June 2, 2008

This week, Harvard Law School will confer 588 J.D. degrees, 168 LL.M. degrees, and 10 S.J.D. degrees as part of Harvard University's 357th annual Commencement Exercises. The graduation festivities will take place over two days: Class Day will take place on Wednesday, June 4, and Commencement will take place on Thursday, June 5.

Class Day exercises will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will take place on Holmes Field. During the event, several awards will be presented: the Sacks-Fruend Teaching Award for excellence in teaching, the Suzanne L. Richardson Staff Recognition Award, the Frank Righeimer, Jr. Prize for Student Citizenship, and the Dean's Awards for Community Leadership. This year's Class Day Speaker, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey, will address the class.

Commencement Exercises will begin with a champagne breakfast on Jarvis Field. The HLS graduates and Dean Elena Kagan '86 will then march to Tercentenary Theater in Harvard Yard to take part in the University-wide Commencement ceremony, where President Drew Gilpin Faust will confer degrees to the graduates by school. An audience of approximately 32,000 people is expected, and a live webcast of the Commencement Exercises will be available on Thursday morning.

The HLS Diploma Ceremony begins immediately following the University-wide Commencement Exercises, and will begin at 11:45 a.m. on Holmes Field. Dean Kagan will give an commencement address and present the graduates with their degrees.

Commencement festivities will conclude on Thursday afternoon with the Unviersity's afternoon excercises, which will include an address by author J.K. Rowling. A live webcast of Rowling's remarks will be available.

Please refer to the Commencement Rain Plan webpage for updated information and changes due to weather.