The Degree Candidates of the Class of 2020
Meredith Diana Elion Abrams
Maria Stephanie Acosta
Isha Agarwal
Elizabeth N. Aghili
Vanessa Somtonna Ajagu
Oludolapo Iroloye Akinkugbe
Daniel Enrique Albarran Garcia
Nestor Dario Almeida
Salman Khaled Almutawa
David A. Alpert
Sara Abdulla Al-Saadi
Michael Jared Altman-Lupu
Julia E. Ambros
Gabriel Demetrio Anaya Robles
Jennifer Qing Ange
Angelo Mario Angelino
Phelan Patricia Caverly Arata
Nicholas Antonio Argentieri
Delia Maria Arias De Leon
Rebecca Arno
Brandyn Arnold
Grace Bezutsega Mesfin Assaye
Maximilian Joseph Auerbach
Zamzama Azizi
Barak Fischel Binder Bacharach
Tiana Talar Baghdikian
Blake Mark Bailus
Tessa Baizer
Yohan John Balan
Abed Raouf Balbaky
Melissa Relyea Bales
Isela Bañuelos
Zachary R. Barker
Daniel Barlava
Norhan Bassiouny
Alexander C. Bavis
Gelsey Geraldine Beaubrun
Tyler Becker
Doreen Benyamin
Katherine Emily Berk
Shai Berman
Benedict S. Bernstein
Gregory Bernstein
Max Potters Bernstein
Annelise Bertrand
Benjamin Joseph Betik
Naomi King Biden
Thomas J. Bidwill
Fatima M. Bishtawi
Zachary Earl Blair
Ariel M. Blask
Michael Ryan Bloom
Mary Boci
Virginia Louise Boies
Matthew T. Bolin
Taylor Elizabeth Booth
Molly Brachfeld
Eli Brander
Edward V. Brandt **
Jamie Lauren Brensilber
Paige M. Brinton
Jamie Sara Brumberger
Paul A. Bryant
Ian Buksunski
Tiffani Joy Burgess
Daniel Richard Burns
Alexa Lloyd Busser
Kayla C. Butler ***
Virginia Hill Butler
Don Butterworth
Annie Catherine Caccimelio
Yunqin Cai
Alexis Danielle Campbell
Michael Cardinal
Jacquellena T. Carrero
Matthew F. Casassa
Elizabeth J. Casey
Rebecca Elizabeth Caspar-Johnson
Katherine M. Cavins
Soo Kyung Chae
Jian Chai
Jamie Jinhee Chang
Audrey E. Chao
Cara L. Chilton
Lefteri J. Christodulelis
Hwamin Chung
Amanda K. Chuzi
Daniel V. Clark
Alex Peter Clavering
Theodore Cohan
Justin B. Cohen
Adia DeCarla Coley
Andrew Thomas Connery
Zachary Turner Cookston
Justin John Corvino
Todd A. Costa
Edmund Aeneas Costikyan
Aaron J. Crowell
Brian Martin Cunningham
William Carter Dario
Jonathan Christopher Day
Jennifer Dayrit
Joshua D. DeBarba
Kelsey Victoria Dennison
Maddalena Rose DeSimone
Larenz Devaren
Nav Dhillon
Ibrahim Diallo
Julian C. Diamond
Josie D. Dikkers
Emma Katherine DiNapoli
Anuj Dixit
Katherine N. Donohue
Reeva Dua
Xiaoyu Duan
Natalie Polk Dugan
Denver Clayton Dunn
Ellie Rae Dupler
Andrew Charles Elliott
Amanda Michelle Estep
Benjamin Philip Estes
Daniel Fahrenthold
Siyuan Fang
Nicollette Farkas
Caitri Feddeler
Elias Renwick Feldman
Haojun Feng
Daniel Andres Fernandez
Michael Fetterman
Max Ian Fiest
David Finkelstein
John P. Finnegan
David A. Fischer
Rebecca Sarah Fishbein
Rebecca Nicole Fleming
Judrick K. Fletcher
Haley Carter Flora
Darren Tze Ern Foo
Anthony James Emilio Francisco
Alexandra Lauren Franklin
Brannock Furey
Evan Gabor
Ally Ying Ying Gao
Jie Gao
Jingkang Gao
Melange Therese Gavin
Letian Ge
Grant M. Gerard
Emily Irena Gerry
Julia Elizabeth Ghahramani
Charles G. Giannini
Jordyn A. Giannone **
Matthew A. Girardi
Cassandra Anna Gizzo
Samuel M. Glassman
Chris Goetz
Andy Gong
Diana C. Gonzalez
Kaushik K. Goswami
Shravya Govindgari
Dustin Glen Graber
Jeffrey Alexander Greenberg
Kyle L. Greene
Miles Harrison Greene
Lily Charlotte Grisafi
Jessica Ariel Grischkan
Nicole Groysman
Rayna S. Guo
Andres Steven Gutierrez Kingkade
Timothy Hayes Hagan
Matthew Thomas Halchak
N’Dea Michelle Hallett
Christen Elizabeth Hammock
Lichen Han
Mary Song Yi Han
Sandy Hao
Graduated February 12, 2020
Graduated February 12, 2020
Daniel Jacob Harper
Samantha Marie Hawkins-Bromberg
Elizabeth Hayden
William McCarthy Hayes
Devyn J. Hébert
Marina Analise Hernandez
Diondra Korlis Hicks
Hung Due Ho
Yarden Hodes
Tyler Holbrook
Sarah Hong
Amelie Claiborne Hopkins
Rachel Horn
Allison Lulajunuette Houston
Andrew “AJ” Howard
Aileen Christina Huang
Terry Tianrui Huang
MariKate Hok’te Hulbutta
Mackenzie Ellen Humble
Jacob Daniel Humerick
Grace Hunter
Eli B. Huscher
Nicandro G. L. Iannacci
Daniel Osagie Imahiyerobo
Preston Louis Irace
Michelle Ifeoluwapo Irukera
Anna Aida Iskikian
Christina M. Isnardi
Jonathan Max Jaroslawicz
Vendarryl L. Jenkins
Esther Tian Jiang
Ester Amelia Johansson-Lebrón
Kristin Johnson
Joella Adia Chao Jones
Zachary Scott Jones
Breana Jordan
Brandon David Joseph
Jabari Yusef Julien ***
Karen A. Kadish
Fanta Brunhilde Kamara
Dina Marie Perez Kang ***
Omar Kanjwal
Sonia Katharani-Khan
Jennifer Katz
Margaret K. Kellam
Meredith Fitzgerald Kelly
Hope Elisabeth Kerpelman
Andrew Garo Khanarian
Nicholas Kho
Alexander Kim
Gihyun Kim
HyunKyu Kim
Peter C. Y. Kim
Stephen G. Kim
Susie Kim
Caleb Borges King
Idun Bresee Klakegg
Savanna Pack Klinek
Anja L. Kong
Brendan F. Krimsky
Kathryn Brooke Kuethman
Austin Kuhn
James Anthony Kutter
Afia Mutesi Kwakwa
Nikita Lamba
Jean Marie Lambert
Lin Lan
Ruby Bert Lang
Allison Johanna Langley
Michelle Lisa Lappen
Sean Michael Larner
Quinn Leary
Daniel J. Lee
Laura Lee
Lloyd Nolen Stepteau Lee
Matthew Lee
Tyler Anne Joo-Ri Lee
Solomon Zhehao Leung
Elizabeth Levin
Michael U. Lewis
Ben Lewson ***
Siqi Li
Xinrui Li
Ben Lieberman
Sarah Hong Lin
Haley Hsiu Wen Ling
Alexander Loh
Victor Lopez
Buyu Ma
Sarah Elena Maciel
Bryson Doan Malcolm
Jessica Marder-Spiro
Sarah R. Margolis
Patrick Floyd Marris
Mary Marshall
Luke Andrew Martin
Christian R. Martinez
Bret Matera
Libby McAvoy
Holli Elise McClean
John A. McNairy **
Amanda Robin McNally
Martin Maurice McSherry II
Aryeh Mellman
Conor James Mercadante
I. Joshua Meyer
Melissa U. Meza
Chelsea Bowen Mihelich
Ian Miller
Rohan Georges Mishra
Jonathan Mitnick
Rashad A. Mohammed **
Anisha Diya Mohin
Farah A. Mokhtar
Ariana Momtazi-Bushweller
Ammar Ashraf Monawar
Olivia Davy Morrison
Anne Mosley
Zane William Muller
Courtney Aleia Murray
Jie Lin Nai
Jun Nam
Alexandra Nora Nasar
Julia Elizabeth Nelson
Anton Nemirovski
Andrea Nishi
Lila Jun Eron Nojima
Chikaodi Cybil Obiozor
Omobolaji O. Ogunsola ***
Alexander Ife Ojugbeli
Gabriella Okafor
Udoka Joy Okafor
Edgar C. Okorie
Julia Oksasoglu
Bradford R. Olson
Ryan J. Olson
Daniel P. O’Toole
Andrew Jisu Pai
Jay Pak
Lina Pan
Michael Li Pan
Elizabeth Parizh
Sung Min Daniel Park
Yuna Park
Danielle Alyse Parker
Gregory A. Passa
Krusheeta R. Patel ***
Andreas Constantine Pavlou
Kevin Brian Perron
Alexander R. Perry
Laura Ann Peterson
Micaela Jade Piña
Cecilia Plaza
J. Ryan C. Poladian
Mark M. Pollak
Marta Poplawski
Esther Portyansky
Sara Kate Providence
Christine Qin
Zhen Qin
Eric W. Quang
Kobina A. Quaye
Dana Michelle Quinn
Yesenia Yvette Rascon
Thea Raymond-Sidel
Miranda E. Rehaut
Tricia Reville
Margarita Alexandra Dizon Reyes
Devin Rives Risinger
Connor Jeffrey Ritschard
Kathleen Martha Ritter
Elizabeth Annabel Rivera Cruz
Israel Rodríguez Rubio
Norma Patricia Rojas-Castro
Salvador Rosas
Christine Rua
Chevaun Samuels ***
Genesis Sanchez Tavarez
Christopher Santana
Samuel Tyler Schaffer
Philippe Schiff
Jonathan Ryan Schlecht
Stephen M. Schmitt
Emilie C. Schwarz
Charles C. See
Vlad Shafran
Ravi D. Shah
Whitman Lane Shaw
Jacob Nathaniel Shepherd
J.G. Piper Sheren
Reed T. Showalter
Jordana Danziger Signer
Michelle Silva
Nicholas Singer
Olivia Farwell Lescure Smith
Minah Chelsea So
Nicole Alexandra Sockett
Grace Mie Son
Timothy A. Sorenson
Noah Zachary Sosnick
Eric G. Speckhard
Kathleen Mary Stanaro
Emma Sydney Stein
Mayer Stein
Zack A. Struver
Narayan S. Subramanian
Lillian Sun
Nicholas Sun
Kelvin Tan
Sudi Tasissa
Joshua McIntosh Taylor
Shelton Taylor
Aden D. A. Tedla
Melissa Kai Lin Teh
John Benjamin Thomas
Sam Thompson
Brian James Tratner
Jonathan Lee Trebble-Greening
Abigail A. Unger
Ashwini Velchamy
Melissa Renee Verne **
Charlotte A. Walkovik
Connie Wang
Kunyu Monica Wang
Markus Wang
Dylan Waters
Caroline Flannery Wattenmaker
Alyssa Danielle Weinstein
Ryan Patrick Weir
Malina M. Welman
Tanna Wiesel
William Palmer Wilder
Frank H. Williams III
Samuel Nye Winslow
Jonathan Wong
Terry Y. Wong
Linxuan Yan
Ivy Xiaotian Yao
Saba Yasmin
Mitra V. Yazdi
Joyce Jung Min Yeo
Melissa Yin
Daniel Yoon
Justin S. Yun
Nadia Attahir Yusuf
Brandon Alexander Zamudio
Jingxi Zhai
Shannon W. Zhang
Yi Zhang
Matthew J. Zhu
Shengling Zhu
Marisol Alvear *
Kan He *
Heather Kellam Von Toennemann *
Neelu Mohan *
Siyi Zhu EXECUTIVE MASTER OF
Bernardo Viana *
Max C. H. Wong *
Jianfei Jeffrey Zhu *
DOCTOR OF SCIENCE OF LAW DEGREE CANDIDATES
Henry Allen Blair **
Bin Chen *
Claire Marie Debucquois *
MASTER OF LAWS DEGREE CANDIDATES
Gabriela Abdalla Fajnzylber
Bamisope Adeyanju
Urvi Agarwal
Hind Al Aissi
Nadja Al Kanawati
Josef Alkatout
Matthew C. Anderson
Hiromi Ando
Ronnie Ang
Pai Apiratkasem
Francisco Ignacio Aras
Eira Arb Zackrisson
Felipe Arias Gutierrez
Mo’taz Arshied
Fildza Nabila Avianti
Andrea Avila Salgado
Neshevida Balasubramanian
Guilherme Bergamin de Barros
Louise-Anne Bertin
Hilda Santos Bertolini
Camille Beuvry
Priyanka Bhat
Pierre Blancher
Maud Boutolleau
Nora Bettina Johanna Braun
Elizabeth Margaret Brown
Melanie Joyce Brown
Giulia Brunello
Jack Busby
Zoe Johanna Bush
Yuanyuan Cai
Lucas Brandão Borges Caiado
Orly Calderon
Yifan Cao
Zijian Cao
Paul Carey
Ana Maria Castro Dosal
Ondrej Cech
Francisco Cerda
Ian Ernst Chai
En-Yu Chang
Pei-Chuan Chang
Fei Chen
Hongzhou Chen
Manel Chibane
Mercedes Chien
Eungyung Eileen Choi
Rumen Cholakov
Hiresh Choudhary
Chun Ho Chung
Thiago Claro
Carolyne Clermont
Caroline S. Coursant
Andrea Cruz
Samyuktha Damojipurapu
Pratik Ranjan Das
Kelsey Davis
Julie De Keukeleire
José María de la Jara Plaza
María Hortensia de la Peña
Sebastian De La Puente
Federico de la Torre Herrera
Camila De Lasa
Raphaelle Debordes
Victoria Delettre
Jahnvi Amit Desai
Pedro Diego Diaz Asmat
Celia Marie Diederichs
Edward Emmett Dillon
Francisco Ducci
Sofia Duclaud
Laure Dupain
Shogo Eguchi
Rawad Elia Abou Jaoude
Electra Eliez
Charles English
Mirjam Escher
Santiago Escobar Magana
Marcelo A. Fajnzylber
Maria Falcão de Andrade
Jorge Vinicio Fernandez
Anna Patricia Fonseca
Olivia Franklin
Maria Fernanda Gadea Rivera
Michal Galayevich
Elena Andreea Gancea
Teresa Garcia-Barrero
Alice Gardoll
Felix Gasten
Craig Daniel Gaver
Olga Gladkova
Michal Goffer-Daphne
Juan Eduardo Gómez Londoño
Ana Gonçalves
Nicolas Daniel Guichard
Tingting Guo
Ritunjay Gupta
Heather Jill Haase **
Matthias D. Haberstig
Jonathan Michael Hall Spence
Kayako Harada
Nathan Jeremy Hauser
Dario Henri Haux
Mudan He
John M. Heather
Leo William Herrenschmidt
Keita Hitomi
Paul Hoffmann
Frank Shihong Hong
Shengping Hsu
Meiling Huang
Xiaojie Huang
Florence Humblet
Matthew Pearson Hurt
Morgan Imbert
Shunsuke Imura
Ayari Ishiyama
Daichi Ito
Johann E. Jabes
Alexandra Jakobsen
Chayathanan Jerasantpich
Jaehun Jo
Arjun F. Joshi
Minhee Jung
Mina Kanamura
Chinmay Kanojia
Yahel Kaplan
Gili Karev
Kei Kato
Miftahul (Ari) Khairi
Sung Hyun Kim
Mariko Kimura
Randeep Singh Koonar
Samantha Gabriela Koutras
Martin Kridla
Ananya Nikhil Kulkarni
Rani Butler Kulkarni
Shraddha Kulshreshtha
Chetna Kumar
Yusuf Kumtepe
Meenakshi Ramesh Kurpad
Yoko Kutami
Hideaki Kuwahara
Jeffrey Kwok
Munjeong Kyung
Nicholas Lai Yi Shin
Ching-Fang Lee
Katie Sheah Tsan Lee
Iván Levy
David Leys
Huiyi Li
Wuxiao Liang
Yi Fang Paul Lie
Johannes Liefke
Patrick P. Lin
Mingke Liu
Moritz Lochmann
Ana Longhi de França
Riccardo Loschi
Maximilian Ludvik
Zora Motta Fayal de Lyra
Joao Antonio Madureira de Pinho
Namrata Maheshwari
Eugenio Marin de León
Carla Martini
Raul Eduardo Mazzarella Ulloa
Isabel Mejia Llano
Marina Mendes Correa
Mariana Merino Collado
Zoya Mohyuddin
Edgar Monteiro
Eduardo Morandé Fontaine
Muzahid Mowla
Namrata Mukherjee
Nivedita Mukhija
Ingrid A. Müller
Maria Jesus Munoz Ugarte
Ryo Muramatsu
Yui Muramatsu
Amarante Camille Murino
Alexandra J. Murphy
Niousha Nademi
Takeshi Nagai
Eric P. Neuenschwander
Whitney-Martina Nosakhare
Amanda Obi
Felix Otieno Oketch
Jack Oliver-Hood
Brandon M. O’Malley
Rachel Yue Qing Ong
Eduardo J. Oteiza Calzada
Christine Otto
Stephen Owusu
Marina Pacheco de Araujo Paciullo
Hyunsung Park
Jung Myong Park
Teresa Pastore
Eduardo Alves Pereira
Nishadee Yawwana Perera
Elvira M. Perez Sepulveda
Michael Pierluisi
Joanna Pauline Pimentel
Yirong Yvonne Poon
Ayla Prentice-Cuntz
Meera Rajah
Deep Rao
Hannah Therese Reid
Andres Reyes Mendez
Donald Rhodes
Rachel Rhodes
Carlos Rios
Edan G. Rivera
Maria Jose Rocha
Rohan Rohan
Octavio Roldan Montijo
Esther Romay Jove
Jacob Roth
Etia Rottman Frand
Mohamed A. Saeed
Viktoria Salehi
Mihir Samson
Guillermo Sarubbi Lutz
Pedro Saullo
Konstantin Savryga
Theresa Marie Scharff
Adrien Schmieder
Pirmin Emanuel Schreiner
Robert Edmund Schultz
Philipp Schwarz
Sayaka Sekimiya
Maya Olga Shaton **
Miguel Sierra
Uday Pratap Singh
Ritika Sinha
Clare Skinner
Lara Bianca Solomons
Keun-Chul Song
Anika Sonnenberg
Philipp A. Stallknecht
Alice Stampfli-Parmentier
Graduated February 12, 2020
Graduated February 12, 2020
S. Katharina Stein
Hinako Sugiyama
Kristian Sutt
Victoria Modong Taban
Matteo Tabellini
Muhammed Emrah Tanyildizi
Jiatian Tao
Jake Taylor
Samuel Tazartes
Riccardo Tedeschini
Maurice Temming
Benedetta Tilli
Anna Silvia Tinelli
Julia Tolstova
Jay Tongkak
Chetan Tripathy
Nathan Turk
Greta Ulbrick
Fakhruddin Ali Valika
Guillaume Van Doosselaere
Peter Donald Frank Varacalli
Anfranz Vazquez-Bragan
Balaji Venkatakrishnan
Sarah Maria Vettiger
Juan Sebastian Viancha Trujillo
Jon Vicuña
Javier Antonio Villalba Solis
Ding Wang
Gan Wang
Jiadiandian Wang
Lily Wang
Jean-Jacques Waringo
Yukiko Suwa Watanabe
Christine Weniger
Anna-Luise Werder
Michal Jan Wolangiewicz
Alison Wong
Colin Wood
Dan Wu
Kuo-An Wu
Qinzhi Wu
Paul Simon Wunderl
Elsa S. Wyllie
Min Xiang
Cheryl Yiqi Xu
Weihuan Xu
Etsuko Yamazaki
Meng Yan
Xuemei Yang
Satoshi Yoshinami
Fang Yuan
Chen Zaefen
Marco Zaldívar
Rodrigo Zaldivar Del Aguila
Donna Zamir
Ge Zhang
Guannan Zhang
Lei Zhang
Xiaoyu Zhang
Jiaji Zhou
Zhou Zhou
GRADUATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS
Maria Stephanie Acosta ’20
Udoka Joy Okafor ’20
Lucas Brandão Borges Caiado ’20 LL.M.
A Special Tribute to the Class of 2020: the Class Gift
Each year at commencement, members of Columbia Law School’s graduating class present a class gift to the Law School as they transition from students to alumni—a tradition since the late 1990s to support the students who will follow in their footsteps.
Class gift co-chairs and committee members work diligently throughout the spring to engage all of their classmates in this effort, which consistently results in a tremendous annual class participation rate. This year, as the co-chairs began forming committees for this time-honored effort, they, along with their classmates, teachers, families, neighbors, and friends across the globe, faced the onset of a lifealtering pandemic.
Acknowledging the graduates’ fortitude, flexibility, ingenuity, and compassion, especially during their challenging final semester, Columbia Law School alumnus Li Lu ’95—one of the principal organizers of the Tiananmen Square protests in China and the first student to earn simultaneous degrees from the Law School, Columbia College, and Columbia Business School—made a gift “in honor of every member of the Columbia Law School Class of 2020.”
This gift will help alleviate the unanticipated financial needs of Columbia Law students that have been brought on by this global crisis.
2020 CLASS GIFT COMMITTEE
J.D. CO-CHAIRS
Allison Lulajunuette Houston
Frank H. Williams III
COMMITTEE MEM b ERS
J.D. COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Jennifer Qing Ange
Katherine Emily Berk
Sandy Hao
Samantha Marie Hawkins-Bromberg
Vendarryl L. Jenkins
Alexander Kim
Jay Pak
Malina M. Welman
LL.M. CO-CHAIRS
Alice Gardoll
Stephen Owusu
LL.M. COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Bamisope Adeyanju
Lucas Brandão Borges Caiado
Frank Shihong Hong
Yusuf Kumtepe
Felix Otieno Oketch
Teresa Pastore
Theresa Marie Scharff
Keun-Chul Song
Anna Silvia Tinelli
Alumni Advice
To help celebrate this year’s graduating class, alumni leaders who generously serve on this year’s reunion committees share their words of wisdom with the newest members of the Columbia Law School alumni network. Here are some examples of the advice they wish they could give their younger selves.
“Although it may be difficult to believe now, the people in your law school class will eventually be leaders in the law, government and politics, business, and global change. No matter how busy you are or how far flung your classmates may be, maintain and nurture relationships with them so you can learn from each other and support one another’s goals. You will be able to offer one another opportunities such as jobs, client referrals, and the chance to assume leadership and create impact for the communities of which you are a part.”
ELISE HOLTZMAN ’90
“Follow your instincts, not your bank balance. You have a license to help people not schooled in the endless intricacies of the law.”
RICHARD T. ANDRIAS ’70
“Stay true to your principles; it’s possible, if not always easy.”
EDWARD BYRNE ’75
“Balance your work with your personal life. That is easier said than done in our profession, which can be all consuming at times. When you look back on your life, you will see that your loved ones, family, and dear friends are more important than any case, any deal, or any job you held along the way.”
GEORGE
M. NEWCOMBE ’75
“Surprising things will happen, both good and bad. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and always remember that what you have and what you accomplish in life are in large part the product of luck. So (just as your parents and grammar school teachers always told you): Don’t get a swelled head, and give back to the community what you receive.”
GERARD E. LYNCH ’75
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Legal research and writing is the most important class you have taken. Always, always remember your audience. The legal field is small, so be kind to everyone, even opposing counsel.”
SARAH RICE ’10
“Follow your dreams as to why you became a lawyer. Sometimes the draw of one direction—large law firm, public interest law, or corporate law—is not right for you at the moment, but do not be afraid to change directions or law activities. Maximize your outreach, and stay connected to a variety of lawyers (other classmates), and keep networking.”
ROBERT FARON ’75
“As an African-American attorney and Columbia graduate, I think that it is most important to aggressively protect your reputation, enjoy all opportunities presented, and enjoy the practice of law. I have found the practice of law to be incredibly fulfilling, especially in the areas of litigation. Columbia Law School has a fine and wonderful tradition [of] providing support for the great civil rights leaders and freedom fighters of our times. Achievement at the highest part of our profession is important, but to me, carrying on the traditions of the giants that walked before me is truly significant.”
FELIX LEATHERWOOD ’80
“I would tell myself to be open to opportunities to grow personally and professionally in nontraditional ways. Your country needs you. The world does too. Take time to have a broader impact on life and create a steep learning curve for yourself in an impactful area.”
GEORGE MADISON ’80
“Enjoy all the different phases of your career. Each has its own challenges and rewards.”
CORI MELTZER ’92
“Your reputation is everything, even in a large market like New York City. In everything you do as a lawyer be civil, reasonable, friendly, forthright, and, above all, honest. All of these things will, in the long view, win you a reputation that opens doors.”
ERIC HASKELL ’05
“Challenging times often require us to make difficult decisions, but they also present new opportunities that, if properly seized, may deliver professional growth and pleasant surprises in the longer run.”
LINCOLN YEH ’05
“You enjoy work and are curious, always wanting to learn new things, which is great, but remember to stay healthy, and don’t forget to dedicate time to family and friends! Balance is everything!”
ROBERTA PIMENTEL FONSECA ’05
“Keep your Columbia Law School network going! It is one of the most valuable assets you take with you.”
DIEGO GALLEGOS ’15
Messages From Development and Alumni Relations and the Columbia Law School Association
Dear Members of the Class of 2020,
With your graduation from Columbia Law School, you join the ranks of judges, corporate attorneys, public defenders, CEOs, world leaders, and alumni in countless other roles who are making their mark on the world. I know you have just begun to make yours.
One of the special things about Columbia Law is the vibrancy of our alumni community. You are now part of an extended family comprising 26,000 Law School graduates. As you navigate your professional career, this global network can be a valuable source of guidance and support. I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity by making personal connections and attending alumni events.
Of course, you will also have the chance to give back in many ways. Please consider nurturing the legal careers of future students and graduates through mentorship. You can also contribute by volunteering for class reunion celebrations, serving on an alumni board or council, and becoming a loyal donor to the Law School.
Congratulations on your impressive and hard-earned accomplishment. I wish you every success, personally and professionally, on the road ahead.
Warmly,
Ryan D. Cairns Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations
Dear Members of the Class of 2020,
My heartfelt congratulations on your graduation from Columbia Law School. You are not only joining the Columbia Law School Association as our newest members but are also becoming part of a dynamic alumni community whose influence is felt in just about every walk of American life and whose impact is seen around the world.
In the decades to come, you and your classmates will accomplish a great many achievements in the law and beyond. Wherever your path may take you, we all will continue to share a special bond—a bond that links us with Columbia Law alumni across the generations.
Being a member of the Columbia Law family has been one of my greatest joys. The three years I spent at Columbia quite literally transformed my life. It opened new vistas to me, both professionally and personally. My experiences gave rise to friendships with classmates and faculty that I cherish 30 years later.
A key part of our mission at the association is to nurture your relationships with fellow Columbia Law alumni. For that reason, I hope you will soon be able to join us for events, share personal and professional updates, and even volunteer to serve on our board someday! Your future participation will be most warmly welcomed.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a member of the Columbia Law Class of 1907, once observed, “There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.” This dictum has come true far too soon for the Class of 2020. But take heart, for you will have many days in the sun. As your fellow alumni, we will be there with you and for you.
My best wishes as you enter the next stage of what I know will be a promising career.
Sincerely,
Rudy Carmenaty ’90 President, Columbia Law School Association Board of Directors
* Member of the Harlan Fiske
Stone Society