U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman to Deliver Keynote Address at UB Law School Commencement

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Honorable Paul L. Friedman, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, will give the keynote address at the University at Buffalo Law School's 116th commencement at 1 p.m. May 21 in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Judge Friedman was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 1994 by President William J. Clinton. A 1968 cum laude graduate of the UB Law School and a graduate of Buffalo's Bennett High School, Judge Friedman was assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia from 1970-74, where he assisted the original U.S. Attorney team that investigated and prosecuted the Watergate break-in.

Among his many noteworthy cases as federal judge, Judge Friedman presided over the largest civil rights settlement in U.S. history, a class action lawsuit brought by African-American farmers alleging decades of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the continuing class action lawsuit against the District of Columbia for alleged failings in the provision of special-education services to disabled children.

Also at the ceremony, an award will be given in memory of Ryan J. Mullins, a member of the UB Law School's Class of 2005, who died in 2003. The new annual award will be presented to the graduating senior demonstrating the greatest proficiency in criminal law and criminal-trial practice skills, according to UB Law School Dean R. Nils Olsen.

University President John B. Simpson and Olsen will confer juris doctor degrees on 234 students. Nine students will receive post-graduate LL.M. degrees in criminal law; six students will receive post-graduate general LL.M. degrees.

An honored guest at the commencement will be Gordon R. Gross a member of the State University of New York Board of Trustees and a graduate of the UB Law School Class of 1955, which is celebrating its 50-year reunion.