Beginning Together: Orientation 2024
New school, new friends, new dean: Members of the J.D. Class of 2027 and the LL.M. Class of 2025 met Dean Daniel Abebe and each other at orientation activities featuring welcome speeches, information sessions, and plenty of food.
Watch highlights of orientation in the video above.
Incoming J.D. and LL.M. candidates began their Columbia Law journeys during orientation programs that covered everything from academic expectations to wellness tips. Beyond connecting with their classmates, both cohorts had the opportunity to hear from and meet with Daniel Abebe, Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, who joined the Law School on August 1. “Newness will bind us together, not just this year, as we take this first step together, but as lifelong Columbians,” Dean Abebe told the students.
“You’ll take classes with some of the world’s leading legal thinkers, scholars, practitioners. You will develop and apply your lawyering skills in the community. You’ll connect with classmates who have common interests, and you’ll discover new ambitions and new intellectual interests. And of course, you’ll be exposed to a great set of alumni practicing law at the highest levels around the world,” said Dean Abebe. “You’re now part of this enduring and distinguished tradition here at Columbia.”
Dean Abebe also spoke about the importance of free expression and the values that allow Columbia Law School to achieve its mission. “We must foster conditions that enable free expression and exchange of ideas. These are fundamental tenets that are simply essential in the pursuit of knowledge,” he said. “This means that we must grant one another the widest latitude to test new ideas, some of which will come inevitably into contestation and conflict with one another. In my view, it’s through this kind of open discussion, debate, and even passionate disagreement, that we are able to understand the views of others, to strengthen our own ideas, and at times, to even change our minds.”
Fast Facts About the J.D. Class of 2027
J.D. students were welcomed to campus by Dean Abebe, Associate Dean and Dean of Admissions Nkonye Iwerebon, Associate Dean of Registration and Student Services Andrea Saavedra, and Student Senate President Nicole Morote ’25. They learned “What to Expect in Your 1L Year” from panels of faculty and upper-year students, and participated in activities ranging from rock climbing to salsa dancing to boxing.
Members of the class:
Represent 34 states and the District of Columbia, and 22 different foreign countries across six continents.
Hail from more than 120 colleges and universities; 74% have been out of college a year or more, and 16% are the first in their family to earn a four-year college degree.
Include an FBI agent, a sneakerhead, an opera singer, an ultramarathoner, a TV producer, a U.S. Marine captain, an eight-time Jeopardy! applicant, and the winner of a spicy-food-eating contest.
Speak or read more than 50 languages, including Bambara, Burmese, Finnish, and Nahuatl.
“I believe in the exceptionalism of Columbia Law School, not simply as a bedrock of legal education but also as a place where little and not-so-small interactions touch and can transform your life. … Attending Columbia is a privilege that few others enjoy. And while the future is in your hands, I am humbled that you have entrusted us with your guidance and training.”
—Nkonye Iwerebon, Associate Dean and Dean of Admissions
“Remember all that brought you here. Remember your grit and your intelligence and your heart. And just let that guide you. I firmly believe that everything else will take care of itself.”
—Nicole Morote ’25, Student Senate President
Fast Facts About the LL.M. Class of 2025
Members of the class:
- Represent 63 countries.
- Include a judge from India, a Swedish diplomat, a U.N. legal adviser from Ireland, and a Pakistani special prosecutor.
- Have an average of five years of work experience.
- Include 13 Fulbright scholars.
“Each and every one of you is here today because you want to gain new knowledge about the law and deepen your understanding about how it’s practiced in the United States and around the globe. So have no doubt you are in the right place. Columbia Law School has a proud tradition of being a training ground for world-renowned, innovative, and field-defining lawyers and legal scholars. And an international perspective—which is uniquely relevant to nearly all of you—is deeply embedded in our institutional DNA.”
—Dean Abebe
