Dean Phil Weiser Commencement Speech
Keynote Address by Chief Justice Nancy Rice
Chief Justice Rice was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court on August 5, 1998 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court on January 8, 2014. Prior to her appointment to the Colorado Supreme Court, Chief Justice Rice served as a Denver District Court Judge from 1987 to 1998; an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1977 to 1987; Deputy Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1985 to 1987; and a Deputy State Public Defender in the Appellate Division from 1976 to 1977. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University and her law degree from the University of Utah College of Law.
In addition to her duties on the bench, Chief Justice Rice is the administrative head of the State of Colorado Judicial System, chairs the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professional Development, and serves on several other committees. She gives presentations for bar associations and civic programs. Chief Justice Rice teaches at both the University of Colorado Law School and the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and acts as a judge in high school trial competitions. She has written articles published in law journals and is dedicated to educating the public about the state judicial system.
The English Order of the Coif, an ancient and honored institution of the Common Law, was an association of distinguished lawyers from whose members the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas were appointed and who for centuries had the exclusive right to be barristers in that Court. Later, judges of the King’s Bench and the Exchequer were appointed from its members. The Order took its name from the coif, or cap, that all members wore.
This year's Honorary Order of the Coif is being awarded to Ronald Sandgrund. Most of Sandgrund's legal career has been devoted to enhancing consumer rights, particularly those of Colorado homeowners. Sandgrund and his long-time law partner, Scott Sullan, have been appointed class action counsel 12 times and are two of the very few attorneys in the United States to have tried a certified class action to a jury verdict; that case is believed to be the largest residential construction class action in Colorado’s history. Sandgrund’s extensive trial and appellate work has helped improve the quality of home construction throughout Colorado. Sandgrund guest lectures at the law school on torts, professional responsibility, entrepreneurship, and trial advocacy.
Since graduating from Colorado Law in 1982, Sandgrund has been a good friend of the law school, to which he is grateful for taking him in after his escape from his native New York in 1979. Sandgrund dedicates his Honorary Order of the Coif to his wife, Cheryl Barr, his parents, his family, and his friends, without whose love and support he is fairly sure he would still be harvesting clams from the bottom of the Great South Bay on Long Island.
Student Speeches (Simmons, Tekeste, Ryder, Cheney)
Remarks were given by the 2014 Class President Timothy Daniel Simmons. Class Secretary Stephanie Ryder introduced the Student and Faculty Awards and Class Secretary Stephanie Ryder presented the class gift. Then Class Vice President Kevin B. Cheney introduced our Keynote Speaker Chief Justice Nancy E. Rice.
