation. Listening to my classmates was enlightening. Their insights helped me give a better speech than if I had written it by myself.
On May 21, 2011, I’ll again stand before a graduating law school class. This time as President of the school’s alumni association. Having sat through many a graduation speech, I will keep this one very short. Probably about 2.5 minutes. No one is there to hear me. Plus, I really like short speeches. Maybe I should tweet it and keep it to 140 characters.
So I’ll ask you, my enlightened readers, what would you say to the graduating class of 2011?
Please comment below or email me at rmckeen at lttnlaw.com
I’d tell them not to take themselves too seriously in the whole scheme of life, that being true to yourself is what matters most.
The not long thing is a really good idea. As a non-lawyer reader, don’t have specific advice, but would suggest:
is there anything you wish someone would have told you when you graduated?
what has surprised you the most since graduating?
(equivalently, perhaps) what did you have to learn that law school didn’t teach you?
I remember what Justice Ellen Peters said at my law school graduation 25 years ago. She told us, essentially, to get used to the color grey. Lawyers toil in the field of grey. Our clients deal in black and white, but we see things in shades of grey. Over the past 25 years, I have found that she was dead on with that characterization.
To remember why they became a lawyer in the first place? I hope to remember my intentions 3 years from now…
Invite them to join their fellow alumni now rather than after they have established careers. Let them know what they can gain from being part of the alumni organization and make it personal.
As one of the graduating law students who you will be speaking to, I appreciate the 2.5 minute length. An interesting topic to talk about is keeping one’s mind open to where the law will take you… such as creating a blog to write about your musings of the law, and to see it become “Connecticut’s Widely Read Obscure Legal Blog.”