School of Law Commencement 2026
May 08, 2026
Watch the livestream of the School of Law Commencement.
Friday, May 8, 2 p.m.
Order of Exercises
Trumpet Prelude and Processional
Pomp and Circumstance, Sir Edward Elgar
Call to Commencement
Debra J. Liebowitz, PhD
Provost
National Anthem
Olivia Ventura, JD ‘26
Greetings
Marie C. Hardin, PhD
President
Remarks
Brian Gallini, JD, LLM
Dean of the School of Law
Introduction of Commencement Speaker
Sara Cates, JD
Associate Professor of Legal Skills
Commencement Address
The Honorable Michael P. Shea
Chief United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut
Presentation of Candidates for Degrees and Conferral of Hoods
Brian Gallini
Mark Schroeder, JD
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Legal Skills
Hooders:
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W. John Thomas, JD, Professor of Law, Professor of the Year
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Neal Feigenson, JD, Lynne L. Pantalena Professor of Law
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Jennifer Levine, JD, Professor of Practice in Tax Law
Conferral of Degrees
Marie C. Hardin
Remarks
Shianne Marie Taylor, JD ‘26
President, Student Bar Association
W. John Thomas
Professor of the Year
Alumni Welcome
Adam Swanson, JD ’08
Partner, McCarter & English LLP, Alumni Association Board Member
Recessional
Michael P. Shea, JD
Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut
School of Law Commencement | Friday, May 8, 2 p.m.
Michael P. Shea serves as Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. He’s chaired or served as a member of numerous District Court and Second Circuit committees, and he currently serves as a member of the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Shea was sworn in as a United States District Judge on Dec. 31, 2012. Before joining the bench, he was a partner at Day Pitney (and previously Day, Berry & Howard), where he focused on commercial litigation, mass torts, First Amendment matters and white-collar criminal defense.
Throughout his career in private practice, Shea maintained an active pro bono practice, receiving awards from both the Hartford County and Connecticut Bar Associations for his work on behalf of indigent persons in civil and criminal cases.
Shea began his legal career as law clerk to the late Judge James L. Buckley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Shea graduated from Yale Law School, where he served as a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, in 1993. He graduated from Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, summa cum laude, in 1989.
Greetings from President Hardin
Congratulations to the Class of 2026. We’re delighted to welcome your families and friends to Quinnipiac today. They have been key partners in your journey to this milestone moment, and we celebrate them, too.
Your education in the School of Law has prepared you well to serve your clients and your communities. The tenets of justice, fairness and integrity have helped you become whole lawyers, skilled legal practitioners who retain their personal values and authentic sense of self while thinking holistically about those they represent.
As you prepare to embark upon your law careers, remember that you have learned from a distinguished faculty and a dedicated staff. They have watched you grow and thrive as the lawyers of the future, the ones who advance social justice, impact legislation and fight for those without a voice.
We are proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished. You are ready for the opportunities and the challenges that lie ahead. A bright future filled with purpose and meaning awaits.
Warmly
Marie C. Hardin, PhD
A Message from Dean Gallini
Congratulations to the Class of 2026. Completion matters. Not simply because you have finished law school, but because of the way you finished it—through sustained effort, demanding conversations, and the daily discipline of learning how to think, listen, and decide as lawyers. Those habits will matter far more than any single outcome that follows.
During your time at Quinnipiac Law, you moved beyond answers toward judgment. You learned to navigate ambiguity, to hold competing truths in tension, and to advocate forcefully without losing perspective or humanity. In a profession that increasingly rewards speed and certainty, those skills—and that restraint—are rare and essential.
As you take your next steps, some of you will enter courtrooms, some boardrooms, some communities, and some pathways still taking shape. Wherever you land, remember that the law is ultimately a public trust. How you practice it—and how you treat the people affected by it—will define your success far more than titles or credentials.
Know that you leave here with our confidence and our respect. You will always have a home at Quinnipiac Law, and a faculty and staff who remain invested in your growth, your integrity, and your impact.
With pride and best wishes,
Brian Gallini, JD, LLM
Graduate’s Professional Oath
I am leaving the academic community of Quinnipiac University School of Law and embarking on a professional career. As a law student and future lawyer I understand that the study and practice of law carry both privileges and responsibilities. I willingly accept the responsibilities that accompany those privileges and the responsibilities that the faculty, the bench, the bar and the public entrust to me.
I promise to do my utmost to adhere to the ideals of the legal profession and to uphold the highest standards of professional honesty and ethical practice during my career. I will remember that my actions reflect not only on me, but upon Quinnipiac University School of Law, my fellow alumni and the legal profession.
To strengthen the legal community, I will conduct myself with dignity and civility and will treat all of my colleagues with kindness and respect.
I will conduct my professional and personal life so as to uphold the values and standards that are expressed in the Rules of Professional Conduct and the traditions of the legal profession.
Doctoral Hooding Ceremony
The 12th and 13th centuries saw the formation of universities under the jurisdiction of the Church. Most students of the day were clerks in the Holy Order, monks or priests. Cowls or hoods adorned their habits and protected the young scholars from harsh weather and the pervading dampness of the stone buildings in which they studied. Hoods also served to cover tonsured heads before the use of the skullcap.
Today, the cap, gown and hood have taken on a symbolic meaning. Color and shape conform to an academic code signifying a university’s conferral of the degree and the nature of the degree conferred. Gowns for the doctoral degree carry velvet panels and three horizontal velvet bars on the upper arm of the full, round, bell-shaped sleeves.
Mace and Medallion
The mace — a symbol of authority — has antecedents in both Roman and Medieval history. The Roman mace (fasces) was carried by a lictor before the chief magistrate of the city, as well as before the legions. During the Middle Ages, the mace (mateola), a weapon of war, became first a symbol of victory and then a symbol of authority. The mace emblazoned with the Great Seal of England became a symbol of authority in Parliament by the end of the 13th century. It is this form of the mace that was the prototype of those symbols of authority, not only of legislative bodies, but also of cities and universities.
In 1246, following some 20 years of strife, the University of Paris was finally conceded the right to its own common seal. Since then, the use of the seal engraved on the mace has come to symbolize the authority of the academic community. In July 2000, Quinnipiac commissioned the noted sculptor Robert Meyer of Westport, Connecticut, to design and execute a new mace for Quinnipiac University. Cast in bronze, the mace incorporates elements of the university seal.
The medallion (medal of office), like the mace and the seal, is also a symbol of authority. It is possible that its roots may be traced back to the Roman “bulla” (a gold amulet of honor). The obverse of the medallion shows the seal of the office the wearer holds — in our case, the seal of the university. Not infrequently, the reverse would show the personal seal or coat of arms of the bearer. Since the High Middle Ages, the medallion has been worn by such officials as the chancellors of England, mayors of cities, and rectors of universities, and came to signify the high personal position such figures occupied in their respective governments. During the Renaissance, medallion design reached unique artistic heights, and in certain portraits the medallion was given particular prominence. The medallion is worn by the university’s president. The Quinnipiac medal showcases the university seal, sculpted in relief and cast in bronze.
