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Maine District Court Judge Rick E. Lawrence Speaks at University of Maine School of Law Graduation

May 22, 2004

Maine District Court Judge Rick E. Lawrence, an alumnus of Harvard Law School, reminded graduates that "behind every law school graduate stands an impoverished family" during his address filled with sound, and sometimes humorous, advice at University of Maine School of Law Commencement. The ceremony was held Saturday, May 22, at Merrill Auditorium, Portland.

Lawrence told graduates that their experience at Maine Law -- the friends they made while there, and the relationships formed with faculty -- was much more intimate than his experience at the larger Harvard Law School. He advised them to "give back to their profession, community, and society as a whole."

The L. Kinvin Wroth Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Paula Silsby ('76), who is the U.S. attorney for the District of Maine. Silsby, a native of Ellsworth whose great-grandfather, both grandfathers, and father all practiced law, was the commencement speaker for the School in 1996.

There are 82 graduates this year, and 77 of them marched at the ceremony. Among them, Nancy Ann Haller of Portland, Maine, was named winner of The Faculty Scholastic Achievement Award, given to the member of the senior class who achieves, over three years of law study, the highest academic average. It was noted today that Haller achieved the highest average of any graduate at the school in the past 39 years.

Each year, the graduates choose one of their own to be student commencement speaker. This year's speaker, Stephen Johnson, is a native of Wichita, Kansas, who, while pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy, worked as a clinical bioethicist. Johnson has accepted a position at the Augusta law firm of Kozak and Gayer, a firm specializing in health care law, and also received the ABA/BNA Award for Excellence in the Study of Health Law at today's ceremony. His address, although often humorous, and full of anecdotes of his years at Maine Law, ended emotionally as he dedicated his degree to his father-in-law, a Kansas farmer who passed away this past week.

Editor's Note: For more information, please contact Judie O'Malley of USM Public Affairs at 780-4200 (o), or 839-6402 (h).

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