Albany Law School Celebrates 175th Commencement

A group of more than 200 graduates, their families, and the Albany Law School community gathered at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on May 15, 2026, to celebrate their accomplishments at Albany Law School’s 175th Commencement. 

The 229 graduates—193 Juris Doctor, 28 Master of Science, and 8 LL.M.—crossed the stage and began the next step in their careers. Albany Law School’s 19th President and Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne offered the graduates the following advice.

 “Over your legal education, each of you has begun to carve out your path to leadership. You have led in classrooms, in moot court, in student organizations, in your jobs, in your communities, and in your support of one another. The world you are entering needs you to embrace your role as leaders because you have chosen a profession that demands courage — the courage to stand in the gap between what the law says or doesn’t say and what justice requires, and to never stop working to close that gap. Because when the law is wielded not as a weapon of the powerful, but as a shield for the powerless and a tool to give voice to the voiceless — that is where justice will be found,” she said. 

Commencement keynote speaker, The Honorable Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge of the State of New York and the New York Court of Appeals, addressed the crowd with a forward-looking address with plenty of homage and honor to Albany Law School’s rich 175-year history. 

Judge Wilson wove together pieces of Albany Law School’s history with the impact on New York’s court system and the practice of law overall. He detailed the ways the world has changed, how the law school has changed with it, and how the law school’s founders—Amos Dean, Ira Harris, and Amasa Parker—led the way. 

 “When Albany Law School’s first class of students was graduated, preserving the Union took relentless work and boundless moral courage. Maintaining our democracy today—amid deep political division, global instability, and disruptive economic and technological change—demands nothing less. I have no doubt that each of you will do your part in carrying out Ira Harris’s charge—that you will not wait for justice to arrive on its own—because Albany Law School has given you a top-notch legal education and instilled in you the values of public service and communal obligation to make our legal system and society more just,” he continued.

Judge Wilson also offered graduates advice and guidance as they begin their legal careers. 

“The focus on and training in state law that you have received at Albany Law School is both unusual among elite law schools and vitally important. Although federal courts receive a great deal of public attention and space in law school curricula, it is in state court where 98% of all lawsuits in this country are filed— and those disputes are about the most important things in peoples’ lives: such as custody of one’s children, housing, and benefits,” Judge Wilson said. “Moreover, as the federal judiciary continues its decades-long retrenchment of federal rights and remedies, and as modern societal and technological advances create circumstances not contemplated when the U.S. and State Constitutions were drafted, ever-increasing space exists for independent state constitutional interpretation and amendment. It is now your opportunity and obligation to use your training to imagine and pursue avenues through which our State Constitution might afford different and greater protections than what federal courts are recognizing under the U.S. Constitution, suited to the needs of tomorrow’s New Yorkers.”

 Following the conferring of degrees, Class President Christian Osborne ’26 addressed the class.

“First, on behalf of the graduating class, I want to extend our deepest gratitude to Dean Carlarne, as well as to our professors, and every member of the faculty and staff who helped guide us to this moment. Law school is - surprisingly - not that easy. There were long nights, tough readings, absolutely debilitating cold calls, and moments where many of us questioned whether we were capable of even making it to the end. But because of your guidance, patience, and dedication, we’re here, and we’re ready to take on what’s next,” he said.

“To our families, friends, and loved ones — thank you for believing in us, supporting us, encouraging us, and sometimes just giving us the basic reminder to eat something or get some sleep. This achievement belongs to you as much as it belongs to us. Over the last few years, we have watched each other grow tremendously. Many of us came into this new chapter of our lives coming from completely different backgrounds, different experiences, and most of us not knowing a single person. And along the way, through the shared stress and panic, and with some mutual encouragement, we became a community. Many of us have become very good friends with people who we would have never met had we decided not to come to Albany Law School. I’m grateful for that. I am grateful to have arrived at this incredible milestone with all of you, and what’s so exciting is that this is only a beginning. Looking around this room, I see future prosecutors, defense attorneys, advocates, judges, business leaders, policymakers, and people who will genuinely make a difference in the lives of others. I do genuinely believe this graduating class is going to accomplish great things, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store,”  he said. 

Osborne also presented the 2026 Friend of the Class Award to Sherri Meyer.

Benjamin Wolf ’04, President of the Albany Law School National Alumni Association, then addressed the graduates—and Albany Law’s newest alumni. 

“As graduates, you also now carry a special honor and a responsibility—to uphold the legacy of excellence and service that defines this institution. In a world that is constantly evolving, our commitment to this alma mater remains a powerful and lasting connection. Remember, as members of the National Alumni Association, you have a voice in shaping the future of our school. Your ideas, involvement, and contributions are essential as we work together to advance the mission of Albany Law School and its community. As you step into the world as lawyers, government leaders, executives, and influencers, I encourage you to pay it forward. Stay connected to your alma mater; share your successes, and offer mentorship and opportunities to the next generation,” he said. “As you begin your careers, remember that Albany Law School is more than just a degree—it’s a network, a legacy, and a tradition. Today, you join nearly 11,000 alumni who have made their mark in a wide range of fields. But more importantly, you become stewards of our shared values and traditions.”

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