May 2002 Commencement Exercises, Reception and Speaker's Remarks

Remarks of Speakers

Photograph: Washburn Law School 2002 graduating class.Washburn University School of Law 2002 graduating class.
Photograph: Graduates in procession to White Concert Hall.Graduates in procession to White Concert Hall.
Photograph: Carla Stovall addressing the graduates.Carla Stovall addressing the graduates.
Photograph: Gerald L. Goodell, recipient of 2002 Honorary Doctor of Law Degree.Gerald L. Goodell, recipient of 2002 Honorary Doctor of Law Degree.

Washburn University School of Law held its 97th Commencement on May 18, 2002 at White Concert Hall on the Washburn University campus to recognize the Class of 2002. The Juris Doctor (J.D.) was conferred upon more than 120 students during the ceremony. The J.D. is the first earned law degree indicating graduation from a law school with three years of post-baccalaureate study. Prior to the commencement exercises, graduates were led in procession by the Kansas City St. Andrews Pipes and Drums from the Law School Building to White Concert Hall.

Carla J. Stovall, Kansas Attorney General, gave the commencement address. General Stovall offered the graduates several pieces of advice, including being realistic about their first job, returning client phone calls, understanding that doing basic legal research is really not below their station in life, and avoiding the temptation to try out cross-examination skills on spouses and children. The Attorney General asked the graduates, and all attorneys, to realize their obligation to help increase the professionalism of the profession, leaving it better than "it was on the day you began to practice it." This can be achieved by improving the public perception of lawyers through involvement in the community and by working as a lawyer from within the profession. Finally, General Stovall implored the graduates to "be true to yourself in your career decisions. Accept the job that you want - not the job your parent or spouse wants for you."

An honorary Doctor of Laws degree was awarded to Gerald L. Goodell in conjuntion with the graduation exercises. A Topeka, Kansas native, Mr. Goodell joined the law firm currently known as Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds & Palmer, L.L.P. upon his graduation in 1958. He has served as counsel to the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Topeka, the Menninger Clinic, blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, and the Heartland Community Bankers Association. Mr. Goodell has served as president of the Washburn Alumni Association and the Washburn Law School Alumni Association, and as president of the Washburn Law School Foundation from 1982 to 2001. Gerald and Sue Goodell have been major contributors to the Law School to help expand scholarship funds for Washburn Law School students. It is his belief that in order for the law school to remain competitive, it must have more endowed gifts that provide scholarships. In his acceptance remarks, Mr. Goodell urged the graduates "to volunteer to serve on civic and professional boards, prepare law articles for publication, teach at Washburn ... and be proud of your Washburn education."

During commencement, each graduate in the Class of 2002 was presented and called to the stage by name by Associate Dean Allen Easley. Faculty assisted with hooding the graduate, and each graduate was personally congratulated by Washburn University President Jerry Farley, Washburn Board of Regents Chair Harold Dick, and Washburn Law School Dean Dennis Honabach. Washburn Law School Association President H. Allan Caldwell presented each graduate with a commemorative paperweight on behalf of the Assocation to mark the occasion.

Following the program, graduates, their families, and other attendees mingled on the plaza between White Concert Hall and the Bradbury Thompson Center and joined with faculty and staff for a reception at the Center.

Photograph: Graduate being assisted with hooding.Hooding of graduate.
Photograph: Commemorative paperweight presented to each graduate.Commemorative paperweight
Composite photograph: Graduates with family, friends, and each other enjoy the reception at Bradbury Thompson Center.Graduates with family, friends, and each other enjoy the reception at Bradbury Thompson Center.

Senior Address
Anthony Lamont Springfield
2002 Class President

Good Evening. President Farley, Attorney General Stovall, members of the Board of Regents, and other distinguished members of the platform party. I would like to thank all you for being here this evening, as our class celebrates the ending and the beginning of something very special. And to all the family and friends who have joined us today, without whom, we would not have made it. This is your day as well as ours, and I think you deserve a hand of applause for all your patience and efforts over the past 3 years.

As I began thinking about what I would say to my class, I knew two things. One, I wanted it to be short, like Bill O'Reilly says, keep it pithy, and two, I wanted to leave this law school, and this institution, one I have dedicated 7 years to, with the right tone, and yet the right message.

As I thought, the words of Charles Dickens famed novel, The Tale of Two Cites came to mind. And the beginning passage seemed to resonate and capture our three years hear at Washburn School of Law.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was an age of wisdom, it was an age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us. The culmination of good times and bad times, all in the same period. That was Washburn School of Law from 1999-2002.

And our class did have good times, memorable times; the opening parties, traveling though Europe together, the ever so popular Thursday nights at Spanky's, ABA National Convention, and 10th Circuit Meetings, marriages, birthdays, and list goes on and on. Just enjoying one another, and getting to know each other as people and professionals. And one of the best reasons for coming to Washburn School of law, many of us have built wonderful relationships with a Faculty and Staff that is as knowledgeable and talented as any you can find in any institution.

But we also went through some tough times, including, death, (Professor Spring and Kuether), divorce, misunderstandings, and speaking of darkness, Duncan and Concannon exams. And in our last year, a complete change in how the law school had been for the first two years. A new administration with a different way of doing things, a way many of us disagreed with, and disagree with, but we adjusted and survived.

As I look out at our class, I see private practice lawyers, I see prosecutors, I see defense attorneys, I see Judges, business people, corporate lawyers, stay at home moms, stay at home dads, I see community leaders. And as we serve our communities, in whatever capacity each of us choose, we can look back at these three years, and say; We have received a legal education that is second to none, and one that is going to impact us the rest of our lives, undoubtedly throughout our legal careers.

Tonight, I challenge my class to do only one thing as you begin your legal careers. It's something my grandfather asked me to do, and I'll never forget it. As we use our skills and abide by the Legal Books and laws, let us not forget God's Books and Laws as well. And I began thinking about what he meant by that. And it is simple. Keep in mind justice and fairness and duty to others, as we practice law. And remember those that are weaker, may need the help even the more. And if there comes a point when man's laws conflicts with God's laws, then it's time to change man's law. That's it, and what a lesson that is.

A lesson that will help us in times like that dreadful Tuesday morning. I'll never forget it, as we walked from Professor Ballard's Trusts class, we walked into the Libation Station area, and the whole world had changed. It was September 11, 2001. And that moment changed the law school, as it had changed the world.

And as I watched the rescue workers, firefighters, paramedics, and doctors, God bless each and every one of them, because we truly cannot thank them and their families enough, as they put themselves in harms way as they rushed to save the lives of others. My heart just ached, and it still does to this very day.

But what I saw in the days and weeks following that fateful day was another community coming to the rescue as well, and it made me proud of our profession. Lawyers from all over the country came into New York, to ensure that families and victims were taken care of, to ensure that workers, still at ground zero working, were taken care of, and that their rights were protected. To make it clear to the world, that our economic system would continue to function, proficiently and without a hitch, and to watch Congress go into action, many of whom are attorneys, it became clear to me, what our legal system is all about.

The world ponders why America has more lawyers than any other country in the world. Why we have more lawsuits than any other country in the world. It is because we enjoy more freedoms than any other country in the world, and we have more rights than any other country in the world. Our freedom, and our rights, no matter how rich, or how poor, are protected by our system of justice, a system guarded and entrusted to us, lawyers; judges; lawmakers.

To my class, our performance in the classroom was fine, but now comes the real charge of our duties. I urge each of you to take this responsibility seriously. It is a great task we have signed on to, and that task is simply to ensure that the rights of people, the rights of businesses, the rights of individuals, and the rights of government alike, are protected. To ensure justice remains freely flowing and evenly distributed throughout this great country.

I've studied with you all for three years now, and I'm certain, freedom, fairness and justice are in good hands. It was an honor serving you as your Student Bar President, and I look forward to working and networking with many of you as our legal careers progress.

Welcome to Washburn Law School Association
H. Allan Caldwell

"Indoors, when Miss Maudie wanted to say something lengthy she spread her fingers on her knees and settled her bridgework. This she did, and we waited.

'I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them.'

. . .

'We're the safest folks in the world.' Said Miss Maudie. " We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for us.' "

Most of you will recognize that quote as coming from To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The story of a hero. Someone who saw what was right to do, and did it, even though there was no profit in it and potentially great sacrifice and cost to himself and his family.

During this past 8 months since 9/11, we have heard a great deal about heroes. We have always been a nation of heroes - a nation of individuals who were willing to rise to the needed task - to do the "right thing" to protect their freedom and that of their family and neighbors. Often these heroes were unheralded, unknown and forgotten except to those individuals who immediately saw and understood their heroic acts.

My heroes are lawyers. It was lawyers, individuals like John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Marshall and John Jay, who gave us our form of government, who saw that "a government of the people" was a possibility and formulated and molded a system of checks and balances which has provides us the great freedoms we enjoy today. They were the definers and defenders of our freedom.

13 of our first 16 presidents were lawyers.

Our freedom was preserved and expanded to all of our citizens through the efforts of the small town lawyer by the name of Abraham Lincoln.

Great leaders of our country who were and are lawyers are legion Franklin Roosevelt, Turgid Marshall, Clarence Darrow, Barbara Jordan. James Baker, Ralph Nader - to name only a very few of the many.

Lawyers played key roles in the end of segregation, the creation of the New Deal, equal rights for women, the end of the robber barons, the growth of the labor movement, and the environmental movement.

But to be a hero, does not require prominent government service, or fame or financial success. It requires you to be an Atticus - to see a wrong and to act to right it. to see a threat and to stop it, it means to do "the right thing" even when there may be no profit and perhaps even great risk. You may be a hero simply by answering the call when something needs to be done - to bring happiness to a family by helping in an adoption, to protect an abused spouse, to find redress for the victim of a wrong, to confront the course of government when it is abusing it power. It requires you to be willing to do the unpleasant task, to represent the guilty or the indigent, or to protect the speech of the radical. 'These quiet heroes herald not only from our great cities like NYC and Washington, but also and more often from the little towns and cities throughout the nation. From where the problems of the common people, are addressed. In Kansas, from places like Parsons, Junction City, Ulysses, Russell, and Atchinson.

As graduates of Washburn Law School, you are joining a long distinguished line of individuals who have been the architects and protectors of our freedoms, defenders of the law. A line which began in 1215 with the signing of the Magna Carta which established the principle of a government of laws and not of men. The Washburn branch of that line is almost 100 years old. A line which contains U.S. Senators, governors. judges, businessmen, and thousands of just plain lawyers. A place in that line has been saved for you.

As President of the Washburn Law School Association, it is my pleasure to welcome you to your place in that line. You have joined an honorable profession. A profession which to the preservation of justice and freedom.

Holding this place for you in this line has not been easy nor cheap. Others have sacrificed to keep it for you. We will be looking to you to do your part to hold a place for others. . . and that is why I am speaking to you now.

The Washburn Law School Association needs and wants your involvement. We are dedicated to improving the opportunities for those who follow us in the future. We help in providing support and resources to the Law School to that end.

As a new graduate, we are providing you one year's free membership in the Association. It's free, but just for one year!

I have always felt that I owe a huge debt back to Washburn. It gave me the opportunity to become what I am today. I hope you feel a sense of that obligation back to the Law School as well.

We want to maintain contact with you. We want to bask in the reflection of your success. We want to be a help and support as you develop your careers - to help you remember that you too have a responsibility to hold the place in line for someone to follow you.

To help you remember that responsibility, the Association will be giving each of you, a small medallion paperweight with Washburn's seal.

Congratulations to each of you and to all the members of your family upon your graduation. Congratulations upon your membership in the Washburn Law School Association.

Thank you for allowing me to share a moment of your very special day.

Remarks By the Dean
Dennis R. Honabach

Let me begin by joining Dan Easley, Mr. Springfield and Mr. Caldwell in welcoming everyone to today's glorious ceremony. It is my great honor to introduce our commencement speaker.

Before I do so, however, I wish to take advantage of the dean's prerogative to say a few words.

Commencements are naturally times of celebration. The members of the graduating class have worked hard. They have studied long hours. They have shared times of exhaustion, pangs of anxiety, feelings of exhilaration, periods of frustration, and moments of sadness. To use the vernacular, they have paid their dues. They now wait patiently - and perhaps somewhat smugly - for the moment to come soon when they can finally claim that prize they sought for so long - their juris doctor degree.

Members of the graduating class - your feelings are appropriate. You have earned the honor and recognition you are about to receive. We congratulate you. You have earned the right to celebrate!

A commencement - however - is more than just a time for celebration. It is also a time for gratitude. Remember that you could not have made this long journey alone. Take the time to recognize the contributions of all who have made your journey possible - the faculty and the staff of the law school; your friends; and, most importantly, your loved ones - your spouses, partners, parents and children. They have been with you every step of the way.

A commencement is also a time to reflect on what has transpired here at the law school. What has happened these past few years? What have we taught you? What have you learned? How have you changed from the person who entered just a few years ago as a new student?

Perhaps, most importantly, today's ceremony is a logical time to ask yourself that one big question - are you now ready to become a lawyer?

The sad truth is no! You are not yet ready to be a lawyer. At least not in the truest sense of the term. Don't be alarmed however. You have not failed. Nor have we failed you. The truth is that no law school can ever really succeed at making you a lawyer. In the end, you must do that yourself.

What then has all of these last few years been about? My mentor, Grant Gilmore, once answered that very question when addressing the graduating class at the University of Connecticut School of Law:

What lies before us is, perhaps mercifully, unknown. But it is obvious that there is, from the legal point of view, a great deal to be done. It can be done well or badly. If the law school has properly performed its function - has provided you with a base from which, through your own lonely work, you can go on to become a lawyer - the chances are much better that the work will be well done.

We on the faculty believe we have provided you that base. We are confident that you are prepared to begin the next steps you will take in the legal profession. We know you have enormous potential. Use your many talents and skills to do the work that lies ahead well. Contribute to the improvement of our profession. Serve your clients, our community our state and our nation well.

And no matter where your life's work takes you, always remember that you are a part of one of the great traditions of legal profession. Be proud of your lineage! You are – after all – a Washburn lawyer!

On behalf of the faculty and staff, I congratulate you on all that you have accomplished. We wish you success and satisfaction in all that you do!

Thank you!

Introduction of the Speaker
Dean Dennis R. Honabach

It is one of the great traditions at our law school that the members of the graduating class select their commencement speaker. This year they selected Attorney General Carla Stovall. She graciously accepted our invitation. We are honored by her presence.

General Stovall is the 40th Attorney General for the State of Kansas. The first woman ever elected to serve as the state's top law enforcement officer and chief attorney, she is completing her second four-year term in office after winning re-election in 1998 with more than 75 percent of the statewide vote. Prior to assuming her position as Attorney General, General Stovall practiced law both here in Topeka and in Pittsburg. She also served as the County Attorney for Crawford County.

As Attorney General, General Stovall has been one of the state's chief advocates for children. She believes all Kansas citizens must commit themselves to ensuring that every Kansas child has a childhood that is healthy, happy and safe. Attorney General Stovall received the Kansas Children's Service League's highest honor when she was given the Distinguished Service to Kansas Children Award. The Attorney General's Office also received the J.C. Penney Golden Rule Award for its mentoring program with grade school children at an elementary school in Topeka.

In January 2001, Attorney General Stovall became President of the National Association of Attorneys General. She will serve in that capacity until June 2002.

Attorney General Stovall received her bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University. She then received a Masters in Public Administration and her law degree from the University of Kansas.

Attorney General Stovall has received numerous awards and honors during her career, including the Rainbow Award from the Adam Walsh Children's Fund and National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the law enforcement person of the year award from the Kansas Peace Officer Association and the Morton Bard Allied Professional Award from the National Organization for Victim Assistance. She has made numerous media appearances and has made numerous presentations.

Carla Stovall is a perfect role model for the members of the graduating class. It is my privilege to introduce our commencement speaker, Attorney General Carla Stovall.

Commencement Address
Carla J. Stovall

There's always good news and bad news with every thing, isn't there? The bad news for those of you in attendance here this evening is that you actually do have a commencement speaker. (I know you just want to get to the diplomas being passed out and the champagne being uncorked.) But the good news is that, after eight years of doing graduation speeches, I have come to realize that no matter how witty or insightful my comments are, no one here came to hear me. I'm embarrassed to admit it really did take me awhile to realize that fact.

First, to you graduates, CONGRATULATIONS! What a tremendous accomplishment we are celebrating tonight. I fully realize, as do your family and friends, that you've achieved this goal against obstacles that seemed insurmountable at times. I'm also certain that more than once you even considered quitting. At least I did. I began KU Law School as a summer starter in May 1980; completed two summer session in ‘80; completed fall and spring semesters; finished the first session in the summer of ‘81 and during the second session that summer began hearing a commercial for Kidder Peabody stock brokers on the radio as I'd be driving. "Do you like people? Do you have proven sales experience? Join our team. Be a stock broker." I began thinking, "Yah. I don't wanna be a lawyer. I wanna be a stock broker." Thank God I didn't. Somehow I'd have probably ended up working for Enron.

I really do know the quantity of blood, sweat, and tears you shed to be sitting tonight where you are. I want to assure you that there IS life after law school. And it's a pretty good life. And I'd never want to go back and do it over!

I hope you will always be as proud of your profession of law as you are tonight.

I do have some brief words of advice for you at this juncture. Please indulge me.

I hope you are proud to be a Washburn law school graduate. I hope you'll be proud to be a lawyer. But I want you to know that, with the pride of your profession, comes responsibility.

I believe you have the responsibility to enhance the public's perception of lawyers. I don't know of another profession that is the subject of more jokes than ours. Of course, you know they say there are only 3 lawyer jokes - and that everything else you've heard are true stories!

Actually, I like some lawyer jokes. But I don't mind dumb blond jokes either. But that's because I'm not dumb and I'm not really .... well, never mind!

Despite the jokes, or maybe because of them, we all have an obligation to help increase the professionalism of our profession. You are going to make a living practicing law and you owe it to the law to improve it and to leave the profession of law better than it was on the day you began to practice it.

There are two ways to improve our profession in my view. One, is improving the public perception of us by involvement in your community. Join and get active in Rotary, hospice, Big Brothers or other good organizations. Serve with integrity, enthusiasm, and follow through on your duties. (And, I'll tell you a secret - not only is it the right thing to do - it'll be good for business too!)

Also, incorporate pro bono work in your career from the outset. Many individuals and groups need quality legal advice and are without the means to pay for it. Do your share.

The second way of leaving the law better than you found it, is to work as a lawyer from within.

Always be respectful of the system in your public comments. If a court decision, whether it involves your case or not, seems illogical and ill-conceived, be guarded in your public comments. If lawyers denigrate the system what amount of confidence do we expect lay people to have in it?

Handle your cases so that the opposing side would consider hiring you the next time they need a lawyer or at least consider recommending you to a friend or business associate. Not that getting opposing parties to hire you should be your goal. But conduct yourself, in and out of the courtroom, professionally and courteously, while obviously keeping your client's interest at heart.

Differ without derision. Question without being querulous. Interview without intimidating. Use common sense and common courtesy - neither of which are all that common, frankly.

In all that you do, conduct yourself in a way to be respected and to increase the respect given to our profession. This is essential whether you work in a corporate office or serve in public office; whether you practice in a courtroom or teach in a classroom; whether you labor in a bank or sit on the bench. It's also critical whether you practice on Wall Street or a main street or whether in Cuba, Kansas or Havana, Cuba.

Our profession has suffered mightily in the last couple of decades from an erosion in public trust and confidence. Some of it justified - much of it not. It is the duty of each of us who are privileged to be lawyers to do our part to remedy the damage done and to restore our profession to its honorable position in society.

And, my last request, is that you be true to yourself in your career decisions. Accept the job that you want - not the job your parent or spouse wants for you. Our profession has such variety and flexibility that there is a niche that suits your interests and personalities. Please don't settle for less. And don't be disillusioned by the practice of law because you allowed yourself to be convinced to stay in a position that doesn't satisfy you. There's no shame in taking a job and then, after a reasonable time, saying, "You know, this is just not working out for me." Life is too short and too uncertain to do otherwise. And, goodness knows, if I can do that as publicly as I have in the last month or so, then you can do it too if the need arises.

Please, enhance our profession and be true to yourself.

My sincere congratulations to each of you - and to the friends and families who supported you emotionally to this goal - and even bigger congratulations to you if you succeeded in getting any friend and families to support you financially too!

Congratulations! Thanks for letting me be with you tonight. My best wishes for a long and lucrative career for each of you!

Remarks by Gerald L. Goodell

President Farley, Dean Honabach, members of the Board of Regents, Washburn Law graduates and friends.

I proudly accept this honorary Doctor of Laws degree. It was an honor to receive my law degree from Washburn in 1958 and it is a tremendous honor to receive another Washburn degree some 44 years later. I would like to make a few comments to the Washburn Law graduating class of 2002. Welcome to membership in the most important professional club you will ever belong to - the Washburn Law Alumni.

Washburn Law School will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2003. The strength of Washburn Law School is not its building, library, or tradition. Its strength is the amazing record its alumni have made as trial and appellate judges, trial lawyers, office lawyers, members of the state and federal legislative bodies, public offices, and teachers. I would urge each of you to volunteer to serve on civic and professional boards, prepare law articles for publication, teach at Washburn, if you have the opportunity and be proud of your Washburn Law education. Be proud to use your Washburn Law education in whatever field you choose as a lawyer, judge, professor or in business. With your help Washburn will make it another 100 years - good luck!