OCU LAW - May 2006 Commencement Text

May 2006 Commencement Text: What will your place in history be?

The May 2006 OCU LAW Hooding and Commencement Ceremony took place at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City with OCU President Tom J. McDaniel awarding the juris doctor degree to 173 candidates. OCU LAW Dean Lawrence K. Hellman and Justin Meek '06, president of the OCU LAW Student Bar Association, provided remarks. Emmanuel E. Edem '82, a partner in the Oklahoma City law firm of Norman & Edem, delivered the commencement address. The following is his address:

I begin this speech this afternoon with an acknowledgment. I do not remember who made my commencement address. Even more disturbing, I have no recall of what the person actually said.

So, when you invited me back here this year, I thought, ' who wants to make another boring speech full of unsolicited advice, which seems to be the hallmark of commencement speeches?'

And, so, today, I thought it appropriate and necessary to have a patriotic conversation that, hopefully, will last with you for some time.

I am here today not just to be seen, but to be heard. I will try to remind you not just of who you are, but who you can actually become.

By every measure, you have reached the very pinnacle of graduate education. Your hopes and dreams, your hard work, and the sacrifices of your loved ones, have all converged at this mountain top of achievement and celebration.

As a fellow alum, I congratulate you, and welcome you with open arms into what is obviously a very exclusive club.

As I look into your faces - so full of anticipation and excitement, I am reminded of my own rite of passage 24 years ago, and the beginning of my legal education 27 years ago. I was 20 pounds lighter with lots of hair.

As my law school classmate and now Oklahoma County Special Judge Gregory Ryan used to say, we all thought we were hot. I can tell you right now that I was completely overwhelmed.

An immigrant child had been given a second chance under new circumstances. The promise of America was as ripe for me as it has been for generations of those who have sought the boundless treasures of freedom.

This law school - this state - and this nation took a chance on me. Literarily and figuratively, I was handed a red, white and blue flag of justice. The question for me then, as it is for you now, was where I was going to plant that flag.

How does a young lawyer, especially one as challenged as I was, find his or her voice? What do you do with your newly conferred power, especially the almighty power to issue process? More fundamentally, at the end of the day, what mark will you make in the community, and what will your place in history be?

There are those who would encourage you to pursue the comfortable and cautious life that is so well laid out before those of us who have the privilege of education.

You could in fact acquire a few wealthy clients, not work that hard, and yet be financially successful. Life itself could be well planned to revolve quickly around those things that matter to you personally - your office, your fees, your billable hours, your house, your country club and your friends. And, if you are a new golfer like me, then your lousy golf game.

Living life in lockstep with others who agree with you is definitely easier. But, how limiting! Your entire world would stop at the county line. Your universe would end on your side of the horizon. Your contributions to humanity would be influenced only by those who share your town, your views, your church, your politics and perhaps, your ethnic heritage.

Members of the class of 2006, I am here to tell you today that there is another path. Oklahoma City University nurtures the idea of creating servant leaders - men and women who are ready to give of themselves to service in the cause of others - and what a better way to do this than as members of the legal profession.

As you leave here with a law degree in 2006, what will your place in history be?

In other societies, centuries ago, that question would yield forgone conclusions.

In prehistoric times, it would be survival of the fittest, where the law flows from the point of the spear, and physical weakness alone would doom anyone to death at the hands of those who are physically superior.

In ancient England, social power and influence was conferred only by birth. A strict class system insured that only the privileged got to be lawyers, and the rest of the population need not apply.

But, lo and behold, you are Americans in the 21st century. By birth and by God given right, you are the lucky inheritors of an idea - that you are free to shape your own course - that neither fate nor fortune, but the work of your own hands will decide your future.

And so, the question of your place in history is not determined by the collective will of others. Rather, the questions will be answered through the deliberate choices of your own self.

George Elliot wrote that it is never too late to be what you might have been. And Winston Churchill said that you make a living by what you earn, but you make a life by what you give.

There is a whole country and world waiting out there for your talent and generosity. America at 230 years is still a relatively young country. In its evolution, it is by no means perfect although its founders sought "a more perfect union." A powerful and generous nation adopts the bald eagle as a symbol of strength, but boldly proclaims " E Pluribus Unum" - out of the many, one.

I could never let you forget what the last three to four years of your legal education have meant. I could never let you forget the full measure of the tradition you now inherit.

The historic role of lawyers as leaders in shaping the life of this country is well documented. From the very first President through the 16th, all except three were lawyers. While lawyers for several decades beginning from Jefferson were crafting the organic law of this nation, the robber barons were busy amassing wealth that would last for generations.

At a time when it was not so fashionable, Alexander Hamilton, another lawyer, spent his career steadfastly making the case for the rights of a free press in America.

Back here at home, our current governor - a Democrat - is a lawyer. Our immediate past governor - a Republican - also is a lawyer. From Abraham Lincoln through Thurgood Marshal, we know that if you are a lawyer, you carry with you on your shoulders the basic and fundamental rights of your fellow citizens.

Thread by thread, fiber by fiber, those gone before you have helped to weave that seamless fabric we call the rule of law - that sometimes maligned, but, yet, unapologetic set of principals upon which our very civilization rests and against which even the most powerful of us cannot prevail.

In a Methodist university, I am sure you will allow me to make a quick reference to the theme of a famous song that we often sing during the holidays. It is called 'The Little Drummer Boy.' The theme of that song says to the listener 'do you see what I see' and 'do you hear what I hear.' Ladies and gentlemen, in the midst of the busy day-to-day life of America I invite you to step into my shoes and see what I see - a rising star in our legal firmament. It is as old as America itself, and it is rooted in the idea that all people are equal before the law and within the councils of government.

Even as I speak to you today, as yet another class says good bye to your academic environment, this university, this nation, this state, and this city still has unfinished business. The demand for justice still far outpaces the supply. There are more and diverse people, more and broader expectations, more contrast of poverty and surplus.

Never forget that children are essentially voiceless and they need your advocacy. Never forget that women rarely get a fair deal. Remember the rights of those wrongfully accused. Remember those who are powerless, minorities and immigrants. Never ever let yourself forget the rights of the often forgotten and downtrodden white male, especially those without economic or political power.

As long as the perpetual journey of this nation continues, there will be individual rights to be asserted and defended. Corporations will continue to need guidance as they look to you for help in navigating all kinds of regulations. And contrary to what you might think now, all the law is not yet settled, and will probably never be.

Surely, there are landmark cases that will stand the test of time. But, as I have already experienced, much of the statutory, evidentiary, and substantive law you have read in your casebooks will be obsolete in the not too distant future.

Yes, your chance has arrived. There will be new cases to resolve, and fresh opportunities to have your names in the cases future law students will study.

My friends, like America, the law itself is like a sea - intractable, horizonless, in eternal movement. Will you be a bystander and let it rush past you, or will you pull up your sleeves and help shape its course?

What will your role in history be? Will you be one of those who graduated from here - soon to be forgotten - or will you be one of those making a difference through service to others?

My central message to you today is clear. Beyond these walls are men and women window-shopping for justice. I challenge you to help open the front doors and let them in.

Very soon, people will tell you their most intimate secrets, and will follow up with those magic words, 'Will you be my lawyer?' When that day comes as it will, will you hide under the safety of whatever is comfortable, or will you step up to the plate with your minds open?

Let your next steps from here be about service to the community. Use your talents to lift up and improve the lives of others. You must do this even when the subject is controversial - even when you have to disagree with others. You should be limited only by your own moral compass and the Rules of Professional Responsibility.

Jurisprudence teaches us that the lamps of enlightenment are lit by the sparks of controversy. Aristotle and Plato germinated the seeds of western intellectual thought by engaging in Dialogues - reading widely, and absorbing ideas even from those who disagreed with them.

Make no mistake about it. The path I have suggested is full of serious challenges, opposing opinions, and personal financial sacrifices. But, I ask you to listen to the irresistible call for service.

Over the jingle and noise of the easier selfish life, that call is rooted in the internal symphony of your own conscience. May it become a rising crescendo - inviting you to serve this university, this nation and its citizens, and humanity at large.

I challenge you to follow that inner voice. It will lead you to where many of us have been led - to give of yourselves. To be thankful for this opportunity. To give something back. To leave a trail.

You now leave here with that same flag of justice I left with. It maybe 20 months or 20 years from now that you will choose to plant that flag in service to others. When you do that, you will be embracing the original tradition of our profession. You will bring honor to the legal profession, and you will be ready to take your well deserved place in the history of our community.

In your pursuit of these principles, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you Godspeed. Thank you.

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