Addressing the Boston College Law School class of 2015, David Simas, Law ’95, told the graduates that they should always remember why they chose to earn their law degree.
“As you begin your journey, rooted in those Jesuit ideals that define this amazing institution, please remember that passage from scripture: everyone to whom much was given, much will be required,” Simas said. “It is up to every single one of you to take up your role, and the values and ethics that you have learned here, and the why that informs what you do—take it up in the courtrooms, the boardrooms, take it up everywhere in between.”
Dean Vincent Rougeau referenced State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s leadership in the Freddie Gray case and the Baltimore riots as an example of the foundations of a BC Law education. “Marilyn Mosby is one of ours, Class of 2005,” he said. “At BC Law, we want to foster conversations that lead to change. It is something ingrained in our DNA, part of the Jesuit tradition of respect for all perspectives and backgrounds, and care for the whole person—mind, body and soul. Marilyn was taught to consider all sides of an argument, to weigh the evidence and move forward. In a recent interview she said, and I quote, “The foundation of everything that I learned was at BC”… I’m honored to be the dean of a law school that holds these principles so dear, and I hope that you will embrace that promise as future leaders of the profession.”
Two hundred and forty-seven J.D. graduates received degrees at the Law School’s 83rd Commencement exercises. Seventeen LL.M. students also received degrees.
A native of Taunton, Massachusetts, David Simas is a graduate of Stonehill College. After graduating from BC Law, he went into private practice and sat on the Taunton City Council before his election as county registrar. He then served as Governor Deval Patrick’s deputy chief of staff before becoming a central part of the President’s 2012 campaign and joining the White House, where he serves as Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach.
Simas currently lives in Washington DC with his wife Shauna and two daughters, Payton and Rowan. The Law School recently ran a feature story on him in BC Law Magazine’s Summer 2014 edition, where he credits the School’s commitment to public service as helping to inspire his future career in politics.
Boston College Law School opened in 1929 in a small downtown Boston office building with 54 students and two full-time faculty members. Currently ranked 34th in the country by the annual US News & World Report survey, the law school’s highly qualified students are drawn from more than 230 colleges and universities across the United States, as well as in other countries. The law school’s 13,000 alumni practice in 50 states and many foreign countries, holding positions in major law firms, corporate in-house legal departments, the judiciary, government agencies, private industry, academic and public interest organizations, and serving as elected state legislators and members of the U.S. Congress.