Eighty-seven first-year law students, members of the UND School of Law Class of 2025, begin their legal education this week.
They began their journey with a Convocation ceremony held Sunday evening at the Chester Fritz Auditorium with their family and friends in attendance. UND provost and vice president for academic affairs, Eric Link, Dean of the School of Law, Brian Pappas, and Assistant Dean of Student Services, Brad Parrish gave remarks. The Honorable Ralph R. Erickson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, delivered the convocation address.
In his remarks, Judge Erickson presented the newest students of UND School of Law with three pieces of advice for their time in law school; call your mother, be present, and remain resilient. He spoke of professionalism and the great responsibility that attorneys have to use the facts and interact truthfully within all aspects of the legal system.
Each member of the class crossed the stage and received a UND School of Law padfolio and a Class of 2025 pin from Dean Pappas and Provost Link. The ceremony concluded with the class taking the UND School of Law Oath of Professionalism, led by Judge Erickson.
The class consists of 36 women and 50 men from 20 states and three countries, including North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, California, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, Canada, South Africa, and Taiwan. They come to law school with degrees in accounting, music, biology, education, business administration, and agriculture to name a few. Three members of the class are enrolled in UND’s accelerated 3 plus 3 law program and six members of the class hold master’s degrees. Two members of the class are veterans and one member is active military.
Orientation week continues through August 18. During the week, students will learn about the program of legal education, gain tips and strategies for achieving academic success, familiarize themselves with the law school building and community, discover health and wellbeing habits, tips, and resources, and begin the first portion of their Lawyering Skills class.
“We are very excited to welcome our new students to the UND Law family,” said Dean Brian Pappas. “We pride ourselves on our high-quality teaching and the wide variety of experiential opportunities available, due to our close relationship with the bench and bar. We have a long history of developing excellent lawyers, and this class will carry on that proud tradition.”
Beth Moe
Director, Alumni & Public Relations
School of Law
University of North Dakota
P. 701.777.2856
beth.moe@UND.edu | law.UND.edu