Congratulations to the S.J. Quinney College of Law class of 2025, who graduated Friday, May 9, at Kingsbury Hall.
The class of 2025 includes 95 students earning a Juris Doctorate (JD) and 42 students earning a master of legal studies (MLS) degree. JD students logged more than 1,450 hours total of pro bono service and 10,950 hours in more than 60 field placements. Here are a few more quick facts about this year’s JD graduates:
- 53% identify as female
- 15% are first-generation college students
- 14% identify as LGBTQ+
Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner reminded students that Associate Dean Reyes Aguilar (who retired in 2024) assigned the class the word magnitude, which he thought encapsulated the class, back in August 2022. and recalled the College of Law’s namesake, S.J. (Joe) Quinney, an important developer of Utah’s legal and business communities.
“Magnitude is defined as the ‘great size or extent of something.’ He could not have picked a better word, as your impact on the College of Law and soon the legal community is of a tremendous magnitude,” Kronk Warner said.
Here are a few ways the class of 2025 extended its magnitude:
- Avery Emery volunteered nearly 50 times with the Pro Bono Initiative, winning the Outstanding Pro Bono Student Volunteer award, and co-authored three articles with Associate Professor Daniel Aaron
- Bree Miller logged the most (145) hours of pro bono service through the Pro Bono Initiative and Hoole & King
- Lauren Harvey received the Utah State Bar’s Pro Bono Publico award for outstanding pro bono service
- Mark Ward received the Outstanding MLS Colleague award, Kiwi Hogan received the Outstanding 3L Colleague award, and Avery Emery received the Outstanding Community Advocate Award at the Utah Law Alumni Awards ceremony
- Seth LaPray, Tess Peterson, Eben Kohtz, Landon Evans, Kiersten Vandervelde, Emily Strong, Haley Kendall, Eliza Olsen Nielsen, and Christina Rodriguez led the Student Bar Association
- Parker Airmet established the Students Helping Students club, which focuses on improving students’ mental health. The University of Utah selected SHS as the “New Student Organization of the Year” and “Social Program of the Year” in 2024.
- Hailey Winn, Bree Miller, and Sophie Lasswell founded Yoga for Stressed-out Law Students, or YOSOLS, to create wellness and community through weekly yoga sessions
- Austin Edens, Henry Flitton, Becca Huber, Zoe Kozlowski, and Jade Trinh represented the College of Law at the regional Jessup International Moot Court competition in Portland, Oregon
- Andrew Fender and Maggie Hawley competed in the National Moot Court competition in Seattle, Washington
- Adam Snow and his partner advanced to the Elite 8 out of 66 teams at the National Native American Law Students Association moot court competition in Las Vegas and also won the third place overall best brief award
- Maria Catalano, Spencer Dillon and Max Von Schmeling competed in the Pace Environmental Law Moot Court competition in White Plains, New York, advancing to the quarter final round
- Courtney Gamangasso, Bree Miller, Hayley Robertson, and Hailey Winn competed in the TYLA National Trial Competition in Portland, Oregon
- Josh Allen, Paul Helms, Jacob Marx, and Mitch Smith all competed at the UCLA Transactional Law Competition in Los Angeles
- Austin Edens represented the University of Utah at the United Nations’ negotiation of a global treaty in Geneva, Switzerland, to regulate lethal autonomous weapon systems
- Becca Huber was selected for the Fellowship at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, which draws on the conduct of legal professionals during World War II to inform modern ethical frameworks
- Rachel Prickett Passey served as student member of the board of the Utah System of Higher Education, representing students at universities throughout the state
- Hailey Winn co-authored the article “Avoiding Imputed Disqualification with Prospective Clients” in the Utah Bar Journal with Keith Call
- Josh Allen was a contributing author for a report on nursing home debt collection practices for the National Consumer Law Center with Utah Law alum Anna Anderson
- Skye McBride played a key role in launching the Pro Bono Initiative’s prison legal site at the Utah State Correctional Facility, where she also served as one of two student directors
- Sam Snell was the first Utah Law student to attend the college’s Spring to D.C. program, in which he lived, worked and took classes in Washington, D.C., for a semester
Melissa Holyoak, who graduated from the College of Law in 2003 and serves as Federal Trade Commission commissioner, delivered this year’s convocation address. She offered graduates four life rules to keep in mind as they begin their legal careers: Try new things, try your hardest, ask for help, and do not disrupt (this one was a rule to ignore).
“Fall in love with the law. When you fall in love with the law and give it everything, you will find that your perspective totally changes,” Holyoak said. “I will end with one quote from the greatest legal drama of my generation (‘Legally Blonde’). As Elle Woods said, ‘You must always have faith in people and—most importantly—you must always have faith in yourself.”
Check out more photos from convocation in our Flickr album.