Posted: May 17th, 2010 | By: Lisa Snedeker
Wake Forest University School of Law conferred hoods on 161 graduates on Sunday, May 16, in Wait Chapel.
The law school’s 36th annual hooding speaker, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, told the graduates and their families and friends that lawyers are an essential part of society and gave a brief history of what led to the formation of Britain’s new Supreme Court.
The hooded students were conferred Monday, May 17, during the Wake Forest University graduation ceremonies held at the Lawrence Joel Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum.
Lord Phillips is one of the most famous and important figures in British law. His legal career began in 1962 as a barrister specializing in maritime law. Lord Phillips was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, in 1987. He served in this position, making several famous decisions, until 1995 when he was promoted to the Court of Appeal. In 1999, he was made a Lord of Appeal, and the next year he became the Master of the Rolls. He served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2005 to 2008.
Beginning in 2008, Lord Phillips briefly served as the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until becoming president of the United Kingdom’s new Supreme Court on Oct. 1, 2009.
Law School Dean Blake Morant pointed out that this class was special to him because the students came to Wake Forest the same year he did.
“In 2007 they began this odyssey with me of working to prepare them to be lawyers,” he said.
He also told the graduates that he is confident that each one of the class of 2010 will be a leader.
"This particular class of 2010 has exhibited all the characteristics and determination of leaders," he said. "You are going to change society for the better. You are going to make an extraordinary mark on the world. You are already my heroes. You are going to show that Wake Forest produces citizen lawyers. I implore you to do well and do good."
Daniel Vandergriff (’10) offered a tribute to his friend and former classmate Scott Bailey, who died in an accident before the class began its second year of classes.
“Scott was never too busy for anyone, was always present in every conversation, and gave each person his undivided, undistracted attention and thoughtfulness,” Vandergriff said. “Scott would have been an amazing attorney, because he would have made each client feel like his only client. Scott gave us the gift of his friendship, his passion, his intellect, his curiosity, and his enjoyment of life. The least we can do is stop and remember him, give thanks for the blessing he was to so many of us, and honor his life by striving to emulate the qualities that made us love him.”
The ceremony, which included the bestowing of numerous awards, was followed by the Dean’s Hooding Reception at the Forsyth Country Club. Among the award winners were:
• John Max Henderlite III received the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers Award from the North Carolina Chapter.
• Justin C. Moorefield received the American Bankruptcy Institute Award, which is given to the most outstanding student in Debtor-Creditor Law.
• Dawn Johnson Raubach received the American Bar Association Section of Urban, State, and Local Government Law award, which is given to the student in Land Use Regulation who achieves the highest grade in the course.
• Nicole Royer DuPre received the American Bar Association Section of Urban, State, and Local Government Law award, which is given to the student in State and Local Government who achieves the highest grade in the course.
• Seema Jitendra Bhatt received the American Bar Association and The Bureau of National Affairs Award for Excellence in the Study of Intellectual Property Law copyrights, which is given to the student who achieves the highest grade in the course.
• Aaron Michael Bachmann received the American Bar Association and The Bureau of National Affairs Award for Excellence in the Study of Labor and Employment Law for employment law, which is given to the students who achieve the highest grade in the course.
• Joshua R. Ernst received the American Bar Association and The Bureau of National Affairs Award for Excellence in the Study of Health Law, which is given to the student who achieves the highest grade in the course.
• John David Koesters received the Dean’s Award, which is given to honor the extraordinary contributions of a student leader.
• Laure Jeanne Dildine received the E. McGruder Faris Memorial Award and $200 cash, which is given to the student exhibiting the highest standards of character, leadership, and scholarship.
• Susie Elizabeth Sewell received the Forsyth County Women Attorney’s Association Book Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding female graduate based upon her academic achievements, leadership, service to community, professionalism and commitment to the legal profession.
• Christina Marche Robinson received the Laura J. Gendy Award, a new award that was established by alumni, family and friends of Laura J. Gendy (JD’ 00) to provide an annual cash award in the amount of $500 to a graduating law student who exemplifies integrity, compassion for others and strength of character that were the hallmarks of Gendy, who died in August 2008.
• Aindrea Muire Alderson and Daniel Joseph Kingsley received the Robert Goldberg Award in Trial Advocacy, which honors the memory of Robert Goldberg, a student at the School of Law, who was killed in World War II. It is an annual cash award in the amount of $3,000 given to the students showing the highest aptitude and ethics in trial advocacy.
• Daniel Wesley Moebs received the I. Beverly Lake Award, which was established in honor of I. Beverly Lake Sr., professor of law at Wake Forest University, practicing attorney, assistant attorney general of North Carolina 1951-1955, and retired Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. The annual cash award in the amount of $500 is given to the student or students in the law school exhibiting the greatest proficiency in the study of Constitutional Law.
• Susie Elizabeth Sewell received the National Association of Women Lawyers Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding law graduate at each American Bar Association-approved law school.
• Thomas Richmond McPherson III received the North Carolina State Bar Student Pro Bono Service Award, which is presented annually to a student who has contributed time and talent to law-related service.
• Thomas R. DeCesar received the James A. Webster Jr. Faculty Award, which is given to the student who displays the greatest proficiency in the courses of Property, Real Property Security and Donative Transfers.
