2021 Commencement Celebration Event Schedule
In addition to the law school diploma celebration, we are recognizing our 2021 graduates in many other ways. View the celebration event schedule below.
In-Person Photo Opportunity
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Return to 20th and H to celebrate commencement at the place that played a significant role in shaping your GW Law journey. Walk through the law school and have a professional photo taken in your regalia in the Tasher Great Room.
Be sure to tag GW Law and use the hashtag #GWLawGrad in all of your commencement celebration posts!
Pro Bono Recognition Celebration
Friday, May 14, 2021
2 pm
Invitation Only
This event will be held live via WebEx to honor students who have completed 50+ hours of pro bono service between their first and last day of class at GW Law.
Academic Awards Celebration
Saturday, May 15, 2021
2 pm
Invitation Only
Academic award winners will be announced virtually after the conclusion of the ceremony. Learn more about the awards and celebration.
Graduate Yearbook Launch
Saturday, May 15, 2021
5 pm
Browse the virtual graduate yearbook to see your peers' favorite memories, quotes, and more. If you wish to be included, please submit your information.
Virtual Comedy Night
Saturday, May 15, 2021
7:30 pm
Join your faculty members and peers for a virtual comedy night including two award-winning comedians and dinner from DoorDash.
University-Wide Commencement Celebration
Sunday, May 16, 2021
1 pm
The class of 2021, families, and guests are invited to watch GW's university-wide Commencement celebration.
Law School diploma Celebration
Sunday, May 16, 2021
2:30 pm
GW Law invites all law school graduates, family, and friends to tune in for our virtual diploma celebration. The event will be streamed on the commencement website. Graduates will receive individual recognition, hear from law school faculty, and groundbreaking human rights and anti-trust lawyer, Michael Hausfeld.
Congratulations Class of 2021
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg often told law students: “If you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill—very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you."
Justice Ginsburg’s words take on special meaning as we honor this year's graduates. You have overcome extraordinary adversity to graduate in the midst of a global pandemic. You have demonstrated strength and resilience, emerging stronger as a result. The struggles you have faced the past year mirror those of our country and nations around the globe. As you become lawyers, I encourage you to take those personal experiences and translate them into action to improve society, work for the greater good, and build a better world for us all. If you do, your rewards will be many.
I know that you and your families have looked forward to this moment for a long time. Commencement is the culmination of years of hard work, and I am inspired by your many great accomplishments. You are academically gifted, passionate, articulate, and service-oriented, and it was my incredible privilege to serve as your Dean. On behalf of our entire faculty and staff, congratulations on reaching this significant milestone. Your time at GW Law has prepared you to impact the world, and we all look forward to your many future achievements.
You now join this law school’s worldwide alumni community of 37,000 graduates, with whom you have shared a common journey. I encourage you to take advantage of this unique and powerful gift of belonging - make them a part of your destiny. Please keep in touch and come back and visit us often. And as you go forth, never forget the iconic words of Justice Ginsburg, which truly hold the key to a meaningful life. Congratulations and my very best wishes to each of you for good health, happiness, and success.
Sincerely,
Dayna Bowen Matthew
Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law
The Class of 2021 by the Numbers
558
JD Graduates
58
LLM Graduates
9
MSL Graduates
85,550
Pro Bono Hours Recorded
#GWLawGrad
Download and post GW Law social media stickers to celebrate a grad or yourself!
Celebrate Anywhere
Recognize graduates with GW-branded social media elements, yard signs, cake designs, gifs, and more!
A Gift for Our Grads
GW will be sending a memorable gift to our graduates to share with families and loved ones: the commencement box.
Meet Your Commencement Celebration Speaker
Michael Hausfeld, JD '69
The chairman and founder of Hausfeld LLP and a graduate of GW Law’s Class of 1969, Mr. Hausfeld is renowned for his historic achievements driving social reform on a national and global scale. He has achieved many trailblazing class-action victories in the fields of civil and human rights, discrimination, and antitrust law. Mr. Hausfeld was one of the first lawyers in the United States to declare that sexual harassment was a form of discrimination prohibited by Title VII, and he tried the first case establishing that principle. He also successfully represented Holocaust victims whose assets were wrongfully held by Swiss banks during World War II, victims of abuses under apartheid law in South Africa, and Native Alaskans facing environmental threats after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
