(Music Playing) Thank you.

Thank you.

Please be seated.

I think we now have enoug chairs for all of our graduates.

Graduates, families and friends.

It is my distinct honor and privilege to welcome all of you here today to the 2026 commencement of the MSU College of Law.

In this, our 135th year of continuous operation.

Founded in 1891 as Detroit College of Law, the first law school in Detroit, MSU College of Law moved to East Lansing in 1995 and is now a fully integrated college of Michigan State University.

Today, we welcome our 2026 Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, and Master of Jurisprudence graduates to our MSU alumni ranks.

These graduates could not have achieved their goal without the support of family and friends.

So I'd like to take a moment to recognize all of you here today who have sacrificed and supported your person in getting across the finish line.

If you have a loved on who will cross the stage today to become a lawyer of tomorrow, please stand.

If you are able and be recognized.

We've.

We've got a packed Breslin Center today.

All right.

So, we collectively acknowledge that Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodéwadmi peoples.

In particular the university resides on land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.

We recognize, support, and advocate for sovereignty of Michigan's 12 federally recognized Indian nations for historic, indigenous communities in Michigan, for indigenous individuals and communities who live here now, and for those who were forcibly removed from their homelands.

By offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm indigenous sovereignty and will work to hold Michigan State University more accountable to the needs of American Indian and Indigenous peoples.

And now our national anthem will be led by Alirna Korieva from the College of Music.

Please stand.

(Singing and performance of Star-Spangled Banner) You may be seated.

I'd like to begin our ceremony by recognizing the College of Law community.

I will start with our faculty.

The members of the College of Law faculty, our accomplished scholars, known the world over there as dedicate to the education of our students as they are to their own research.

They serve as tireless intellectual role models and professional mentors.

Their influence and guidance have resulted in our alumni being among the most highly regarded legal professionals in the nation.

Furthermore, our faculty shows up year after year.

They help make this day extra special for our students and their families.

Will the members of the faculty on stage please stand and be recognized?

Thank you.

It is truly our privilege to have the Honorable Ann Sherman, Solicitor General of Michigan and an alumna of the class of 2004, to deliver our commencement address later in the program.

Please stand.

And, Solicitor General sermon, and let us recognize you.

Thank you for coming today.

I would also like to acknowledge, Don Nystrom, class of 2000, this year's Distinguished Alumni Award winner.

Please stand.

Also joining us on stage are administrators of the College of Law, without whom the college would not operate as seamlessly as it does.

Please stand.

Thank you.

Now, I would like to say a few words to our graduates.

Today is a significant day in your life.

One you will not forget.

Your family, friends, faculty, fellow students, College of Law administrators, and alumni are here for you.

We've come to celebrat your graduation from MSU College of Law to recognize what you've accomplished over the past three years, and to mark the launch of your legal careers.

As we reflect on your achievements, it is important to keep in mind the changing landscape you will enter.

Since you walked through the law school doors in the fall of 2023.

The world has been changing faster than we could have anticipated.

ChatGPT was introduced less than a yea before you started law school.

Yet now it is in everyone's conversation and is changing how we work, how we learn, and how we communicate.

And yet, at the same time, Americans are having greater difficulty than ever communicating with each other across political, social and cultural divides.

Today, we are more polarized politically as a natio than we have been in many years.

The practice of law is not immune from these larger political, social and cultural changes.

Law, too, is always changing.

It must if we want the legal profession to meet the demands of the moment and remain relevant.

Not only must you learn how to leverage new technologies, as lawyers have always done, and to serve in the traditional roles of advocate, negotiator and advisor.

But lawyers increasingl must function as intermediaries who help us bridg legal, cultural and ideological divides.

We need lawyers to help us navigate the divisions in our countr and guide us to a better future.

Society looks to lawyers for this leadership, just as our clients will look to us to help them chart a path forward.

Meeting these demands requires intellectual discipline, moral clarity, and the capacity to operate in an unsettled world where the answers are far from obvious.

You are ready for that work.

You leave here equipped to lead change, to build arguments, institutions and relationships that chart a path forward in an uncertain time.

I know you are ready because in many ways you have already begun the work.

Let's take a moment to reflect on some o the highlights of an experiences that have prepared you for this moment.

When I look back over three years here, what stands out most to me is this you did not wait to become lawyers.

You started the work right away.

Nearly half of you worked in our law clinics providing 26,000 hours of service to clients across Michigan.

In the tax clinic, you helped reduce one client's liability from nearly half $1 million to just $10 in the public defender clinic.

You argued before the Michigan Court of Appeals securing favorable rulings in the Indian Law Clinic.

You worked tirelessly on matters involving 11 tribal nations through the center, you advanced human rights and child protection globally working on research and advocacy with key internationa organizations and governments.

And through our pathway programs, you taught hundreds of Detroit high school students about their Fourth and Fifth Amendment amendment rights.

If you worked in one of our clinics or otherwise contributed free legal services to underserved clients while in law school, please stand if you're able and be recognized.

Thank you.

In addition to this hands on legal work, you have also distinguished, distinguished yourselves as advocates propelling our moot court program to the number one spot in the nation last year for the second year in a row.

You also honed your trial skills in our nationally renowned Trial Practice Institute and participated in our competition programs.

If you participated in Moot court TPR or one of our competitions, please stand if you're able and be recognized as.

Thank you.

You may be seated.

You contributed to our law review, law journals, world renowne scholarship and faculty research strengthening strengthening the intellectual life of this institution.

If you served on the editoria board of one of our law reviews or journals, please stand i you're able and be recognized.

You built a studen community that worked together across advocacy groups, identity based organization and student student leadership all to combine service, dialog, and meaningful engagement both within and beyond the college.

There are so many examples of this collaborative work.

The Student Bar Association, the ACLU, the Women's Law Caucus, and the People's Law Collective came together to assemble personal care kits and distribute the to unhoused community members.

You worked with the American Red cross to organize local blood drives, Law Legion and the Environmental and Agricultural Law Society teamed up with the State Bar and others to found Spartans Set Sail, the first of its kin event to promote mental health awareness, foster appreciation for Michigan's natural resources, and provide hands on experiential learning at the MS Sailing Center on Lake Lansing.

One of my favorite events, you raise the profile of ethics at the school by organizing dozens of Kelley Institute event featuring leaders from business, government, and legal scholars from around the country.

If you held a leadership position in one of our student organizations, please stand and be recognized.

You really do us proud.

Your commitment to communit is also reflected in your class Gift to Care's Community and Connection program, which will expand opportunities for collaboration, leadership, and engagement among student organizations.

I'd like to recognize the class gifted officers for their leadership.

Alexander Doyle, Jasmine Felder, and Mahek Kangra.

Please stand and be recognized.

You did all thi while conquering one of the most challenging academic programs in higher education.

Learning a new language.

The language of the law.

Developing new skills and doing things that you never imagined you were capable of.

Just a few years ago.

If you received a JP award during your three years here, or you were one of the 67 members of the class graduating with honors today cum laude, magn cum laude, or summa cum laude.

And I should say, if you know that, because we switched to an electronic program this year, which is the first time you learn about these honors.

But if you do know, please stand and be recognized for your achievement.

Excellent.

Of course, none of this happened in isolation.

Let's also recognize the broader context that shaped your experience here.

You balance demanding coursework with jobs, families, and life's inevitable challenges.

And yet you persisted.

You showed resilience.

You showed discipline, an you finished what you started.

Now, as you look ahead, the results speak for themselves.

Employment raise for our graduates.

Keep going up.

Last year's graduating class achieved record employment outcomes, and your class is on trac to meet or exceed their record.

Despite fears about how I will impact the job market.

You are securing jobs i Michigan and many other states, clerkships with distinguishe federal and state judges, roles in government, public interest offices, businesses, and of course, law firms of every size and every practice area.

These outcomes reflect the value of your degree, the strength of your legal education, and your readiness to lead.

Before you begin those careers.

However, there is one more step the bar exam.

Yes, you have the skills you need to pass the bar on the first try.

You know how to break down complex problems, manage large amounts of material, and perform under pressure.

That's all it takes.

You just need to put in the work and treat your bar prep as a full time job.

Use the resources we offer and you'll be one and done.

Repeat after me one and done, one and done good and right, and your families will be ther to support you in that as well.

You are entering the profession at a time of real complexity, and I am confident that you are ready and that you will truly make a difference.

What you have built here does not end here.

After today, you join the Spartan Nation, a global community of 500,000 living alumni as this next chapter begins.

Get involved.

Support each other and mentor those who follow.

You are Spartans.

You are leaders.

You are lawyers.

Congratulations to the class of 2026.

We are so proud of what you've accomplished.

And we can't wait to see you thrive in your new careers and mak a positive impact on our world.

And go green light.

Go green.

Thank you.

All right.

Now, I'm honored to be able to present an award to a man who has been a generous and influential part of our law community for nearly 30 years.

Don Nystrom graduate from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 2000, and is the president of Dynamic Aerospace and Defense, where he has led the company's growth for nearly a decade, expanding its operations across the United States, United Kingdom, and Asia.

Under his leadership, the organization has grown through strategic acquisition and new investments serving the aerospace, defense, rail and heavy equipment industries.

As a graduate of MSU College of Law, Mr.

Nystrom served as edito in chief of the Michigan State Law Review and founded the college's Best Grief Competition, an enduring part of the Winslow Oral argument competition.

At the end of the first year which he continues to support.

He began his legal career at Miller Canfield in Detroit before transitioning into private equity and business leadership.

Mr.

Nystrom remains deeply engaged with MSU law, having served as chairman of the College of Laws Board of Trustees, wher he played a key role in guiding the college's full integratio into Michigan State University in 2020.

His leadership and generosity continues to shape opportunities for futur generations of Spartan lawyers.

So please join me i congratulating Donald D Nystrom as I present to him the Honorable Honorable George and Bashara, Jr.

Distinguished Alumni Award.

Thanks so much I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dean SantAmbrogio.

You owe me a justice a little bit.

Here.

With an honor to stand here and accept, such recognition from an institution I love.

As the dean indicated, I had the benefit of, serving as the editor in chief of Law review.

My years here, was on the board of trustees.

And as the dean mentioned, had the pleasure of helping usher the private law college into our permanent space here on this beautiful campus.

And I couldn't be mor proud of the work that I did it in conjunction with the faculty, the administration, and the board of trustees at the time.

I had the opportunity to attend so many events around our state and around our nation.

But I want to leave you with a final thought.

And the Dean touched on it already a bit, and that is the value of our network.

You spent hundreds of hours in the classroom, and you've spent thousands more studying.

You've participated in the clinics.

You've gone to the symposia.

You've done the internships.

But with the bar exam still looming, your preparation journey isn't quite complete.

So while you wind down the education component of the last few years of your lives, you haven't yet realized th true value of your experience, the true value of your experience from your time at Michigan State University College of Law is in your network only.

You get to decide the true value.

Only you get to decide.

How do you engage with friends and colleagues that you've developed?

Do you take advantage of the events on campus in years to come?

Do you join your local bar organizations and meet othe Lums from the past few decades?

All that potential value resides with you.

While it's relatively easy to cultivate, oftentimes you just have to show up.

It still requires purpose and thought and consideration, as easy as it might be.

You still have to take action to extend yourself to find the time.

But for those that do, the practice will be more fulfilling.

Your resources to support your clients will be broader.

You'll benefi from the thousands of MSU alums who that genuinely look forward to making introductions and lending a helping hand.

So on a day in your life filled with achievement and excitement and not just a few speeches.

Let me encourage every one of you with everything I've got.

Please don't miss out on one of the greatest values you've got going forward, and for which no one can take away.

You are an MSU College of Law alum, and I implore you to maximize the value of that currency.

Thanks so much for this hono and congratulations to you all.

Thanks.

Thank you Don, for those words of wisdom.

And, just say Don represents the very best of the alumni community that you are joining today.

Now, it is my pleasur to introduce your class speaker, Joshua Kaplansky.

Joshua earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Western Michigan University before joining the College of Law, where he quickly distinguished himself as both an advocate and a leader.

During his time at MSU law he completed the Jeffrey Feiger Trial Practice Institute and competed in several national moot court competitions.

His team captured the regional championship at the International Trademark Association's Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition, where they also earned Best Brief honors alongsid his academic and advocacy work.

Joshua served as a Capitol intern for Michigan State Senator Rosemary Baer and gain valuable legal experience clerking with several law firms befor joining Nova Law in August 2025.

Please join me in welcoming your class, speaker Joshua Kaplansky Good morning everyone.

I'd like to thank Dean Michael SantAmbrogio for that introduction, and also our brilliant professors and esteemed guests for being up here today.

I'd also like to thank my fellow classmates.

My name is Josh Kaplansky and I have the honor of being the class speaker today.

I'm here to talk about the Michigan State Colleg of Law graduating class of 2026, and what it took for all of us to get to this point.

When we look out at this crowd, most will see just a group of law school graduates wearing nice robes and funny hats.

But what I see, and what many of us see, is a group of the most intelligent, exceptional, hardworking people we've ever had the privilege to know.

I see a judge who will rule on cases that define the laws of our land.

I see a lawye who will prosecute high profile criminal on behalf of the United States, and another who will defend the rights of the accused.

I even see a future senator who will pick up the ideals of our founders in pursuit of a more perfect union.

However, ladies and gentlemen, this is not what you would have see on the first day of law school.

Not even close.

My father once told me tha the key to wisdom is realizing that you know nothing at all.

And it has occurred to m that my fellow classmates and I were the wisest we'd ever bee on that first day of law school.

Well, we all came from different backgrounds, different reasons for being here.

We all saw the same thing.

And that first day, we walked into that first class, and we saw those of us who wanted to demonstrate their courage to the group by sitting at the front of the class.

Then there were those of us who found strength in numbers and sat in the middle, while others emphasized their disdain for the entire exercise by sitting in the back.

But most importantly, on that first day, we all saw one student raise their hand in a sheer act of bravery, only to watch that same hand silently retreat due to a sudden thought of self-preservation.

The first day of law school was madness.

In truth, it was frightening.

Many of us believe we knew nothing while everyone else knew everything.

Yet slowly, as that first year went on, those who sat in the back made their way to the front, and the words on the pages of our textbooks began making a little more sense than they did the day before.

And we were slowly becoming the fresh set of eyes that the law demands.

Look upon it.

Every year.

Without even knowing it, we are getting smarter.

And while at the end of our first year of law school we had not become lawyers, we had learned how to rely on our own minds to confront the problems in front of us.

Where a soldier is trained t rely on their weapon in battle.

We've been trained to rely on our own mind in the face of silent battles, because that's all law school really was.

It's three years of silent battles.

Everyone sitting here knows what it's like to spend hours alone in a quiet room, poring over the words of long dead men.

Everyone sitting here knows what it's like to have four months of your life boiled down to a three hour exam.

In the pressure that comes with that.

Yet I believe it was in these moments of great stress are either in moot court tbe law review finals.

It was in these moments that we learned the most, because it was in these moments we learned what we were capable of, how hard we were willing to work, what sacrifices we were willing to make to achieve our goals and win the silent battle in front of us.

It is precisely our ability to work hard and overcome these battles that will make this class of 2026 so successful.

Trust me, I've had to argue against some of you guys.

This is definitely a tough bunch.

However, these last three years have shown us anything.

It's that we need to be tough.

We need to be strong because become clear that we are not a generation of attorneys who have the privilege of going through the motions and trusting that the system will work itself out as we enter our careers.

I believe we'll come to learn that while law school taught us a lot, it might have taught us one thing wrong.

It taught us that there was such a thing as black letter law.

Law that is so settled it can be unchanged.

But how can this be?

Over these last three years, we've seen well-settled laws be changed and uprooted.

We've seen constitutional rights ingrained in our founding charter, unable to protect those who need it most.

And we've come to learn that the pen and the sword no longer debate as to who is mightier.

And have instead joined forces in furtherance of a common cause.

So clearly there is no black letter law.

There's just the law.

And what will define us all as lawyers is what we choose to do with it.

How we choose to mold, shape it, wielded.

Chief justice Earl Warren once said.

Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile.

I caught hell for some of my fellow classmates.

I leave you on this.

Never be afraid to advocate for the legal system that you believe is fair and just.

Never be afraid to use this privilege that we have worked so hard to acquire to do some good, to help someone, even if you catch hell for it.

And if we advocate long enough, hard enough, maybe we'll create the new law that some professor erroneously calls black letter law.

To my mom, sister, dad, and girlfriend Abbie.

Thank you for everything.

Into the family, friends an loved ones of the class of 2026.

I think I speak for all of us when I say thank you as well.

We could not have done thi without your love and support.

But while law school is ending for us, we'll still need your love and support throughout our careers.

So I want to leave you all with something as well.

Throughout our careers, do not judge us by our wins and our losses, but judge us by the battles we chose to fight.

Do not judge us by the people or entities we defend.

Instead, judge us by the principles we seek to uphold, and do not judge us by the actions of those who hold power over us, and instead judge us by how hard we're willing to hit them.

So on that, congratulation to the graduating class of 2026.

Go green and give them hell.

Thank you, Joshua for that extraordinary speech.

Thank you so much.

It is now my pleasur to recognize the class of 2026.

Gift to the college of Law.

A class gift is a donation made by the graduating class to our law school.

To help support future students and programs.

This year, the class chose to contribute to MSU Law's Care Fund, which will help to deepen the impact of a new community and connection program.

I'd like to take a moment and give a special note of thanks again to this year' class gift officers Alex Doyle, Jasmine Felder and Mark Kangra.

Thank you so much.

Fundraising.

Fundraisin is not for the faint of heart, as I know, but together you raised more than $1,000 for the Community and Connection program.

Thank you to everyon in the class who participated.

Now, it's my distinct pleasure to introduce our commencement speaker, the Honorable and Sherma Solicitor General of Michigan.

As the Solicitor General, Miss Sherman coordinates all appeals for the Michigan Department of Attorney General and practices in the United State Supreme Court, various federal appellate courts, and Michigan's state appellate courts.

Miss Sherman graduated summa cum laude from Michigan State Universit College of Law and holds master degrees in music from the University of South Florida and Northwestern University.

In addition to being an exceptional attorney, she is also an accomplished flutist or flutist.

I never know which to say.

Prior to her career at the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Miss Sherman clerked for the Honorable Richard Stein at the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

She was appointed Solicitor General in December of 2022, having previously served the department as Deputy Solicitor General, Assistant Solicitor General and Appellate Specialist, and one of the department's busiest litigation divisions.

During this time, she received the department's Top Civil Litigator Award, several appellate Advocacy awards, and Desk Awards for success in major cases.

Cases before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Please join me in welcoming the Honorable and Sherman.

Adams.

My God, this is good.

All the way.

Good morning, Dean Dean SantAmbrogio.

Esteemed faculty, family and friends, and most especially graduates.

My new colleagues in the legal profession.

As a proud MSU College of Law alum and part time faculty member for many years it is truly an honor to be here.

And having just come off a United States Supreme Court argument.

I am thrilled to know I can talk to you today, and you will not be peppering me with rapid fire questions.

Graduates, congratulations on an enormous accomplishment.

Your legal education from MSU law will serve you well, I promise.

Some years ago, at my age, it's best not to say how many I sat where you're sitting now and I don't remember a word my commencement speaker said.

I was too focused on my own next steps.

Was I up to the task of a federal clerkship?

What would my finances look like when I started having to pay back my loans?

I hope you will be more outward focused at the start of your career.

And I was at the start of mine.

I say this for two reasons.

First, society needs you with an intensity.

It probably didn't need me all those years ago.

Look around across political parties, educational levels and social strata.

There has been, for quite some time now, a growing disillusionment with lawyers, the judiciary and government.

This is dangerous because our democracy depends on trust in its institutions.

Your legal education makes you uniquely situated to rebuild that trust.

Second, your long term career goals depend on cultivating skills beyond the legal knowledge you have developed to both ends.

I'd like to share eight things, not six, seven, eight things.

I wish I'd better understoo when I started my legal career.

Number one, you bring yourself to work.

When something negative happens at work or in court.

People ask, can you believe what so-and-so did?

My answer is always the same.

So-and-so brought himself to work and himself lacked industry, or simply wasn't truthful or has anger management problems.

We don't magically become different people just because we want to succeed and have people think the best of us.

In the wrong situation.

Under the right pressure.

Both of which happe frequently in this profession.

Our authentic selves emerge, not the curated versions on social media or in our carefully crafted bios, but the people we actually are exhibiting, the values we actually hold.

This profession is very fulfilling, but it has moment that will make you want to blow that last gasket.

Moments that tempt you to stretch a case.

Holding stretch the truth.

Exaggerate your experience or undermine your opponent when you feel outclassed.

These moments test all the values embodied in the rules of ethical conduct by which we must abide.

As attorneys.

And they test our life values as well.

In these moments, we need a foundation.

Mine is my Catholic faith and the basic values I learned as a kid.

Yours might look different, but you will need it to keep you grounded.

When the earth beneath your feet feels a bit shaky.

Number two, your credibility is the cornerstone of your reputation.

A good reputation is built on hundreds of tiny decisions, tiny behaviors, tiny things said or not said in the small world of the legal community.

Each of these gets remembered and contributes to how you are viewed, dealt with, and yes, talked about.

Want to be a great attorney and want to be known as a great attorney and do a great job.

Want to be thought of as an honest broker?

Don't manipulate.

Want to be viewed as reliable?

Show up on time.

Ready for the task?

Because the first tim you misstate a holding fumble.

Facts you should have known.

Disparage your opponent or show up late for court.

It will be remembered, often with greater clarity than the many virtuous deeds that preceded it.

I once had a sharp intern with an impressive pedigree and a big firm job waiting.

I offered this student the opportunity to sit as a judge on a pane for a mock trial in a key case, and more valuably a chance to discuss strategy with our seasoned attorneys afterwards.

But on the day of the moot, the student didn't show up.

By the time the student appeared, the opportunity was gone and so was trust.

If that had happened at the firm, that is what new colleagues, clients and judges would remember.

Three.

There's no substitute for preparation.

I recently heard a speaker explain that preparation can't be postponed until the moment arrives.

That's so true.

Once you're in a situation where preparation is needed, it's just too late to put it in place.

Let me tell you, there is nothing like a U.S.

Supreme Court argumen to teach you about preparation.

I've argued twice before the High Court, and each time I literally gave up three months of my life to prepare because I still had a busy rol as the state solicitor general and as a member of Attorney General Dana Nessel, as executive team.

Virtually all my case prep took place from 5 to 10 in the evening, pretty much every evening and on the weekends, every weekend I ha to say no to social engagements, no to my 65th and 66th birthdays, and no to normal life that suddenly felt frivolous.

I didn't do this to prove anything.

It was survival.

I imagined that deer in the headlights moment.

You know what I mean?

Graduates.

When I couldn't answer the court's questions, or worse had absolutely no understanding of the tangential subject matter behind the question.

So I studied more.

And the more I studied, the more I had to study.

Each rereading of a key case.

Generated new questions directed me to additional cases I hadn't ye read, and forced me to explore new areas just in case they arose.

Obviously, that was preparation on steroids, but at bottom, that's the nature of all legal preparation.

We have to follow every issue.

Every argument, every potential theory down, every nook and cranny.

And you translate this to whatever area you'll be practicing i and commit to being as prepared as you can be with the time you have.

It matters in an admin hearing, a state circuit court, or a client meeting, just as it does in the US Supreme Court.

A secondary benefit of preparation is confidence.

Friends have asked me if I was nervous before the United States Supreme Court.

I was not.

And I am not a cool as a cucumber person.

But I had already learned the power of preparation when I was a professional flutist.

Nerves threatened to derail m performances until I discovered that no breathing technique substitutes for preparation.

Your body knows when you are unprepared, and it will respond in ways you can't control.

For focus on doing the job you have, not on eyeing the next one down the road.

Don't get me wrong, it's great to dream, but the surest way to success is to be fully and totally consume with the work you are doing now.

I once had the opportunit to interview Elizabeth Clement, who was at that time a new Michigan Supreme Court justice for an appellate journal article.

She had serve in every branch of government, and she seemed to move fluidly from one important job to another.

When I asked her how she did it, she told me she didn't really apply for jobs.

She simply immersed herself in the job she had and as others noticed, opportunities following.

That has largely been true in my own career as well.

Candidly, I never aspired to be the state's solicitor general.

I didn't even apply.

Attorney General Nessel came to me and I was honored to accept.

State solicitor general ofte hold Ivy League degrees and U.S.

Supreme Court clerkships, but I am proof that there is no single path to becoming a state's solicito general or any other position.

We make our own paths.

I also never thought my team and I would win nine zero in the US Supreme Court, or that I would address 1200 people at my alma mater graduation.

I simply gave each case, each task, everything I had.

I encourage you to do the same.

Figure out what motivates you.

I'm a public servant at heart, and knowing that has kept me close to work.

I could throw myself into then handle each assignment to the best of your ability and don't limit yourself by age, circumstances, or perceived barriers.

And don't complain that someone else is getting more recognition than you.

If you focus on the work and do it well, someone will notice.

A supervisor or mentor will trust you with the next case.

A colleague will vouch for you and opponent will respect you.

Even clients who lose say positive things about their lawyer when they feel they've had a voice.

I once filed amicus brief in a case challenging a barrier in the law school admission test for blind test takers.

We took the case to the Sixth Circuit, but ultimately lost on procedural grounds.

Whil that result was disappointing, I've always treasured the moment.

Right after the Sixth Circuit argument, when the plaintiff's father stood in the foyer of the federal courthouse in Cincinnati.

Clasped my hands and through tears of joy, said, thank you.

You heard my son and believed in him.

That moment continues to remind me that behind cases are real people and real impacts.

Whether weighing in on a state issue, writing a brief, reviewing legislation, or filing objections to a proposed court rule.

I remember that earnest father who just wanted his son to be able to tell his story.

Five.

Being a lifeline lifelon learner isn't just aspirational.

It's essential.

The law doesn't stay static, and neither should you.

Keep abreast of changes in the law and court rules.

The world around you is changing, too, including technological advances such as AI that are creating both useful tools and massive challenges for this profession.

Aspire to be part of developing workable solutions to the inevitable tensions that arise.

I also hope you will be brave enough to help shape the law.

My second year at the Department of Attorney General, still a baby lawyer.

I was assigned an amicus brie in a case where the state trial court had awarded what seemed to be excessive damages, excessive attorney fees.

My only direction was that the state was concerned about the wide disparity in fee awards, and that I should address that concern.

I had no idea where to begin.

Eventually, I dre on my federal court experience and recommended something neither party had advanced that state courts adopt a method akin to the federal Lodestar method, a baseline from which they could depart based on factors that already were suggested in state case law.

Assignment completed.

Or so I thought.

But then the state bar came out and criticized my position.

I grew nervous when I attended argument in the Michigan Supreme Court simply as an observer.

I grew even more nervous as I heard the benc ask the parties about my brief.

Should we adopt the Attorney General's position?

I returned to my office, terrified.

I had embarrassed the attorney general.

But to my surprise, the majority of the court held that the state's approach needed some fine tuning and adopte something akin to the lodestar.

Until that day, it hadn' dawned on me that I could dare move the law wher I thought it needed moving.

Six.

Turn the inevitable mistakes into growth.

You're going to make a few mistakes along the way.

One of the keys to success is how you handle them.

My first month at the AG's office, I took over an appeal from a seasoned attorney who went on vacation.

The Court of Appeals opinion issued while he was gone and it was not favorable, and I decided to file a motion for reconsideration.

I dutifully pulled out my court rules, and I read the rule.

Motions for reconsideration are due 14 days from the date stamped on the opinion.

Being a literalist, I looked for a date stamped on the opinion.

There was only one.

The date our office received.

The opinion in the mail.

Imagine my surprise and dismay when my motion, in brief, with all its exhibits, were returne with a gigantic stamp that said, returned as untimely.

Apparently I was the only attorney who didn't know that stamped really meant printed.

On the face of the opinion.

I never missed another deadline, but I also learned the value of consulting others more experienced than myself.

Number seven people matter.

Maintain relationships that nurture you.

Not just contacts you think you're going to benefit from.

Those relationship will celebrate your victories, and they will sustain you when you feel defeated.

Value every member of your team.

During law school, I was a summer intern for Bernard Friedman, then Chief judge of the Eastern District of Michigan.

On my very first day, he personally introduced me not just to judges, but to every clerk, secretary and custodial worker in the building.

He knew each one by name, and he knew something about their family as well.

He understood that every team member was contributing to a successful result.

Show respect to your opponents and court personnel.

Civility is not weakness, nor will it hurt your career.

Our strength as attorneys is measured not by the sharpness of our tongues, but by the sharpness of our mind.

Number eight give credit where credit is due.

We live in a culture obsessed with self-promotion.

But when I was growing up, my mother taught me to avoid eye disease.

I'm always impressed by attorneys who recognized the colleagues who worked alongside them, and the staff who formatted proofed, and filed their briefs.

Few victories are won alone, especially in a government office.

Giving credit doesn't diminish you.

It highlights you as a team player, which is always a plus where the end game is the product, not the producer.

Relatedly, take a chance on someone you believe in.

I came to law school with no contacts whatsoever.

As a former professional musician, no one in my world was positioned to help me thrive in law school or beyond.

I gained those contacts because people in the legal profession took a chance on me, including some of my MSU law professors.

Someone in this room has done the same for you.

Maybe they supported you financially.

I see some heads not out there.

Maybe they simply did the dishes at home so you could get to your studying sooner.

Maybe they met you after class and spent time making sure you understood a crucial concept.

Maybe they used their influence to help you get a job or a clerkship.

Pay it forward.

I could go on, but it's always bes not to overstay one's welcome.

And so I close family and friends.

MSU law faculty and staff, thank you for your support of these talented graduates.

Graduates that the world needs so very greatly today.

Graduates and colleagues, today is just the beginning.

Go do the work.

I can't wait to see what you build.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Solicitor-General.

Thank you so much for your speech today and those powerful words of wisdom for our graduates.

At this time, it is my pleasure to present the candidates of the graduating class of 2026.

We will begin with the Master of Laws and Master of Jurisprudence candidates, and then proceed to the Juris Doctor.

Candidates.

Please feel free to applaud briefly and respectfully for each candidate, as the names are called, or exuberantly as you may choose.

Professors Glen Staszewski and Stephen Wilks will announce the names of the graduates.

Members of the faculty over here will bestow the graduation hoods on our graduates, which marks their transition into graduates of the College of Law.

From student to graduates.

We're.

(Conferral of degrees reading graduate names) I now ask all of the Master of Laws and Master of Jurisprudence candidates who are able to rise for the conferment of the degrees.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University, and by the statutes of the State of Michigan, I confer upon each of you the degree of Master of Laws and Master of Jurisprudence, and declar that you are prepared to ensure equal justice under law is available to all people in the state of Michigan, this country, and the world.

Congratulations.

I now ask all of the Juris Doctor candidates who are able to rise for the conferment of the degree.

By.

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Trustees of Michigan State University and the statutes of the State of Michigan, I confer upon each of you the degree of Juris Doctor, and declar that you are prepared to ensure that equal justice under the law is available in the state of Michigan, this country, and the world.

Congratulations.

Friends and family.

Thank you for joining us today as we celebrate the achievements of our graduates, I will, a universal proverb says, if you want to go fast, go alone.

But if you want to go far, go together.

That is the power of community.

You now join a worldwide network of over 500,000 alumni.

It has been my privilege to serve you as Dean.

And some of you, I think a third as professor.

The future of our profession is in an excellent hands.

Your entire law community, faculty, staff, and alumni cannot wait to hear about your accomplishment in the years to come.

On behalf of the entire law school, I extend our congratulations and good wishes.

Will all here in this arena.

I think there are some in the stadium.

Please join me.

And one last, a round o applause for the class of 2026.

The platform party will now recess, followed by the graduates.

Will the audience please remai seated until the platform party and all the graduates have left the arena?

Please meet your graduates, your loved ones at the Hall of History, where there is space to mingle and take pictures.

Thank you.

That concludes our commencement event.

(Music Playing)