Time for pomp and circumstance

The traditional May hooding ceremonies have begun at Texas’ nine American Bar Association-accredited law schools. The keynote speaker line-up includes a faculty member, members of the judiciary, the president of the American Bar Association, politicians, a governor’s chief of staff, an ambassador and a chief executive officer. Baylor associate professor of law Jeremy Counseller delivered the May 3 graduation address at Baylor University School of Law in Waco. Judge Terry R. Means, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth, will address new graduates of Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth on May 9. Judge Diane P. Wood of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago will address graduates on May 17 at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. William H. Neukom, American Bar Association president and partner in Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis in Seattle, will give the graduation speech at the University of Houston Law Center on May 9. U.S. Rep. Alexander N. Green, 9th Congressional District, will deliver the graduation speech at Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston on May 10. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett will address graduates of St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio on May 17. Brian Newby, chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry, will be the graduation speaker at Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock on May 10. Antonio O. Garza Jr., U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, will speak to graduates at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas on May 17. And Richard H. Anderson, chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Delta Airlines Inc., will be the speaker at the May 17 South Texas College of Law commencement in Houston.
-- Jeanne Graham