Commencement 2012
RWU Law partners with the Alpert Medical School of Brown Medical School and the Rhode Island Center for Law and Public Policy in the Rhode Island Medical-Legal Partnership for Children. This unique collaboration offers legal services to low-income families at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.
Wall of Hope
Friday, May 17, 2013
1:00 p.m.
Open Seating
Bristol Campus
Law Commencement LIVE STREAM today.
Morris Seligman Dees (Commencement Speaker)
Founder
Southern Poverty Law Center
Born the son of Alabama cotton farmers, Morris Dees is the co-founder and chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in Montgomery, Ala. After launching his law practice in 1960, Dees won a series of groundbreaking civil rights cases that helped integrate government and public institutions.
Known for innovative lawsuits that crippled some of America’s most notorious white supremacist hate groups, Dees has received numerous awards. These include Trial Lawyer of the Year from Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association and the Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice. In 2009, he was inducted into the Trial Lawyers’ Hall of Fame by the American Trial Lawyers’ Association. In 2012, the American Bar Association honored him with the ABA Medal.
Wayne Rogers portrayed him in the 1996 feature film, “Ghosts of Mississippi,” about the murder of civil rights worker Medgar Evers. Dees was named one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal in 2006. He has written three books: A Season for Justice, his autobiography; Hate on Trial: The Case against America’s Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi; and Gathering Storm: America’s Militia Threat. In 1991, NBC aired a made-for-TV movie called “Line of Fire” about Dees and his landmark legal victories against the Ku Klux Klan.
The Honorable Alice Bridget Gibney
Presiding Justice
Rhode Island Superior Court
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The Honorable Alice B. Gibney is the presiding justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court. A West Warwick native, born to schoolteachers, she graduated from Rhode Island College in 1969 and went on to Catholic University School of Law in Washington, D.C., where she earned her law degree in 1972.
Judge Gibney began her career as a law clerk to Superior Court Judge Florence K. Murray, before entering private practice in Providence. She served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the late 1970s, then reentered private practice. In 1982, she became a Workers’ Compensation Court Commissioner, and served in that capacity until her appointment as an associate justice of the Superior Court in 1984. Judge Gibney served on the state’s Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline from 1991 until 2003, including six years as chair; and has taught as an adjunct professor at RWU Law.
Judge Gibney has spent much of her career concentrating on civil cases, including many medical malpractice lawsuits. When former Governor Donald Carcieri nominated her as presiding justice in 2009, he said: “Justice Gibney is admired and respected by her judicial colleagues and by all those who come before her courtroom. Considered a conscientious and gifted trial judge known for her ability to manage complex litigation and high case volume, Justice Gibney is well suited to serve as Presiding Justice.”
Special Accommodations
Request for handicap parking and seating must be made by May 1, 2013 by submitting the
Request for Handicap Parking or Seating Form to the Office of Alumni, Programs & Events, Suite 257, Fax 401-254-4655. An area under the tent will be designated for individuals needing seating or space for a wheelchair plus a maximum of two guests. Graduates will receive confirmation of their request along with a parking placard and handicap tickets. Guests with handicap parking needs must enter through the main campus entrance and Public Safety will direct them.
Questions
Please contact the Office of Alumni, Programs & Events at (401) 254-4659 or lawevents@rwu.edu
