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The Honorable Joel M. Flaum, Chief Judge of the U.S Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and a Northwestern Law alum, will address graduates, parents, and guests at the Northwestern University School of Law graduation convocation on Sunday, May 14.

The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Arie Crown Theater at McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. Northwestern University President, Henry S. Bienen, and Northwestern Law Dean David E. Van Zandt, also will deliver remarks. Carter Phillips (JD '77), partner at Sidley Austin LLP, will speak on behalf of alumni, and Cary Martin (JD '06) and Guilherme da Silva (LLM '06) will speak for the graduating class.

Borchien Lai (JD '06), president of the Student Bar Association, will present the student-voted awards for excellence in teaching. Award recipients include Professor Martin Redish (Robert Childres Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence); Professor Tobias Wolff (outstanding first-year course professors); Professor Len Rubinowitz (outstanding professor of a small class); Professor Sam Donaldson (outstanding LLM Tax professor); and Richard Levin, Levin Riback Law Group, PC (outstanding adjunct professor). The Wigmore Key also will be presented to the graduating student who has done the most to help preserve the traditions of the School of Law.

The class of 2006 includes 247 candidates for JD degrees and 22 candidatesfor joint JD-MBA degrees from the School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management. There also are 80 candidates for LLM degrees; 21 candidates for the LLM degree and certificate in business administration from Kellogg; and 37 candidates for LLM degrees in taxation. Two students will be candidates for the joint master of science in journalism and master of studies in law degrees from the School of Law and the Medill School of Journalism. In addition, 25 students graduated in March from the Executive LLM Program in Seoul, Korea.

Judge Flaum received his JD from Northwestern University School of Law in 1963 and a LLM in 1964. He has served on the federal bench for more than 30 years. He was first appointed as a judge for the Northern District of Illinois in 1974 after serving as a First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. In 1983 President Reagan appointed Judge Flaum to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, where he became Chief Judge in 2000.

Prior to his judicial service, Judge Flaum worked briefly at the Chicago law firm of Schimberg, Greenberger, Krauss and Jacobs before serving as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney in the felony trial and appellate divisions from 1965 to 1969, then as First Illinois Assistant Attorney General after serving as Counsel to the Illinois Crime Investigating Commission and Chief of the Criminal Justice Division.

Judge Flaum served as a lieutenant commander with the U.S. Naval Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps. Recognized by many for his integrity and civility both on and off the bench, Judge Flaum was recently named Chicago Lawyer's 2005 Person of the Year.

He has taught as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law, an instructor at DePaul University College of Law, and a Naval Reserve lecturer. He served as chairman of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Advisory Committee; chairman of the Northwestern University School of Law Visiting Committee; and counselor of the Chicago Inn of Court.

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