More than 1,750 Georgetown Law alumni and their guests reconvened for their class reunions last weekend, with 34 separate events taking place across the Capitol Hill campus and beyond over the course of three days.

Members of classes who graduated in years ending in 3 and 8 came together, not only to catch up with classmates, but also to network with current students and alumni from other classes. And hundreds of attendees welcomed the chance to sit in their old classrooms and hear the latest on campus life and the legal profession.

Alumni got expert analysis of the new Supreme Court term from Professors Marty Lederman and Irv Gornstein.

Dean William M. Treanor, in his inaugural “State of the Law Center Town Hall,” spoke proudly of the strength of this year’s entering class of students and shared some architectural renderings of the recently announced new academic building. Its flexible classrooms, clinical program suite and inviting public spaces, he said, will better serve the Law Center’s increasingly collaborative approach to legal education.

“Our students not only learn the law – they learn to apply it justly,” he said.

Other popular panels included a presentation by the Supreme Court Institute on some of the high-profile cases being argued this term, and a special conversation between three members of the Class of 2008, all of whom are currently serving as United States Attorneys. In introducing the speakers, the moderator, Professor Julie Rose O’Sullivan, mentioned a “fun fact”: some ten percent (nine of 93) current U.S. Attorneys are Georgetown Law alumni.

Professor Julie Rose O’Sullivan, left, moderated a panel of alumni who all are currently serving as U.S. Attorneys: (L-R) Zachary Myers, L’08, of the Southern District of Indiana; Mac Schneider, L’08, of the District of North Dakota; Vanessa Waldref, L’08, of the Eastern District of Washington

Vanessa Waldref, L’08, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, Mac Schneider, L’08, U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota and Zachary Myers, L’08, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana talked about the paths that had led them each back to their home states for roles in public service, and compared notes on the local issues and interests important in their respective districts, from drug trafficking to gun violence to relations with Native American communities.

RAISE A GLASS

Dean William M. Treanor presented celebratory remarks at the 2023 Georgetown Law Reunion Gala

On Saturday night, one of Washington’s most impressive buildings, the National Building Museum, hosted the reunion gala, where Dean Treanor presented this year’s Alumni Awards to four graduates.

Winners of the Georgetown Law 2023 Alumni Awards (L-R) Paul Diaz, L’88, Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby, L’93, Michelle Bernard, L’88 and Lloyd De Vos, L’73

The Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Public Service Award went to The Honorable Lydia Kay Griggsby, L’93, a United States District Judge in the District of Maryland. Before being nominated to her current position by President Joe Biden and sworn in in 2021, she was a Judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a trial attorney with the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Three alumni received Paul R. Dean Awards:

• Michelle Bernard, L’88, is President and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy and principal of The Bernard Law Firm L.L.C. In addition to her work as a lawyer, public speaker and media commentator, she remains an engaged supporter of the Georgetown community, including serving on Georgetown’s Board of Governors and Black Alumni Council and participating in the Georgetown’s Women’s Forum since its founding.
• Lloyd De Vos, L’73, founded his law firm, De Vos & Co., in 1980, focusing on private international law and taxation. He has served on both the Georgetown Board of Regents and the Georgetown Law Board of Visitors, where he remains an emeritus member. He has also taught a course on Tax Treaties in the Law Center’s LL.M. program in taxation for the past 15 years as an adjunct professor.
• Paul Diaz, L’88, is President and CEO of Myriad Genetics, a leading genetic testing and precision medicine company. He has held several senior roles in the healthcare sector, including as a partner at the healthcare-focused private equity firm Cressey and Company and as the President and CEO of Kindred Healthcare, Inc. He is a former member of the Georgetown Law Board of Visitors.

The Class of 2013 celebrated winning the award for highest attendance at the 2023 reunion.

Before inviting the guests to finish off the night with dessert and dancing in the next room, Fitz O. Lufkin IV, C’11, MA’12, president-elect of the Georgetown University Alumni Association, announced the winners of the 2023 Reunion Cups:

• 1973 for Legacy (highest percentage of classmates who have included a gift to Georgetown Law in their estate plans) and Participation (highest percentage of classmates who made a gift of any size, with 31.21%)
• 1978 for Loyalty (highest percentage of Loyalty Society members) and Generosity (most funds raised during the reunion year, with $1,099,967)
• 2013 for Attendance

The 2024 Reunion Weekend, celebrating graduates whose class years end in 4 and 9, will take place Octpber 25-27.