(Carson Griffis, who graduated first in the May 2011 class, delivered the valedictory address, which follows.)
Carson Griffis, valedictorian of the May 2011 class.
Thank you, Dean Corkery. Good afternoon fellow graduates, faculty, administration, family and friends.
The legendary Chicago attorney, Clarence Darrow, once said, “The best that we can do is to be kindly and helpful toward our friends and fellow passengers who are clinging to the same speck of dirt while we are drifting side by side to our common doom.” I think it is fair to say that Clarence was a glass half-empty kind of guy.
Which is not entirely surprising: he went to law school. I’m sure there were times when we all felt adrift: first-year exams, Herzog, or late nights in the library. But at the same time, our fellow passengers made these past three years worthwhile. Some of the kindest, most intelligent, and funniest people we will ever meet are sitting in this room right now. Some of us have made lifelong friends, challenged each other, or fallen in love in the past three years. After all of the tests we have put ourselves through, we emerge from John Marshall with a fantastic well of colleagues, mentors, and friends from which we can draw inspiration and support. We have accomplished a tremendous feat. No matter what may come, we have hurdled an intellectual challenge that few do, joining the legacy of John Marshall graduates that have preceded us.
Yet that legacy also carries with it a new charge. As attorneys, we must do Darrow’s best, “to be kindly and helpful toward our friends and fellow passengers.” The past three years have endowed us with the unique capacity to serve our clients as advocate and counselor. Whether prosecutor or defense attorney, corporate in-house counsel or public interest lawyer, if we all act kindly and helpful toward our friends and fellow passengers, we will make our communities and our profession better. It is up to us now. So Clarence had the right idea, even if he saw things half-empty.
Be good to yourselves, and to each other. Thank you.”
