Participate in Society and Right Wrongs, Phyllis Katz Tells University of Richmond Law Graduates
May 9, 2005
Phyllis Katz, a principal in the Richmond office of Sands Anderson Marks & Miller, told University of Richmond Law School graduates today that they should treat all people with dignity and respect, participate in society beyond just voting and meet the challenge to right some wrongs.
“I hope that you will never become complacent no matter how pressing the demands of your profession may be. There are needs in our community and only with your participation will our community grow,” she said at the ceremony in the Robins Center.
Katz said she has a photo that has been her compass for many years. Taken in South Africa, it shows five women walking to vote for Nelson Mandela after the end of apartheid.
The photo represents several things to Katz: the strength of community, the importance of participation in society and the role of law.
“You will have an important part in making sure that our legal system makes us a nation that continues to stand for individual rights,” she said. “As lawyers we have the power to change wrongs.”
Katz previously served as director of the Department of Employee Relations Counselors for the state of Virginia and founded LINC (Legal Information Network for Cancer), a nonprofit organization that helps cancer patients with the business and legal aspects of their illness.
Student speaker Amandeep Sidhu of Chesterfield, Va., reflected on the class of 2005’s last three years. He commended the class for its work in the community on such projects as tutoring elementary students, working with Habitat for Humanity and preparing the groundwork for an innocence project at the school that would work to free people wrongfully convicted of a crime.
“Our goal should be to restore the confidence of citizens in lawyers,” he said.
Corinna Lain, the faculty speaker, said the class of 2005 was a special class. “You mattered to us. You have inspired us,” she said. “Don’t forget to love the law, and don’t forget your zeal for justice and the truth,” she advised graduates.
Sean Kumar of Alexandria was recognized with the Charles T. Norman Award for best all-around graduating student, and Ryan Frei of Vienna, Va., received the T.C. Williams Law School Scholarship Award, presented to the student who has made the most significant contribution to overall legal scholarship.