One-hundred sixty J.D., LL.M., and M.L.S. candidates ended their time as law students and stepped across the stage into their legal careers at Seattle University School of Law's May Commencement Ceremony at Seattle Center's McCaw Hall on Saturday morning.
For the Class of 2026, the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America remained a theme throughout the ceremony.
“As we celebrate 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, I wonder if there has been any period of our country when the profession of law has been more important than now for the protecting of our freedoms, the balancing of the powers within our republic, the assuring of equality for all people, and the guarding of the vulnerable,” said Seattle University Interim President Fr. Stephen Sundborg, S.J.
He quoted President Abraham Lincoln’s famed words from the Gettysburg Address, “that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the Earth,” drawing passionate applause from the audience.
“As you graduate from Seattle University School of Law during this 250th anniversary, live out your vocation in the law, know its support of us all and its most critical need in our times, serve the call of a new birth of freedom among us, and honor your families, whom this day we join with you in thanking,” Sundborg told the graduates.
Newly retired Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, who has spent nearly two decades as a Seattle University School of Law Distinguished Jurist in Residence, also referenced the significance of the nation’s semiquincentennial in her keynote address, telling the graduates they are embarking upon their legal careers “in a special year.”
“We are celebrating a moment in time when our founders made a deep commitment to individual freedom and personal responsibility,” she said. “They also made a commitment to one another – and that commitment is that we share a future where we shall rise or fall together.”
Those in the legal profession are “the guardians of that great American dream under the rule of law,” Yu said. This belief has, over the past 250 years, spurred American enterprise and drawn immigrants to this nation, including Yu’s parents from China and Mexico.
“The rule of law has been the engine of opportunity and stability … it is what allows longtime residents to trust that their hard work will not be undone by unfairness or corruption because we adhere to the core principle that no one - no one - is above the law, not even the president,” Yu said to resounding applause.
She urged the graduates not to lose hope, noting that this is not the first time that the U.S. has seen tough times, political chasms, and conflict.
“We carried the dream of equality and opportunity through times when our society seemed to be broken and divided like it is today,” Yu said. “And you know what? We made it through those moments. This nation of laws survived because in each of those moments, we made a conscious and deliberate choice to protect and defend those American ideals.”
Yu told the graduates that they give her faith in the nation’s future. It is lawyers, she said, who must uphold the law, ensure that everyone receives justice, and keep America from ever falling to tyranny.
“It has been our deep commitment to individual freedom and personal responsibility that made this nation great, and it has been our unshakeable commitment to one another that helped this country survive turbulent times throughout our history,” Yu said. “We must continue to believe that we are all part of a common enterprise that is greater than ourselves, and like those early signers of our Constitution, that we share a future where we shall rise or fall together.
“America’s story is still being written, and each of you, through your leadership, through your law degree, and your commitment to justice holds the pen,” she said.
Dean Anthony E. Varona, in his remarks, tied law in with the arts by discussing the opera taking place on that very stage that evening, Seattle Opera’s production of “Carmen” by Georges Bizet. Varona observed that the show explores the battle between love and law, with the characters arguing that both cannot exist together. This contrasts with the message of St. Ignatius of Loyola, he said, who “taught us that, in fact, law must be love – that we must set the world on fire for justice.”
“The mission of Jesuit-educated lawyers is to love,” Varona said, adding, “Love both your professional colleagues and adversaries. See God in them.”
He advised graduates to regularly volunteer throughout their careers, to seek out those with differing opinions rather than remain in echo chambers, to “do the right thing when no one is watching,” and to always have compassion.
“The importance of our role as lawyers in our republic is especially clear at times when the rule of law, our Constitution, and democracy itself are tested by the excesses of an overreaching branch of federal government,” Varona said. “Understand, please, how much our nation is depending on you and your character.”
Class speaker Owen Leupold praised his peers who balanced law school with raising families, working full-time jobs, and going through other challenges. He recognized the full-circle moment of Yu addressing the graduates, as she was a speaker during their Orientation Week in August 2023.
Leupold recalled the historic moments the class has been through, from starting law school in the immediate wake of the COVID pandemic to the entire nation “questioning the institution of law” in the years since. He drew laughter when listing what he would not miss about law school – including the scent of the shared law student refrigerator and the terror of being cold-called in class after failing to study.
“The Class of 2026 is a particularly special group of people,” he said. “Throughout the entirety of law school, we have been collegial, supportive, uplifting, and empowering to each other as we’ve developed our professional selves. I don’t know about you, but those were not the vibes I was told to expect going into law school, so it was a very welcome surprise.”
While at Seattle U Law, Leupold served as vice president of the Justice in Employment and Labor Law Organization and won the 2025 Fredric C. Tausend Moot Court Competition, going on to compete for Seattle U Law in Montana and New York. He spent this past semester as a judicial extern to Judge John Coughenour of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and will practice employment law at Seattle’s Hones Law, where he was previously a paralegal.
JD candidate Jenah Smith received the 2026 Dean’s Medal, and Leupold was named the 2026 Faculty Trust Scholar.
Yu and Pallavi Mehta Wahi, a partner at Arnold and Porter who gave the December 2025 Commencement address, were given honorary degrees. Professor Tayyab Mahmud, who is retiring after nearly 20 years at the law school, was named faculty emeritus during the ceremony. Professor Michael Russo was named the 2026 Outstanding Faculty Honoree and Marshal-at-Arms.
“This university embodies everything good about this country,” Wahi said.
The ceremony also recognized the 5,500 of service hours completed by Pro Bono Pledge graduates. Those who take the pledge complete 100 pro bono hours during law school (or 50 hours for part-time and J.D. Global Accelerated students and 30 hours for M.L.S. and LL.M. students); 28 students were named Pro Bono Pledge graduates, while nine students were Outstanding Service Awardees, meaning they completed 250 or more hours (or 125 hours for part-time and J.D. Global Accelerated/60 for M.L.S. and LL.M. students).
One-hundred-forty-five candidates are expected to receive a J.D., 16 are expected to receive an LL.M., and five are expected to receive an M.L.S. Degrees for May graduates are considered final once grades are posted in June.
An album of photos and a video of the ceremony have been posted online.