Dean Leslie Kendrick ’06 Welcomes the Class of 2027

LESLIE KENDRICK: So in a few moments, I have the privilege of introducing your keynote speaker. But first, it's my honor to speak to you myself. This is my first year as dean. And you're my first class to welcome as dean. And I've been thinking for months about what to say. How can I possibly cover everything?

That together you make up a class of outstanding achievement and intellect. That the faculty and staff that you're about to meet are among the most accomplished in the nation in their fields. How can I cover all the opportunities you'll have here, inside and outside the classroom, in doctrinal classes, skills classes, seminars here at the law school, and in your professors' homes, in student organizations, and in service projects in our community?

How can I cover all the opportunities you'll have when you graduate? And how many UVA Law alumni you'll meet who are leaders of this profession and who will welcome you and support you in your own careers? I can't cover it all. And honestly, there are some things you can't really be told, you have to experience them for yourself. I hope you'll experience for yourselves everything that I just mentioned.

But I today am going to focus on three things, three concrete, mundane things that I hope can help you over the next three years and particularly the next few months. I'm new as a dean but I've been a first year, first semester law school teacher for students like you for 16 years. And I'm drawing on that to tell you some things I hope you'll remember.

When you're encountered by your professor, and your fellow students, and you're feeling intimidated in the classroom, or you're facing your casebook outside the classroom, remember, a professor told you this so it must be true.

[LAUGHTER]

Because the exalted process that begins today, the process of you becoming a lawyer, does not happen magically, nor does it happen overnight. It happens gradually with effort, but also with lots of support, enjoyment, and satisfaction. Of all the things I could say to you about that, these are the three that stand out.

Number one, it's OK to sweat. Law school is hard work. Being a lawyer is hard work. It's extremely satisfying. But it's work. You know that already. You heard it as you've decided whether to go to law school or not. And it's always been that way. Judge Learned Hand, who was a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, probably the most famous American judge not to be on the Supreme Court. Most law students, when they come in, have never heard of him. I promise you, you'll hear about them in your tort class. So stay tuned for that.

But Learned Hand was an incredibly accomplished judge who went back to his alma mater in 1958 to speak to a group of law students and told them how hard a time he had had in law school. He recalled the times when the effort seemed enormous, the task seemed trivial, or the confusion seemed indecipherable. And he talked about the help he had received along the way.

It has always been thus and it always will, you know that this is going to be hard work. But at some point in the near future, you will experience that. You will feel it. When that time comes, remember, the fact that it's hard doesn't mean you're not good at it or that you're doing it wrong.

Think about the gym. At the gym, you sweat, you grunt, you do not look pretty. I don't look pretty. If you went to the gym and didn't break a sweat, you would be wasting your money. The same is true in law school. If you already knew how to be a lawyer, you wouldn't need to go to law school. You are gaining a whole new set of muscles up here.

You'll be asked to do things that are outside your comfort zone. Starting next Wednesday, you might be asked, for example, to state the holding of a case when you're still figuring out what a holding is. And you may feel you should already know how to do that, and do it perfectly, and appear as though you're doing it effortlessly. But none of that is the point. The point of having you jump right in to thinking like a lawyer is that you learn how to do it by doing it.

Just like at the gym, you build strength by repetition, by showing up every day, by not worrying that yesterday's cold call wasn't perfect, but instead thinking about what you gained from it. And that step by step, you are becoming a lawyer by practicing being one. That process, by definition, can't be perfect. By definition, it will be imperfect. And it will involve some sweat. But if it didn't, you wouldn't be learning, you wouldn't be growing. This wouldn't be worthwhile to do.

And by the way, if it seems like no one else is sweating, know that everybody in law school sweats. Maybe you've heard before the metaphor of the ducks in the pond. To an observer, all the ducks are gliding effortlessly along. And it's only when you get beneath the surface that you see they're all going like this.

[LAUGHTER]

Sometimes, you might feel like everyone else gets it and you're the only one who doesn't. That everyone else is gliding along and you're the only one furiously paddling. But believe me, in some way or another, at some time or another, everyone is going like this.

And you probably won't know that or see it fully in your classmates, which is one of the many reasons to go easy on each other and to go easy on yourself. Law is not a profession where you reach some magical point after which you never break another sweat.

In representing clients, you are almost, by definition, dealing with imperfect situations. You will give the best assistance you can. But it will rarely yield a perfect outcome. You may not get everything your client wants in the negotiation. You may go in front of a three-judge panel that doesn't even let you get a word out before they start telling you how wrong you are. You may lose a big case. When that happens, you do what lawyers do. You get up the next day and you keep lawyering. Because in the law, success is not perfection. Success is resilience. So remember, it's OK to sweat.

Number two, if you're not breathing, you're not swimming. So my husband's also an alum of the law school. He's also on the faculty here. We have three kids. And once when they were really little, we met some friends of ours and their kids at a pool out in town. And our friend said, look, little so-and-so, little Johnny learned how to swim this summer. And little Johnny was probably about four. And he jumped into the pool and demonstrated, And he was keeping himself up in the pool but he couldn't get up to the surface to breathe. He was just kind of suspended there in the water.

[LAUGHTER]

And after a few long seconds, his parents pulled him out. So don't worry about that. But I was thinking, well, he's not sinking but I don't that I would call that swimming.

[LAUGHTER]

Because if you're not breathing, you're not swimming. In all but the very shortest races, swimmers have to breathe, even when they're going full tilt, even when they're winning Olympic medals. Natalie and I spent some free time watching the Olympics this summer. I spent the rest of my free time being a swim mom. So I've got this from both directions.

[LAUGHTER]

They couldn't win medals without breathing. That is literally part of what fuels them. It's the same for you. There will be long days or nights. There'll be times to sprint. We know there's sweat. But if you're doing all the things but you're not sleeping, or eating, or exercising, or taking breaks, or investing in your relationships, then you're not really doing all the things because you can't do this over the long haul without breathing. If you're not breathing, you're not swimming. So get sleep, food, exercise, relaxation, cultivate your relationships, look for joy. And in this law school, there's a lot of it.

Listen to yourself and learn to recognize the signs for you personally the difference between regular sweating and when something hurts in a bad way, just like you do at the gym. And if you're experiencing stress or pain that's out of the ordinary or if you're having a hard time figuring out how to do your work while taking care of yourself, ask for help.

Talk to Dean Davies, talk to your peer advisors, talk to your loved ones, counselors, or friends. There are many people here to help. And again, perfection is not the aim. Resilience is. Sustainability is. So just remember, if you're not breathing, you're not swimming. And you don't have to remember to breathe all by yourself.

Number three, these are the people in your neighborhood. Show of hands, how many of you grew up watching Sesame Street? I did. Gordon from Sesame Street was the first celebrity I ever met.

[LAUGHTER]

It was in Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. I was starstruck. I was five, and I loved Gordon. Still do. But that's not my point. My point is, there's a song from Sesame Street that at least they used to sing in the good old days in the '70s and '70s, these are the people in your neighborhood. I won't try to sing it. You don't want that.

Gordon didn't sing it. I think it was kind of a Bob song. But the song was introducing different people who might play different roles in your community, people that kids might encounter. But for you right now, look around you, these are the people in your neighborhood. These are your peers, your friends, your work and study buddies, your professional colleagues for the rest of your lives.

And the faculty and staff those that are here today and those you're about to meet, they are also your neighbors. Many of them are graduates of this law school or other fancy places. They've devoted their professional lives to educating and supporting you in this journey. They're your neighbors.

Now at some point in your life, you probably had actual neighbors. And you might be careful with neighbors. You might observe the niceties. You might steer clear of hot button topics. You might let your relationship develop gradually and focus on your commonalities because these are folks you may have to live with for a long time. You're in it for the long haul. Now, imagine you had lots of neighbors. And you not only all lived in close proximity but you also all worked at the same place. Also, you socialize together constantly.

[LAUGHTER]

Also, you were in the same book club that met for hours every week where you discuss the most explosive topics of the day.

[LAUGHTER]

Also, even if you moved away, you would still see these same neighbors for the rest of your life in professional or personal circles. Who does that? Nobody does that. That is a lot to put on one set of relationships. I have the best neighbors anyone could dream of and that would be a big, big challenge for all of us.

But that is all of you. You are each other's residential, intellectual, social, extracurricular, and professional compatriots all at the same time. You are students encountering and trying out new things. You are budding lawyers learning the profession, developing your networks. You are young people, believe me, you are. You're having fun. You're making mistakes. You're figuring out what kind of job you want and what kind of life you want to live. You are doing all of that all the time, all together.

Never again in your life are you likely to do so many things with the same people, with the same level of openness. Later, for better or worse, you'll exercise more control over who you live with, and socialize with, and how much you want to keep your social and professional life separate. You'll have a workplace that's focused on specific shared projects rather than discussing as many challenging societal issues as possible. In other words, your life will have more boundaries. And as Robert Frost said, good fences make good neighbors.

Being part of a community this close and this layered is a challenge. Of course, it is. So go easy on yourselves. Go easy on each other. Be kind to each other. Give each other the benefit of the doubt. When you act, consider all of the relationships you have with your classmates, social, academic, professional, and remember that they're your neighbors for the rest of your life.

You all see things differently. You all have different backgrounds, different perspectives, different opinions. That's how it should be. I myself, as a sentient human being who has been on this Earth for 40 mumble years, I have opinions about just about everything, including silly things, including trivial things, like 1970s Sesame Street songs.

But I would guarantee each and every one of us, each and every one of you who disagrees with me on something really important, one core belief or commitment. That does not, in the least, affect my regard for each and every one of you. And I hope it won't affect yours for me.

In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way because as challenging as it can be to coexist as neighbors in this community, the alternative is to surround yourself only with people who think like you. And that might be easy. But if you're not sweating at least a little bit, you're probably not growing.

Our differences, our diversity is part of our strength. The fact that we are all different and part of the same community is what makes this law school special. Being connected in so many ways can be hard but it can also be incredible. It can mean relationships deeper than any others. It can mean finding your life partner or your best friend.

The constant refrain that I hear from my fellow alumni is how much they love their time at law school. Even though their post-law school lives have many more boundaries, they see the law school as having a magic that the later stages of life don't. This is the upside of the unique environment you find yourselves in. This is the alchemy that all of you together produce. So before I introduce Mr. Cavanaugh, I have a favor to ask. Please stand up for a moment, say Hello and shake hands with the neighbors around you.

[LAUGHTER]

Thank you. Thank you for doing that. I hope it's the first of many times that you extend a hand to someone else in this community, whether in the next three years or over the whole course of your lives. And speaking of that, I now have the pleasure of introducing a dear friend and colleague whom I have known since law school.

Chris Cavanaugh is a model of the UVA lawyer you're all poised to become. Someone whose life has been marked by service to others and to his country. Someone whose career here at the law school and far beyond has been filled with both hard work, sweat, and a full and wonderful life outside the law. If you're not breathing, you're not swimming.

Someone who has served and built lasting relationships with the people in the many communities and neighborhoods he's been a part of, including this one. Like you, Chris began his legal career here at the law school. As summa cum laude graduate of Georgia Tech, Chris received his Bachelor of Science in 2002 and came to the law school a year later as a member of the class of 2006.

At graduation, Chris received the law school's Trial Advocacy Award given to the one member of the class who best exemplifies excellence in trial advocacy skills. The whole of Chris's legal career has been in government service. After graduation, he served as law clerk for United States District Court Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia. He then joined the US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia as an assistant US attorney, where he served in the appellate, major crimes, homicide, fraud and public corruption, and national security sections.

In 2014, Chris joined the US Attorney's office for the Western District, which is here in Charlottesville. We're part of the Western District. There he worked on white collar crime, violent crime, and threats to national security. Among other matters, he led the investigations and prosecutions coming out of the Unite the Right riots that happened here in Charlottesville in August 2017.

Nominated by President Biden in August 2021 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate in October 2021, Mr. Cavanaugh now serves as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. As such, he is the chief federal law enforcement officer in this district, a district that's home to 52 counties, 17 independent cities, and about 3 million people, including now you.

He supervises the investigation and prosecution of all federal crimes and the litigation of all civil matters in which the United States has an interest. Chris also serves on the attorney general's advisory committee, which is a select group of US attorneys who advise the attorney general. Within that group, Chris serves as chair of the terrorism and national security subcommittee. Chris has also served for many years as a member of our adjunct faculty, teaching classes such as trial advocacy and federal criminal pretrial and trial practice.

Also, Chris is married to a fellow alum of the law school. Together, they are the parents of two wonderful daughters and one rescue dog named Doug. Doug is one of 4,000 beagles that were rescued when Chris's office executed a search warrant on a company that was engaged in many violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. I know a lot of people in Charlottesville who have beagles that were rescued with Doug.

[LAUGHTER]

I'm so thrilled that Chris is here to welcome you to UVA Law. And Chris, I'm so delighted to welcome you back to the law school.