This spring, I presided over my second Commencement as dean. Every law school graduation is a special experience, of course. But I have been particularly inspired by the Class of 2024, and by their resilience, compassion, and determination.
The students arrived on campus in a world still recovering from Covid-19, and navigated—along with all of us—the bumps and occasional frustrations of returning to in-person classes. They began 1L year as part of the largest incoming cohort in recent memory, swelled by an unprecedented, pandemic-driven interest in law schools nationwide, all against a global stage fraught with conflict and uncertainty.
In spite of that—or perhaps because of it—they developed a palpable feeling of togetherness, building the lasting bonds between fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni that are the hallmark of BC Law. These bonds are grounded in a culture of respecting others and a shared sense of mission, along with a commitment to using the law to uphold equal human dignity and to create real, lasting change in society.
I have been grateful to be part of a community with such deeply held values, particularly during this time of multiple crises on the national and global stages—from immigration, accelerating climate change, continued threats to democracy, and war, from Ukraine to Sudan to the Middle East.
“At the core of [our] mission is the equal preciousness and potential of every life—the equal tragedy of every life lost or derailed, and the ethical imperative to look beyond difference and political division to find that shared humanity.”
Dean Odette Lienau
These values resonate with the school’s Jesuit heritage, with its tradition of affirming that the suffering of one in no way diminishes that of another. And at the core of this mission is the equal preciousness and potential of every life—the equal tragedy of every life lost or derailed, and the ethical imperative to look beyond difference and political division to find that shared humanity.
Equal dignity and equal preciousness stand as the ethical core of the rule of law as well, and of the belief that the rule of law should apply to everyone. It grounds so much of the work we do at BC Law, and it underpins our profession’s bedrock commitment to zealously serving each individual client. We provide each with due process and a chance at justice, fight for anyone who has been wrongly convicted, support the dreams of even the smallest entrepreneur, and work for large-scale legal and regulatory systems—locally, nationally, and globally—that support this vision of fairness, justice, and equal dignity.
Of course, the rule of law itself is under significant pressure here in the US and around the world. It is not something we can take for granted, and the concept can be made empty or even used for ill in a world without lawyers—good lawyers—to define and shape this concept through their work.
This is why BC Law’s mission of educating lawyers for the greater good is so important today. While each member of the Class of 2024 must interpret that mission for themselves—wherever their careers take them—I challenged our graduates to remember that the rule of law becomes meaningful through their work and their actions, and that they carry its potential with them. I have no doubt that our graduates will cherish the lessons they have learned from their faculty, classmates, and mentors, and that they will use the tools they worked so hard to master to make the world a better place. I know amazing things will happen under their watch.