Skip to main content, skip to search, or skip to the top of the page.

MSU College of Law

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 4, 2011

CONTACT: ERIKA MARZORATI
517/432-6848, marzorat@law.msu.edu

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson to Address MSU Law Students

East Lansing, MI — Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson will present the Michigan State University College of Law commencement address on Friday, May 13. Chief Justice Jefferson will speak to Class of 2011 graduates and their guests at the Michigan State University Auditorium at 11 a.m.

Wallace B. Jefferson was appointed as the 26th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas on September 14, 2004. He joined the Court from private practice in San Antonio, Texas. As a partner in the appellate-specialty firms Crofts, Callaway & Jefferson, he successfully argued two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Jefferson was installed in July 2010 as president of the Conference of Chief Justices, an association of chief justices from the 50 states and the U.S. territories. As president, he also chairs the National Center for State Courts Board of Directors, a policy and resource organization in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Chief Justice Jefferson is a member of the American Law Institute and is certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. As the namesake for the Wallace B. Jefferson Middle School in San Antonio, Jefferson received the "Pillars of the Foundation" award by the Northside Independent School District. Chief Justice Jefferson is a graduate of James Madison College at Michigan State University and the University of Texas School of Law.

"Our graduates are very privileged to have a speaker as accomplished and inspiring as Chief Justice Jefferson to launch them on their professional journeys as lawyers," says Dean Joan W. Howarth.

President Clifton E. Haley, '61, and Dean Howarth will preside over the Law College's 120th commencement exercises, conferring law degrees on 265 spring graduates. Justice Alton Davis, '74, will receive the Honorable George N. Bashara, Jr., Distinguished Alumni Award at the ceremony. The award will be presented by Patrick Winters, '03, president of the MSU College of Law Alumni Association.

Michigan State University College of Law is a leading institution of legal education with a long history of creating practice-ready attorneys. As one of only a few private law schools affiliated with a major research university, MSU Law offers comprehensive interdisciplinary opportunities combined with a personalized legal education. After 100 years as a private and independent Law College, the affiliation with MSU has put the Law College on an upward trajectory of national and international reputation and reach. MSU Law professors are gifted teachers and distinguished scholars, its curriculum is rigorous and challenging, and its facility is equipped with the latest resources—all affirming MSU Law's commitment to educating 21st-century lawyers.

###

320 Law College Building
East Lansing, MI 48824
www.law.msu.edu

Skip to main content, skip to search, or skip to the top of the page.