Tulane Law Commencement Rooted in Tradition and Celebration
Tulane Law School celebrated the 175th graduating class with a ceremony that reflected both the spirit of New Orleans and the remarkable achievements of the Class of 2026.
Like all good New Orleans events, the ceremony opened with music from Crescent City Brass Band, drawing our graduates and their supporters into the Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse on Tulane's uptown campus.
Law Dean Marcilynn Burke, presiding over her second Commencement at Tulane Law, welcomed the graduates and their loved ones, offering a special nod to those that supported the graduates throughout their journey. “To the families, partners, children, and friends who have supported our graduates—this journey is yours, too,” she said. “You played a critical role in bringing this class to the finish line.”
For the more than 230 Juris Doctor candidates, LLMs and Master of Jurisprudence students, the finish line likely felt very far away during their legal education. Their time spent pouring over case notes, studying in the Reading Room, preparing for oral arguments, completing pro bono hours, leading student organizations, and more unfolded during what Dean Burke described as periods of “extraordinary change.” Their years at Tulane Law coincided with major Supreme Court decisions, debates over democratic institutions, shifting immigration and border policy, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, and conflicts abroad.
“You graduate into a moment when the law is not abstract—it is contested, visible, and consequential,” she remarked. “And yet, in the face of these changes, you did more than persevere—you excelled.”
The accomplishments of the Class of 2026 reflected that excellence. Collectively, the graduates completed nearly 22,000 hours of pro bono service, earned national writing awards, and excelled in moot court competitions. Fourteen graduates will head to prestigious post-graduate clerkships, including 11 at the federal level.
As they leave Tulane Law, members of the class are pursuing careers across the world. 72 percent are heading to law firms, while 24 percent will enter public interest work. One graduate will join the Air Force JAG Corps, while others will begin their next chapters in Louisiana, Texas, New York, and even the Middle East. Some will go on to prestigious post-graduate studies at universities across the country.
In addition to the JD graduates, Tulane Law also celebrated graduates of the Master of Jurisprudence program and the Master of Laws program.
This year’s keynote speaker, Leopold Sher (BA ‘74, L ‘76), shared a heartfelt and humorous address with the class. Sher urged graduates to cultivate the virtues that define great lawyers —courage, wisdom, judgment, discernment, truth, respect and listening —while also adapting to a fast-changing profession. But he also encouraged them to think about life outside of their profession, a space between the fast lane of work and the outer lane of daily obligations, a lane he dubbed “the Tulane.” There, he said, graduates can find joy, purpose and perspective. “In Tulane, you are the keynote speaker,” Sher said. “You pick the key to determine the life you will lead.”
Class President Jillian Jackson followed Sher with her own unique message to the Class of 2026. She encouraged her fellow graduates to carry an important mantra going forward: do well and do good.
“By Do Well, I expect you all to go be your best and brightest selves,” Jackson said. But she also reminded graduates of their responsibility to serve others. “As you progress in your careers, whether you’re here in New Orleans or another city, I encourage you all to make time to do good work for the people in your respective communities.”
After the degrees were conferred, Tribal Wave Brass Band led the graduates over to John Giffen Weinmann Hall in a celebratory second line, ending their Tulane Law careers with a nod to the city that has shaped so much of their journey.
You can view and download Commencement photos here.
