On Friday, May 12 at 12 p.m. MT, we will come together to recognize the many accomplishments of the Class of 2023. This ceremony will be held in-person and livestreamed to allow participants to celebrate the class together. The ceremony is not open to the public, but a recording of Attorney General Phil Weiser's speech will be available afterwards.
Order of Exercises
11:50 a.m. Procession Begins
12 p.m. Ceremony Begins
Welcome and Remarks, Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss
Spanish Welcome, Professor Violeta Chapin
Honor Song, Doug Good Feather
Order of the Coif, Professor Blake Reid
Introduction of Honorary Order of the Coif Recipient, Judge Regina M. Rodriguez ’88
Introduction of Class Officers, Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss
Remarks, Class President Alexander D. Clark
Student Awards, Class Treasurer Ashlyn Laurel DuThorn
Faculty and Staff Awards, Class Secretary Tanner Boyzuick
Introduction of Keynote Speaker, Class Vice President Stewart R. Ramsey
Keynote Speaker, Attorney General Phil Weiser
JD Hooding Professors*, Professors Frederic Bloom, Benjamin Levin, Helen Norton, and Scott Skinner-Thompson
*Selected by Class of 2023
LLM Hooding Professor, Professor Todd M. Stafford and JJ Ilseng
MSL Hooding Professors, Associate Dean Amy Bauer and Professor Melanie Kay
Recognition of Graduates, Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss, Registrar Shannon Foley, and Assistant Dean Emily Horowitz
Alumni Welcome, Law Alumni Board Chair Michael Carrigan ’94
Sears Charge, Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss
Recessional, Class of 2023, Deans, and Faculty
Keynote Speaker
Attorney General Phil Weiser
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser was sworn in as the State’s 39th Attorney General on January 8, 2019. As the state’s chief legal officer, Attorney General Weiser is committed to protecting the people of Colorado and building an innovative and collaborative organization that will address a range of statewide challenges, from addressing the opioid epidemic to improving our criminal justice system to protecting consumers to protecting our land, air, and water.
Attorney General Weiser has dedicated his life to the law, justice, and public service. Before running for office, Weiser served as the Hatfield Professor of Law and Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, where he founded the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship and co-chaired the Colorado Innovation Council.
Weiser served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice and as Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation in the Obama Administration’s National Economic Council. He served on President Obama’s Transition Team, overseeing the Federal Trade Commission and previously served in President Bill Clinton’s Department of Justice as senior counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, advising on telecommunications matters.
Before his appointment at the Justice Department, Weiser served as a law clerk to Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the United States Supreme Court and to Judge David Ebel at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado.
The son and grandson of Holocaust survivors, Weiser is deeply committed to the American Dream and ensuring opportunity for all Coloradans. Weiser lives in Denver with his wife, Dr. Heidi Wald, and their two children.
ORDER OF THE COIF
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. The American Order was formed in 1911 for the purpose of promoting scholarship among law students. Under the Order’s constitution, the top 10 percent of the graduating class of each school is eligible for membership.
HONORARY ORDER OF THE COIF
We are pleased to honor Judge Regina M. Rodriguez ’88 as the 2023 Honorary Order of the Coif Recipient. Judge Rodriguez is the newest member of the Colorado federal district court bench. She was confirmed by the US Senate in June, 2021 and appointed by President Biden to the federal district court bench on July 1, 2021. Judge Rodriguez is a 1988 graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, and she practiced as a trial attorney here in her home state of Colorado for over 30 years before joining the bench.