The John Marshall Law School held its 206th Commencement on December 16 at The Standard Club in Chicago. At this year’s winter commencement, the law school conferred 62 degrees, including 48 JDs, 12 LLMs, 1 MJ, and 1 MS.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice Mary Jane Theis delivered the commencement address. Theis has served at every level of the judiciary in the State of Illinois and has received numerous awards in her career, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Judges Association. Theis’s father, who was also a judge, was a John Marshall graduate.
John Marshall Professor Kevin Hopkins received the Winter 2018 Lex Ancilla Justitiae Award. The award, which translates to “law is the servant of justice,” is given to the faculty member who the graduating class believes best embodies this guiding principle of education at John Marshall. Graduating student and Student Bar Association Illinois State Bar Association Representative Ashly McCants presented the award to Hopkins.
The valedictory address was given by Jessica Purohit. While at John Marshall, Purohit served on the Editorial Board of The John Marshall Law Review, as an officer for the South Asian Law Student Association, as a judicial extern at the Cook County Circuit Court, as a legal extern at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as a summer associate at Mayer Brown. Purohit also received the John N. Jewett Scholarship and the Arba N. Waterman Scholarship.
At this semester’s commencement, as is a tradition at John Marshall, a number of students received their diplomas from family members who also graduated from the law school and will carry on the John Marshall legacy.
