Celebrating the Columbia Law School Class of 2026

Dear members of the Columbia Law School community, 

One of the great joys of academic life is coming together each year to celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of our graduating students. This year, Columbia Law School’s Class Day ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 17, at 4:30 p.m., on the South Lawn of the Morningside Campus. University Commencement will follow on Wednesday, May 20. 

As we prepare to honor the Columbia Law School Class of 2026 in less than two months, I am delighted to announce the distinguished speakers and honorees who will address this year’s graduates and their guests. 

Student Speakers

Shaquille Profitt ’26 and Beatrice Olivieri ’26 have been selected by their peers to represent the J.D. and LL.M. classes, respectively, as student speakers. 

Willis L. M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Olatunde Johnson, Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 Professor of Law, will receive this year’s Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching. A beloved teacher who joined the Law School faculty in 2006, Johnson’s scholarship has helped shape the national conversation on civil rights, administrative law, and constitutional democracy. Students have praised her mentorship, calling her “superb,” “lovely,” “incredibly knowledgeable,” and “a brilliant and caring professor.” Johnson previously worked at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and clerked for Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she was honored with both the Reese Prize and the university’s Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. 

Keynote Address

Donald B. Verrilli Jr. ’83, one of the nation’s premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates, will deliver this year’s keynote address. As the 46th Solicitor General of the United States from 2011 to 2016, Verrilli argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, including landmark decisions upholding the Affordable Care Act and recognizing marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges). He has served as associate U.S. deputy attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice and as deputy counsel to President Barack Obama. Verrilli is a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson and founded its Washington, D.C., office. He is also a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches classes on the First Amendment and the Supreme Court. 

Please also join me in thanking Associate Dean Andrea Saavedra, the Student Services team, and members of the Student Senate Graduation Committee—Amado Aztlán Castillo ’26, Melissa De La Torre ’26, G. Shannon Frampton ’26, and Mary M. Suberu ’26 LL.M.—as well as the Student Senate, for their care and collaboration in planning this year’s Class Day events. More information about graduation—including reception details and related activities—will be shared in April. 

I look forward to gathering with our community on May 17 to hear from our outstanding speakers and celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2026.

Best, 

Daniel Abebe 
Dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law