Celebrating the Class of 2025 — Leading with Integrity and Responsibility

The procession continued to Old Campus, where the University’s 324th Commencement ceremony was held under bright and breezy skies. Deans from each school presented their graduate candidates to Yale University President Maurie McInnis — who was inaugurated as the University’s 24th president last month — and honorary degrees were conferred. 

The University-wide Commencement was immediately followed by a diploma ceremony for the Law School in the Lanman Center of Payne Whitney Gymnasium. 

In her opening remarks, Dean Gerken credited the families and friends in the audience for their steadfast support of the graduates throughout their academic journeys to and through law school. She also emphasized the importance of the rule of law and how a functioning legal system is the bedrock of a democracy that protects everyone.

“The rule of law matters because the law is powerful,” she said. “The law’s power means you are now powerful, too. You are ready for this moment. Legal training is not a hollow power, nor a tool you should lend readily to the highest bidder. It comes with an ethical valence and a civic responsibility.”

Gerken also implored graduates to carry with them the School’s core values as they go forth in the world. 

“That fundamentally noble mission of the lawyer has long held us steady. It is a mission of service that is embedded deep in the bones of this institution. As you go into the world, carry on our best traditions. Serve others. Do right by the law. Do right by yourselves. The rest will come.”

Visiting Lecturer in Law G. Eric Brunstad Jr. ’11 LLM, ’14 JSD served as this year’s faculty speaker and faculty marshal. In his address, he encouraged graduates to harness the transformative power of imagination to solve problems, address failure, and become their best selves. 

“Take your practiced powers and address the conflicts and contradictions you encounter,” said Brunstad. “Let your lives be inspired by your imagination and use your talents to pursue what you know to be good.”

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, the 48th Solicitor General of the United States and Steven and Maureen Klinsky Visiting Professor of Practice for Leadership and Progress at Harvard Law School, addressed the graduates as this year’s guest speaker. Prelogar shared her five rules for oral argument — and life: take charge of what you can control, stay loose and trust your hard work, prize your integrity, distribute your quills by showing gratitude to those who support you, and always keep fighting. 

“If you don’t like the way a legal doctrine is shifting, be the equal and opposite force that pulls the pendulum of the law back in a different direction,” said Prelogar. “So much change happens from the bottom-up. Focus on channeling your talents toward the public good, in whatever form that might take — whether by developing a robust pro bono practice, working in public-interest roles, or helping people through direct legal services.”

“There are innumerable ways to use the privilege of your law school degree to build a society that lives up to your values,” Prelogar said in her closing remarks. 

The day concluded with a reception in the Baker Hall Courtyard where graduates could celebrate with friends and family and connect with classmates and professors one more time.

This year’s Commencement honored 236 degree candidates, comprising 206 J.D., 26 LL.M., two J.S.D., and two M.S.L. candidates, and included the first group of Hurst Horizon Scholars whose entire Law School tenures were supported by the groundbreaking tuition-free program.