Reimagined Reunion 20/21 Hits High Note

After Reunion 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19, a reimagined, virtual “double Reunion” was designed to rekindle connections for classmates—in the cloud.

Watch the kickoff conversation with Dean Gillian Lester and President Lee C. Bollinger ’71.

From June 9 to 12, nearly 900 alumni from 44 countries registered and came together in the “Zoom room” to celebrate Reunion 20/21. Class members whose graduation years end in 0, 1, 5, and 6 attended a series of virtual events, including a comprehensive lineup of social and intellectual programming. 

“A big thanks to all of you, especially the chairs and committee members for each class,” said Gillian Lester, dean and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law, in her opening remarks. “ I see how hard you work to make this a terrific celebration and to reconnect with your classmates, and so I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The programming series then kicked off with a special conversation between Dean Lester and President of Columbia University Lee C. Bollinger ’71, who was celebrating his 50th reunion year.

Speaking of his own Law School experience, President Bollinger said: “There are so many times that some little experience, which was perhaps not that meaningful at the moment . . .  comes back and becomes a source of pleasure or instruction or a guide for thinking through something that I'm puzzling about. . .  . I am deeply, deeply grateful to the Law School and the faculty who were there and the friends that I made in the class.”

See highlights from Reunion weekend below and watch all videos from the event, including 25th and 50th Reunion classes milestone events.

Meet Columbia Law Journal Editors-in-Chief

Moderator: Jennifer Braden, Assistant Director of Academic Counseling and Student Support

Speakers: Oluwatumise Asebiomo ’21, 2020–2021 Editor in Chief, Columbia Law Review; Nicolás Quaid Galván ’21, 2020–2021 Editor in Chief, Columbia Journal of Race and Law; Morgan Marmaro ’21, 2020–2021 Editor in Chief, Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems; Anahi Mendoza Pacheco ’22, 2021–2022 Editor in Chief, Human Rights Law Review; Gregory Smith ’21, 2020–2021 Editor in Chief, Columbia Journal of Environmental Law

Q&A With Alumni Members of the Biden Administration

Moderator: Rachel Salem Pauley, Director of Government Programs and Lecturer in Law, Social Justice Initiatives

Speakers: Dimple Chaudhary ’05, Deputy General Counsel, Nationwide Resource Protection Programs, Environmental Protection Agency; Nicholas L. McQuaid ’05, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice; Jennifer Sokoler ’10, former policy advisor to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, Attorney in the White House Counsel's Office; Gillian Metzger ’96, Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law

Career Development Roundtable: Exploration and Advice for the New Normal

Learn more about the participants.

Facilitators: Stephen L. Buchman ’62, Madeleine L. Kurtz '84, Julie Anna Alvarez Rivera, Alison Sherwin ’04

Alumni Anchors: Matthew Batters ’06, Kyu-Won Choi '10 LL.M., Joseph J. DiMona '86, David P. Eisman '95, Frank Elderson ’95 LL.M., Kinara Ann Flagg ’11, Mai Ratakonda '11, Suzanne Rosencrans ’90, Stafford A. Woodley, Jr. ’01

Presentations by Renowned Faculty

Watch all

LGBTQIA+ Alumni Gathering: The Current State of LGBTQ Rights: Katherine M. Franke, James L. Dohr Professor of Law (at right)

The U.S.-Japan Alliance: A Cornerstone of American Foreign and Defense Policy in East AsiaNobuhisa Ishizuka ’86, Lecturer in Law and Executive Director of the Center for Japanese Legal Studies, and Matthew Waxman, Liviu Librescu Professor of Law 

Her Seat at the Table: Women in Senior Leadership and the C-Suite: Alexandra Carter ’03, Clinical Professor of Law

Reunion 20/21 Stats and Facts*

  • Nearly 900 alumni representing 44 countries joined the celebrations commemorating their Law School anniversaries
  • Classes celebrating their 5th to 70th anniversary years have collectively raised more than $14.5 million for Columbia Law.
  • The Class of 2011 had the highest number of class registrants for the virtual Reunion weekend.
  • The Class of 1971 had the highest rate of participation in Reunion class efforts, with 37% participating.
  • The Classes of 1971 and 1980 had the highest levels of giving, raising more than $3.8 million and nearly $1.8 million, respectively.

*As of June 25, 2021