Tulane Law Welcomes the Class of 2029

Tulane Law School welcomed more than 230 new students to the Class of 2029 last week, a group whose journeys to law school stretch across the country and around the world — and whose next chapter begins together in New Orleans. 

The new 1Ls hail from 34 states and the District of Columbia and include citizens of seven countries outside the United States. They are graduates of more than 100 colleges and universities, including 24 Tulane alumni. Nearly 70 percent will become the first lawyers in their families. 

Their academic paths are just as varied. Political science was the most popular undergraduate major, but students also studied subjects ranging from natural resources and environmental economics to classics, digital filmmaking and marine engineering. Three members have served or will continue to serve in the armed forces. 

And there are experiences that don't fit neatly into a spreadsheet, Assistant Dean of Admission David Weinberg told the class. Among them are a world-class competitive Irish step dancer, professional drummer, competitive water skier, fishmonger, licensed skydiver, ranch hand and distiller. 

What stood out most in their applications, Weinberg said, was the class's "sense of place" — the ways communities and experiences have shaped how its members see the world and the work they hope to do. 

"The places around us shape our experiences, our values, and often the questions we hope to answer through our work," Weinberg said. "Sometimes we choose a place. Sometimes it chooses us." 

Law Dean Marcilynn Burke carried that theme of community forward, asking students to look around the room at the people who will become collaborators, colleagues and, for many, lifelong friends. 

"You belong here," Burke told them. "The work you're about to embark upon matters. And you don't have to do it alone." 

The students' formal introduction to the legal profession came from U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby (L'87), who returned to her alma mater to administer the Oath of Professionalism. 

Roby told students that when she arrived at Tulane Law, she never imagined she would one day sit on the federal bench. Her goal was simply to become the best lawyer she could be. 

"There's a transformation that takes place in law school," Roby said. "It not only builds you intellectually, it also can build you holistically." 

She also challenged students to preserve their own judgment as artificial intelligence increasingly changes the practice of law. 

"Just because AI can write well, it doesn't mean you don't get to think well," Roby said. 

The Class of 2029 then stood together and pledged to uphold the rules of the legal profession, preserve academic integrity, serve society and maintain the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. 

"Class of 2029," Roby told them, "welcome to the profession." 

Throughout orientation, students also took part in academic preparation sessions with Professors Sally Richardson and Frederic Sourgens, spent time with their peer mentors, the Dean Rufus Harris Fellows, and got a taste of New Orleans with trips to the French Quarter, sno-balls and beignets. 

The academic sessions offered students an early introduction to the Socratic method, fast-paced classroom discussion and even the law school cold call. 

"They got to experience what a class will be like before we actually start the semester," said Richardson, a property law scholar. "They experienced the idea of sitting, being cold-called by their professors, having to analyze different cases and the material in them. And hopefully, as the property lover in me, they learned a little bit about property law, too." 

For students, the week helped replace some of the uncertainty of starting law school with new friendships and a better sense of what lies ahead. 

"My favorite part was the mock class we did," said first-year May Whelan. "It alleviated some of my anxieties about entering law school, and I realized just how engaging and how excited the professors are about what they're teaching." 

For Evan Hindmarsh, it was the support surrounding the new class that stood out. 

"My favorite part of this week is the lengths that the law school has gone to make us all feel comfortable and let us know that we're all in the same boat," Hindmarsh said. "And that there are people and resources that we have if we need them to help us get through this, especially first semester and first year." 

Mara Vaknin found that community among her new classmates. 

"My favorite part of the week was meeting so many new friends, and people from all over the U.S.," Vaknin said. "It's been so much fun getting to know everyone and also being able to explore New Orleans with all of my new friends from law school."