Summer 2003 – Issue 66 - Stanford Lawyer - Stanford University

GRADUATION 2003 29STANFORDLAWYERPHOTOGRAPHY: STEVE GLADFELTER. GRADUATION: ROBERT MARCH, GRADUATION RECEPTION, SATURDAY NIGHToccasion, or the questions about whether threats to the nation's security have foreverundermined the country's commitment to the rule of law.Dean Sullivan, the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Stanley MorrisonProfessor of Law, told the graduates that they were well prepared to demonstratehow vital lawyers are to society, especially in such troubled times. "We have triedto inspire you to welcome the challenges of law, to revel in its difficulty, to love itscomplexity and its nuance and depth," she said, adding later, "You know, betterthan many law school graduates before you, how greatly the world needs lawyers ­that group of people whose job is to anticipate, prevent, and manage conflict."Class Co-President Sarah Nancy Lindemann also stmck a hopeful note in hercommencement speech and cited East Timor and Sierra Leone as two examples ofplaces where lawyers have recently made a difference, helping establish new institutionsthat seek to provide justice and order to the citizens of those nations. Andshe added that here in the United States, "Lawyers are bringing increased scrutinyto the application of the death penalty." She exhorted her classmates to "go forthas lawyers, looking for our own ways of conu·ibuting to hope and progress."Fisher joined Lindemann in urging the graduates to uphold and advocate forthe rule of law, but he warned them that they would be practicing at a time whenconcerns about safety had led many to compromise civil liberties and due process.In the graduation's keynote address, Fisher, whom students had selected to winthe 2003 ]olm Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching for the second