The City University of New York School of Law celebrated the 173 graduates in the Class of 2025 with a week of events. The receptions, awards nights, and celebrations culminated in the commencement ceremony, the 40th in the school’s history, held at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Thursday, May 22.
At a graduation portrait reception on Monday, May 19, graduates enjoyed wine and cheese while having their formal portraits taken by the Law School’s photographer, Milik Robinson. A gift to students from the Law School, the photos feature students in business attire and in their graduation regalia, complete with cords and stoles celebrating leadership and participation in student organizations such as the Black Law Students Organization, Latino Law Students Association, Moot Court, Law Review, and many more.
The following night, the Law School community honored the achievements of its largest graduating class of students from Pipeline to Justice, CUNY Law’s signature access program. The evening was marked with dinner and student speaker Joshua Josey, who commended the cohort for their resilience to overcome mountainous milestones. This program attracts and supports students from diverse backgrounds who are motivated and committed to public interest law. Since launching in 2006, the success of this program is reflected in CUNY’s ranking as the most diverse law school in the country and the number 1 producer of public interest lawyers.
See the full Pipeline to Justice Graduation celebration gallery.
On Wednesday, May 21, Student Awards Night was emceed by 2025 graduate Amada Guapisaca, who introduced each of the recipients of the night’s student-selected honors. Karyn Manocchia, the longtime head of Events at the Law School, received the Community Service Award and raised a glass to her colleagues in both the Events and Facilities departments for all their support and hard work. Tarek Z. Ismail, Co-Director of the Family Law Defense Clinic, was presented with the Outstanding Professor Award and delivered a moving speech that noted that while it was harder than ever to be the kind of lawyer who uses law in the service of human needs, the graduating class of would find power in people, through their relationships, and from their communities.
Brodie Enoch and Atiyah Ward, the student-selected speakers representing the evening and day programs, respectively, delivered moving speeches that reflected on their love for the community they had formed while at law school. Enoch also performed with his 5-piece funk-infused alternative rock bank, The L Raisers, in a set that included covers of “Lovesong” by The Cure and, appropriately for a class of new lawyers, Bob Dylan’s “You Gotta Serve Somebody.”
See the full Student Awards Night gallery.
For the second time, CUNY Law’s commencement was held at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. Speakers remarked on the significance of this moment in history. “As you move forward into a world marked by mounting threats to the rule of law, efforts to restrict fundamental rights, and attempts to discourage those who defend them, your role as lawyers trained at CUNY Law carries particular weight. Few are as prepared as you are to meet this moment with both skill and purpose. This is the kind of lawyering our world needs now,” Dean Sudha Setty noted, “That pressure is real, but so is your preparation and your purpose. This is the work ahead, and you are ready for it.”
Commencement began with multilingual greetings delivered in some of the native languages of members of the Class of 2025. Remarks and congratulations were offered by Hon. Rebecca Seawright ’92, Chair of the CUNY School of Law’s Board of Visitors; Hon. Denny Chin, United States Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; and Hon. Pam B. Jackman Brown ’86, retired New York State Supreme Court Justice, and the first CUNY Law graduate to be appointed a judge.
On behalf of the Law School, Dr. Joanne Hyppolite, Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, and David C. Baluarte, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, conferred the degrees to the 2025 graduates. The ceremony closed with the Hon. Pam B. Jackman Brown ’86 leading the graduates in the recitation of the Lawyer’s Pledge, followed by a recessional to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” as people danced and clapped from the stage, seats, and aisles.
See the full 2025 Commencement gallery.