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Regents Professor and Dean Emerita Toni Massaro delivered the keynote address on how to maintain what she called “legal hope.” She told graduates not to give up hope, but also to center hope in the facts. “You have to face the facts, because false hopes are no good,” she said. “So you’re going to have to have hope that takes seriously the fact that losing is part of law. It’s part of lawyering. And it’s part of living.”
She also noted that history can help frame the right questions and approaches, and that hope is a practice that takes a lot of work. But, she said, hope is the right path.
Toni noted that, “My parents taught me try to keep good company. They said, seek out professional colleagues, mentors, friends and life team members who model the virtues that you want to develop in yourselves.” She called upon students to embrace the common good and build bridges.
“May you be present in what you do,” Toni concluded. “May you never become lost in bland absences. May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams and possibilities and promises. And may evening find you gracious and fulfilled.”
Toni is retiring from work as a full-time professor. After her keynote, Marc acknowledged Toni’s own “graduation” of sorts. “To put it simply,” he noted, “Toni’s impact on Arizona Law is beyond measure.”
Marc also recognized the retirement of Milton O. Riepe Professor of Law Emeritus Thomas Mauet. “In addition to being a nationally renowned expert on trial advocacy and evidence, Tom has been a treasured member of our community for many decades,” Marc said. “It is a mark of his ability and reputation as a teacher that so many students … chose to attend his class at 8 a.m. four days a week, year after year.”
Enjoy more highlights from the 2024 College of Law Convocation!
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