Commencement Speeches

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David Drummond (2013)

Santa Clara University School of Law

David Drummond joined Google in 2002, and today is senior vice president and chief legal officer. He leads Google's global teams for legal, government relations, corporate development (M&A and investment projects) and new business development (strategic partnerships and licensing opportunities).

David was first introduced to Google in 1998 as a partner in the corporate transactions group at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, one of the nation's leading law firms representing technology businesses. He served as Google's first outside counsel and worked with Larry Page and Sergey Brin to incorporate the company and secure its initial rounds of financing. During his tenure at Wilson Sonsini, David worked with a wide variety of technology companies to help them manage complex transactions such as mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings.

David earned his bachelor's degree in history from Santa Clara University and his JD from Stanford Law School.
Paul Van Zyl (2012)

Santa Clara University School of Law

A profound sort of justice is required to heal nations in which mass atrocity such as genocide, torture, or the brutal suppression of human rights has occurred. This year’s commencement speaker to the Class of 2012 of Santa Clara University School of Law, Paul Van Zyl, is a worldwide pioneer in this area of "transitional justice."

Van Zyl will be the honored speaker at SCU Law’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the Mission Gardens.

Van Zyl is the former executive secretary of the famed Truth and Reconciliation Commission of his home country, South Africa, from 1995 to 1998. He helped develop the structure,modus operandi, and operations of the commission, which was charged with investigating and reconciling victims and perpetrators of South Africa’s Apartheid-era crimes.

Van Zyl, who is now the CEO of Maiyet, a “double-bottom line” company, is known for pioneering new approaches to human rights protection. In 2001 he co-founded the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), advising countries including Colombia, Morocco, East Timor, and Bosnia-Herzegovina on how to recover from mass atrocity.

“I look forward to speaking to the graduates of SCU Law and sharing my passion for worldwide justice and opportunity with a student body that similarly strives to use their talents to improve the lives of others,” said Van Zyl.

In addition to his CEO responsibilities, he is director of New York University School of Law’s Transitional Justice Program.

“We are honored to welcome Paul Van Zyl back to Santa Clara to serve as this year’s commencement speaker,” said Santa Clara University School of Law Dean Donald Polden. “His work and his vision for a more just, sustainable, and harmonious world inspires our students and faculty, and exemplifies a lawyer who both serves and leads.”

Van Zyl co-founded ICTJ in response to a growing recognition that facing legacies of past abuse and injustice is crucial to protecting human rights around the world. The ICTJ has worked in over 35 countries to help communities and survivors overcome the consequences of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by pursuing accountability, establishing the truth, building local capacity, and delivering reparations to victims.

In 2011, he was the recipient of SCU Law’s Katharine and George Alexander Law Prize awarded to lawyers devoting their careers to alleviating injustice and inequity. He received a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2009 with Juan Méndez, the former ICTJ president, and in 2009 won the Recent Graduate Award from NYU Law. He was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008, as a TED Fellow in 2007, and as one of the “Top 15 lawyers under 40” by New York Lawyer magazine in 2001.

Van Zyl is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragile States, and has worked as a researcher for the Goldstone Commission, as a department head at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg, and as an associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York.

Maiyet, where he is CEO, is dedicated to the “double bottom line” of profit and social good, by identifying and providing market access to profitable and socially impactful businesses worldwide. A luxury fashion label, Maiyet aims to increase employment and profitability of artisan business and in so doing alleviate poverty, empower women, and promote peace.

Van Zyl received a BA and an LL.B. from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and an LL.M. in international law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Following these studies, he was accepted into the prestigious Hauser Global Scholars Program at New York University School of Law, where he completed a LL.M. in corporate law. He has completed an executive education program entitled “Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century” offered by the Kennedy School at Harvard University.
Carlos Merano (2011)

Santa Clara University School of Law

Carlos Moreno, the recently retired California Supreme Court justice known for his thoughtful opinions and centrist appeal, will address graduating students at Santa Clara University School of Law’s 2011 commencement ceremony on May 21. The commencement is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the University’s Mission Gardens.

Moreno, 62, is currently of counsel with the Los Angeles firm of Irell & Manella. He is well known for his leadership of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, which led to improvements in the state foster-care system, and for many landmark state decisions on issues ranging from gun control to same-sex marriage to class actions.

“We are extremely pleased that Justice Moreno has accepted our invitation,” said Donald J. Polden, dean of Santa Clara University’s School of Law. “As an exceptional lawyer and a judge at almost every level of the judiciary, he has shown that respect for the law and compassion for those most in need can co-exist. Those are the values we hope our graduates take with them into their careers as well.”

Formerly, Moreno was a federal judge presiding over intellectual property, trademark and criminal cases. Prior to that post, he served as state court trial judge in Los Angeles and as a city prosecutor and commercial-law attorney in private practice.

Moreno was widely admired as a moderate judge, having been nominated twice by Republican governors and twice by Democrats. On the California Supreme Court, he was the only Hispanic justice and the only Democrat. In 2002 he wrote the majority opinion which upheld the right of cities and counties to ban gun shows on county properties, and in 2009 he wrote for the majority for a case that preserved the right of consumers to bring class actions against corporations.

“I’m pleased to speak to the graduates of Santa Clara Law School,” said Moreno. “They have received a strong grounding in diversity and social justice, values that have been extremely important to me throughout my legal career.”

Moreno received an undergraduate degree in political science from Yale and a law degree from Stanford Law School. A strong believer in the value of ethnic diversity on the bench, he is a longtime member and former president of the Mexican-American Bar Association.

He currently serves as a director of the Arroyo Vista Family Health Center and the Western Justice Center Foundation.
Hon. Miguel S. Demapan (2010)

Santa Clara University School of Law

The holder of the highest judicial post in the Northern Mariana Islands will be the commencement speaker for Santa Clara University School of Law’s Class of 2010.

Miguel S. Demapan, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), will be the honored speaker at SCU Law’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 22 at 9:30 a.m. in the Mission Gardens.

In his role as a former Superior Court judge and as the current chief justice, Demapan has presided over and written rulings on key issues for the CNMI, including cases of government bribery and abuse of power. He also recently oversaw an innovative movement to push home-foreclosure cases into mediation, rather than the courts, to help resolve one of the CNMI’s top social crises.

Demapan, who received his J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School in 1985, took his current post in 1999, just 11 years after the CNMI Supreme Court was established as the highest body in the islands’ post-WWII judicial system. He is the third jurist to hold this position.

As the young judiciary’s top official, Demapan is the chairman of the Commonwealth Law Revision Commission, which is charged with codifying rules for appellate cases, bar admissions, and judicial conduct, among other regulations.

Demapan was previously a director of the U.S. Conference of Chief Justices, which comprises Chief Justices of the highest courts in the states and territories. The Conference discusses national issues and lobbies to maintain the independence of judiciaries and ensure uniformity in the operation of the courts.

“All of us at Santa Clara University Law School are very proud of the leadership and judicial service shown by our distinguished graduate, Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan,” says Santa Clara Law Dean Donald J. Polden. "His longstanding professional service to the citizens of the Northern Mariana Islands and his many professional achievements provide an excellent example of a Santa Clara Law graduate—a lawyer of competence, conscience and compassion. We are pleased that he will join us in congratulating the graduating class of 2010 and their families and friends at this year's law commencement.”

Demapan will also receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from SCU, a poignant development given that he was unable to attend his own 1985 graduation ceremony due to pressing matters at home.

Among the other leadership and professional positions he has held:

* Member, CNMI Tax Task Force
* Member, CNMI Federal Bench Council
* Judge pro tem, Superior Court of Guam
* Justice pro tem, Supreme Court of Guam
* Member and President, Pacific Judicial Council
* Member, Asia Pacific Conference of Chief Justices
* Member, World Jurist Association
* Representative, National Judicial College Assembly
* Alumnus, National Judicial College (Reno, Nevada)
* Alumnus, National Institute of Trial Advocacy Chief Justice

Born and raised on Saipan, Chief Justice Demapan graduated as class valedictorian of Marianas High School in 1971. Originally interested in pursuing a medical career, Demapan earned his Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in chemistry from Seattle University in 1975, followed by a Masters in Business Administration with honors from Golden Gate University in San Francisco in 1983. He turned to law thereafter, earning his Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University in 1985, and in 2005, a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Guam.

After law school, Demapan returned to Saipan and began his legal career as general counsel for J.C. Tenorio Enterprises, Inc. After a few years in private practice, representing major business and local clients, Demapan became an associate judge for the Commonwealth Superior Court in 1992, and later an associate justice in the Commonwealth Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of CNMI covers the 14 islands in the territory with a combined population of about 80,000 people. The Court consists of a panel of three permanent members and hears dozens of cases a year, on a quarterly basis, in all areas of the law.

Demapan and his wife Frances Tenorio Demapan have five children.
Bryan Stevenson (2009)

Santa Clara University School of Law

Santa Clara University School of Law is proud to announce the 2009 Law Commencement Speaker, Bryan A. Stevenson. He will receive an honorary degree from Santa Clara University at its School of Law commencement on Saturday, May 23, 2009, at Santa Clara, California.

Mr. Stevenson is a nationally recognized civil rights authority and serves as the Executive Director of an anti-death penalty advocacy organization, the Equal Justice Initiative, which he founded in 1989. This private, nonprofit law organization litigates on behalf of condemned prisoners, juvenile offenders, and people wrongly convicted or denied effective representation. Stevenson has been representing capital defendants and death row prisoners since 1985, following his graduation from law school, first with the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, and then with the Equal Justice Initiative. In 1998, Mr. Stevenson joined the faculty of law at New York University teaching courses in criminal law and procedure and effective advocacy.

Mr. Stevenson earned his law degree and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University in 1985. He is a distinguished scholar of book chapters and law review articles on how America imposes the death penalty and procedural and substantive fairness in criminal trials and procedure.

Mr. Stevenson has frequently been recognized for his work protecting individuals human and civil rights, including the receipt of the inaugural Alexander Law Prize awarded by Santa Clara University School of Law in 2008, the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Award Prize, the 1989 Reebok Human Rights Award, the 1991 ACLU National Medal of Liberty, and, in 2000, the Olaf Palme Prize in Stockholm, Sweden for international human rights. In 2004, Mr. Stevenson received the Award for Courageous Advocacy from the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Lawyer for the People Award from the National Lawyers Guild.
Hon. Phyllis Hamilton (2008)

Santa Clara University School of Law

Judge Phyllis Hamilton will be the speaker at Santa Clara University School of Law’s Commencement. Law School Commencement is Saturday, May 17th at 9:30 a.m. in the Mission Gardens.

Judge Hamilton serves as United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, San Francisco, California. She was born in 1952 in Jacksonville, Illinois.

She served as Deputy Public Defender at the California State Public Defender’s Office in San Francisco (1976-1980), Administrative Judge for the United States Merit Systems Protection Board in San Francisco(1980-1985), Court Commissioner of the Oakland Municipal Court (1985-1991), and United States Magistrate Judge (1991-2000).

Hamilton, at the relatively young age of 33, was appointed as a court commissioner in Alameda County. Within six years, she was appointed as United States Magistrate Judge in San Francisco, handling preliminary criminal matters, discovery and civil trials with the consent of the parties. She held that post until she was appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton as United States District Judge for the Northern District of California. She has developed a well deserved reputation for her fair and efficient handling of myriad cases, both civil and criminal, coming to her court. Judge Hamilton received a School of Law Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 2004.

Judge Hamilton continues to participate in mentoring programs for high school and law students as well as training and continuing education programs for lawyers. She serves on various committees for both the Northern District and the Ninth Circuit. She is a member of the National Association of Women Judges and the Charles Houston Bar Association.

Judge Hamilton received her B.A., from Stanford University and her J.D. from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Richard C. Tallman (2007)

Santa Clara University School of Law

Judge Richard C. Tallman will be the speaker at Santa Clara University School of Law’s Commencement. Law School Commencement is Saturday, May 19th at 9:30 a.m. in the Mission Gardens.

Judge Tallman currently serves as an active United States Circuit Judge on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. His chambers are located in Seattle. He was nominated by President Clinton on October 21, 1999, unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on May 24, 2000, and appointed by the President on May 25, 2000. He entered on duty June 30, 2000.

Prior to his judicial service, Judge Tallman was a partner in the Seattle firm of Tallman & Severin LLP from 1999 to 2000. He was a member of Bogle & Gates, P.L.L.C. from 1990-99. There he chaired the White Collar Criminal Defense Practice Group. From 1983-89 he was an associate, and later a partner, in Schweppe, Krug, Tausend & Beezer, P.S. At all three firms he also handled complex commercial litigation involving business issues collateral to white collar matters such as civil RICO suits, False Claims Act (or qui tam) "whistleblower" lawsuits, shareholder derivative suits, securities fraud, antitrust, income tax, and commercial bribery cases.

From 1979-83 he served as a federal prosecutor, first with the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C., and then as an Assistant United States Attorney in Seattle. Early in his legal career, he served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Morell E. Sharp, Western District of Washington. He tried more than three dozen civil and criminal cases, primarily in federal court, in his twenty-two years of legal practice and argued fifteen cases on appeal before commencing his judicial service.

Judge Tallman received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1978 where he was Executive Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review, 1977-78. He recived his B.S.C., summa cum laude in Business Administration from the University of Santa Clara in 1975.