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Mitchell Keynotes Law School Graduation May 26

May 21, 2007

Former Senator George J. Mitchell will give the keynote address at the University of Maine School of Law commencement, scheduled for 10 a.m., this Saturday, May 26, in Merrill Auditorium, Portland. Some 85 graduates and nearly 1,000 friends and guests are expected at the ceremonies.

Mitchell served in the U.S. Senate for 15 years, including six years as Senate Majority Leader. In the Senate, he was closely associated with free trade and environmental legislation, and with aid to housing and education. Mitchell also was a leader in opening markets to trade, and led the Senate to ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement and creation of the World Trade Organization.

After his last Senate term in 1995, Mitchell served as chairman of the International Commission on Disarmament in Northern Ireland, which culminated in the historic Good Friday Agreement. In addition to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. government, Mitchell has received the Philadelphia Liberty Medal; the Truman Institute Peace Prize; the German Peace Prize; and the United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize.

He has served as chairman of the board of The Walt Disney Company, chancellor of The Queen's University of Northern Ireland and chairman of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of crises in international affairs.He currently is a partner and chairman of the Global Board of DLA Piper.

School of Law graduate Patrick D. Thornton of South Portland, who earned his undergraduate degree at USM in 2004, will deliver the student address.

Former Scarborough resident Ira J. Waldman, a 1976 graduate of the School of Law, will receive the L. Kinvin Wroth Award. Waldman, a partner in the Los Angeles firm of Cox, Castle & Nicholson, is a frequent author and lecturer on real estate topics and on technology issues related to the practice of real estate law. He is a former in-house counsel at UNUM and served on the Maine Athletic Commission. He remains active in alumni activities at Bates College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1973, and serves on the School of Law Foundation Board.

Editor's Note:
For assistance in covering this commencement ceremony, contact Bob Caswell of USM Public Affairs at caswell@usm.maine.edu, 780-4200 (o), 939-2377 (cell), 839-2026 (h).

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