Maine District Court Judge Rick E. Lawrence Speaks at University
of Maine School of Law Graduation
May 22, 2004
Maine District Court Judge Rick E. Lawrence, an alumnus of
Harvard Law School, reminded graduates that "behind every
law school graduate stands an impoverished family" during
his address filled with sound, and sometimes humorous, advice
at University of Maine School of Law Commencement. The ceremony
was held Saturday, May 22, at Merrill Auditorium, Portland.
Lawrence told graduates that their experience at Maine Law
-- the friends they made while there, and the relationships
formed with faculty -- was much more intimate than his experience
at the larger Harvard Law School. He advised them to "give
back to their profession, community, and society as a whole."
The L. Kinvin Wroth Distinguished Alumni Award was presented
to Paula Silsby ('76), who is the U.S. attorney for the District
of Maine. Silsby, a native of Ellsworth whose great-grandfather,
both grandfathers, and father all practiced law, was the commencement
speaker for the School in 1996.
There are 82 graduates this year, and 77 of them marched
at the ceremony. Among them, Nancy Ann Haller of Portland,
Maine, was named winner of The Faculty Scholastic Achievement
Award, given to the member of the senior class who achieves,
over three years of law study, the highest academic average.
It was noted today that Haller achieved the highest average
of any graduate at the school in the past 39 years.
Each year, the graduates choose one of their own to be student
commencement speaker. This year's speaker, Stephen Johnson,
is a native of Wichita, Kansas, who, while pursuing a Ph.D.
in philosophy, worked as a clinical bioethicist. Johnson has
accepted a position at the Augusta law firm of Kozak and Gayer,
a firm specializing in health care law, and also received
the ABA/BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Health Law
at today's ceremony. His address, although often humorous,
and full of anecdotes of his years at Maine Law, ended emotionally
as he dedicated his degree to his father-in-law, a Kansas
farmer who passed away this past week.
Editor's Note: For more information, please contact Judie
O'Malley of USM Public Affairs at 780-4200 (o), or 839-6402
(h).
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