Fordham Law School’s graduation speakers encouraged the class of 2025 to pursue their legal careers with integrity, discernment, and compassion.
Dean Joseph Landau acknowledged their significant accomplishments and posed vital questions for reflection. “As lawyers, what will you profess?” he asked. “And as people and attorneys, what will you become? Will you commit to lifelong inquiry, in service of your clients, in the service of the law, and in the service of justice? The rewards for doing so will also be lifelong—greater than any of us can imagine—as professionals, and as human beings.”
The Fordham Law community gathered on May 19, under clear blue sunny skies, to celebrate the Law School’s 118th diploma ceremony. A total of 644 student degrees—including J.D., LL.M., M.S.L., and S.J.D. degrees—were awarded to graduates at Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus. Family and friends of the class of 2025 filled the expansive lawn, cheering and recording with their cell phones as the graduates processed to the front.
Judge Maria Araújo Kahn ’89, who sits on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was the keynote speaker. Kahn, who noted her own law school ceremony was 36 years ago, asked aloud who in this year’s audience would be a future commencement speaker. She encouraged the graduates to reflect on both the promise and the responsibility of the careers that lay ahead of them.
“I want to take advantage of my one opportunity to influence your thinking about the lawyer you want to be and can become,” said Kahn. “In my view, the most successful and fulfilled lawyers and judges have two characteristics in common: intellectual humility and a deep passion for the law. … Remember that the law isn’t just about knowing the rules—it’s about understanding people. The best attorneys aren’t just brilliant legal minds; they have empathy, and recognize that behind every case is a real person or persons who will be affected by the outcome of the case.”
August Golden ’25, Fordham Law School’s first openly transgender Student Bar Association president, was honored with the Dean’s Special Achievement Award for leading with resilience, integrity, pride, and gratitude.
“As you venture out into the world, ask yourself who or what you’re serving, and to what end,” Golden told his classmates. “If you are happy with your answer, spread your joy and transformative power to those around you—I promise you, it’s needed. And if you find yourself dissatisfied with the answer, do something about it. If you made it through law school, you’ve already proven to yourself that you can do hard things. So make the hard things worth doing.”
Professor Gemma Solimene announced the winners of student awards, honoring the academic excellence, commitment to public service, and competition successes of more than a dozen graduates.
Four annual awards were conferred at the diploma ceremony. The Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Professor Aaron Saiger and the Adjunct Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Adjunct Professor Yazmine Nichols. The Dean’s Medal of Recognition was awarded both to Professor Leah Hill, Ann Moynihan Distinguished Clinical Scholar, and to Professor Russell Pearce, Edward and Marilyn Bellet Chair in Legal Ethics, Morality, and Religion.
The Eugene J. Keefe Award was given to Dora Galacatos ’96, executive director of the Feerick Center for Social Justice. The Keefe Award is presented to the person or organization that has made the most important contribution to the Fordham Law community. It is presented in memory of a beloved faculty member who served at Fordham Law from 1926 to 1968.
“Class of 2025, we are so very proud of you,” said Fordham University President Tania Tetlow at the ceremony. “And we know that you will show the world what it means to be a Fordham lawyer: a person who lives for others, open, bold, and brave, willing to do the right things, even when it’s hard—especially when it’s hard.”
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