5/21/2024

Delaware Law School Commencement 2024

Watch Commencement

We were honored to have Senator Chris Coons address our graduating law students. Commencement marked the culmination of years of hard work and profound dedication to understanding the law. Even under the white tent on our beautiful lawn, our graduates continued to learn these lessons.

One of the most important lessons the senator imparted on our students was Delaware’s influence on the legal system. Earlier in the day, Senator Coons attended a ceremony at the Hockessin Colored School #107-C to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Senator Chris Coons

In 1951, the families of Ethel Louise Belton and Shirley Barbara Bulah hired Delaware's first Black attorney, Louis L. Redding, to represent them in lawsuits against the state for denying state-funded transportation for their children to attend nearby schools. Combined with three others to form Brown v. Board of Education, these Delaware cases, Bulah v. Gebhart and Gebhart v. Belton provided critical legal precedent and context for the Supreme Court's case.

"As in the case for civil rights, the law can be a tool for challenging the structures of injustice. Some see the world as it is, and some see the world as how it could be,” Coons said. “The law is a skill set when you apply your decency and humanity. Ours should be a noble profession. This work is not done; we must continue to establish justice."

As they enter into the new phase in their legal careers Dean Clark emphatically emphasized their most important goal.

“As new members of our team, you must know our ROAR. When someone says, “we will” your response is “Pass the First Time.” Say it with passion and say it often.”

View Photos Here

2024 By the Numbers

245 Grads

2 Awards

• Valedictorian, Benjamin Byerly
• Outstanding Faculty Award, Professor Leslie “PJ” Johnson

2 Law Programs

• The Juris Doctor (JD) Program
• Graduate, International, Compliance & Legal Studies

4 countries represented:

• France
• Nairobi
• Russia
• Saudi Arabia

14 states

Ages 22-67