Class of 2026 Celebrates at Brooklyn Law School’s 125th Commencement

A sense of pride, accomplishment, inspiration, and tradition filled the air at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House as nearly 350 new Brooklyn Law School graduates celebrated earning their diplomas at the 125th Commencement ceremony on May 11, with a joyful audience of family, friends, and members of the school community cheering them on. 

The keynote speaker, Hon. Sparkle L. Sooknanan ’11, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, was given an honorary degree and set the tone for the day by reminding the class how far they had come, and the excitement that awaits after graduation. An immigrant who moved to New York City from Trinidad and Tobago to attend college when she was just 16 years old, Sooknanan is emblematic of Brooklyn Law School’s excellence and its proud history of being open to immigrants, first-generation Americans, and first-generation professionals since it opened its doors in 1901.  

"I still remember sitting in your seats 16 years ago. There are some moments in life that stay with you always, and this was one of them for me and I hope it will be for you too," Sooknanan said. "You are about to embark on an extraordinary journey as lawyers." 

Recounting her own incredible journey, Sooknanan described coming from humble means and the need to work full time during the day and take evening classes. After graduation, her career in public service took off quickly. She was a law clerk for Judge Eric N. Vitaliano on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 2010 to 2011. After that, she clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2011 to 2012, and clerked for Justice Sonia Sotomayor on the U.S. Supreme Court from 2013 to 2014. She also worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in two separate stints and as a partner at Jones Day.  

"Every experience I had shaped the person I am today," Sooknanan said. "This country gave me a better life. It gave me opportunities I could not have dreamed of. And my journey and my struggles gave me purpose and motivated my desire to one day have a career in public service. I went to law school because I saw firsthand, and I lived, the profound power and promise of the law. How it can transform our highest ideals and values into real protections, for real people, and how it can change lives." 

Today, as a member of the federal judiciary, "I have the privilege of hearing cases brought by people across our country, facing their own struggles seeking their own opportunities, and reaching for their own justice," Sooknanan said.  

'An Engine of Social Transformation' 

The commencement kicked off with a welcome message from Frank Aquila ’83, the Chair of the Board of Trustees, who presided over the ceremony and thanked the musicians from the Broeklundian Quartet, who have been a fixture at Brooklyn Law School’s commencement for 45 years and played "Pomp and Circumstance" as the procession of graduates and dignitaries filed into the theater. In addition to prompting graduates to applaud their families and friends for their support through the years, Aquila introduced Kashish Shamsi ’26, who sang a lovely rendition of the National Anthem, and Dean David D. Meyer, President and Joseph Crea Dean, who provided opening remarks to the graduating class.  

Meyer also thanked the friends and family in the audience for their support and sacrifices and congratulated the Class of 2026.  

"You’ve all worked extremely hard to be here today," Meyer said. "It's worth pausing now to appreciate all that you had to overcome to be here and to recall just how daunting the milestones that are now behind you once appeared: the first time you were called on in class; your first set of final exams; conquering the rule against perpetuities. Through perseverance and hard work, through your support of one another, through service to clients in our clinics, or to the law school as student leaders, you've enriched our community and made us better." 

Brooklyn Law School was founded exactly 125 years ago this September, and making legal education accessible to all has been its core mission, said the dean.  

"It was founded as an engine of social transformation to prepare lawyers from every possible background to lead and transform both the fortunes of their families, but also the communities they serve," Meyer said. "At a time when most law schools were highly exclusionary and meant to entrench the status quo, Brooklyn Law School's first classes were comprised mostly of immigrants, first-generation Americans, and first-generation professionals, men and women of every race, religion, and nationality. That tradition of empowerment and service is very much alive today." 

Dozens of students rose to their feet when he asked students who were first in their families to graduate college or law school to stand.  

A Network of Support 

The dean also noted that the Class of 2026 faced many challenges, including starting school during the pandemic, and the outbreak of wars first in Europe and in the Middle East.  

"As profound as these challenges have been, they each underscore the importance of your role as lawyers. And the urgent need for your passion, your leadership, and reason," Dean Meyer said. "Through all of these challenges, you have grown stronger." 

He thanked the Law School’s five professors retiring this spring who have devoted a combined 230 years of service for their "extraordinary dedication and the incredible legacy they have left," garnering applause for Professor Stacy Caplow; Professor Joel Gora; Professor Maryellen Fullerton, the Suzanne J. and Norman Miles Professor of Law; Professor Susan Herman, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Professor of Law; and Professor Aaron Twerski, the Irwin, and Jill Cohen Professor of Law. 

Valedictorian Clara W. Goldrich ’26 decided to structure her remarks from a favorite case she learned about in law school: Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co. (1928) in which a judge issued a dissenting opinion based on "proximate cause." 

"Sitting in this lovely theater today, we have succeeded, and we are each the proximate cause of our own success," Goldrich said. "Pat yourself on the back. But everyone sitting in this room also contributed to our success. The loved ones above us, the faculty behind me, the friends and family watching us on the live stream, and each other, of course." 

Goldrich thanked her family, professors, mentors, and Moot Court teammates. "We are each woven into the complicated web of our support systems, our hard work, and our striving. To all of these points in our networks, we owe a most hearty thank you," Goldrich said.  

Chasing the Dream  

Among the three pieces of advice that Sooknanan gave the graduates was to, first and foremost, find their purpose.  

"Figure out what drives you and what you stand for, figure out what you enjoy doing, what fulfills you," she said. "Wherever that purpose takes you, do not forget where you came from."  

As a professional, act with kindness, and be respectful, and try to see the perspective of others, even if it is someone you disagree with, Sooknanan said. It is also important to be kind to yourself and spend time with family. "Your family, your friends, your professors. This is your community. These are the people who will be there for you in your hardest moment," she said.  

Becoming a federal judge was not something Sooknanan ever dreamed of doing, but those who saw her potential and willingness to work hard encouraged her to keep striving beyond what she had imagined for her life.  

"I left nothing on the table, and when opportunities came my way, even opportunities that didn't quite fit with my vision for my career, I took them," Sooknanan said. "One door opened another, then another, and another. And here I am standing before you today. So, dream, let your dreams evolve with you as you grow and as your career progresses. Push yourselves and have courage to go in directions that you did not imagine."