Topic: Speeches

Justice Kennedy and Kathleen Sullivan’s Visit

Another year has begun and once again we were lucky enough to start off the year with a visit fr0m Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. This visit, Justice Kennedy was inaugurating the 1st Annual Justice Kennedy Lecture Series, which featured Kathleen Sullivan, a renowned constitutional scholar, dean of Stanford Law School, and author of the gigantic casebook I have to lug to class twice a week.

Both Justice Kennedy and Kathleen Sullivan spoke informally in a lunchtime Q&A, and then Ms. Sullivan delivered a formal speech in the evening regarding the 1st Amendment and its interpretation in Constitutional Law. Listening to both Justice Kennedy and Kathleen Sullivan renewed my motivation and passion for being in law school and going into the noble profession of law. I was struck by how both Justice Kennedy and Ms. Sullivan were able to communicate so clearly and extemporaneously about a variety of topics while also incorporating humor. In listening to their speeches it became clear to me how important it is to not only be knowledgeable in matters of the law but also to be knowledgeable and well read in other areas. Justice Kennedy told an anecdote of when he was a practicing attorney and was able to convince a client of an unwise decision in a matter concerning a will not by using law, but by recommending that his client read King Lear.

Perhaps Mark Twain’s words, “Don’t let school get in the way of your education,” are especially important in law school. Sure, it is important to keep up with the reading and to study, but it is equally important to take advantage of outside opportunities whether they are law related or not.

18 September 2009