Former United States Attorney General Edwin Meese III will be giving the keynote speech at the University of Colorado聮s School of Law commencement ceremony this year. Meese was a key political figure in the Reagan White House during the 1980s.
Also featured at the May 12 ceremony will be CU School of Law alumnus Carl "Spike" Eklund. Eklund, an accomplished bankruptcy and corporate restructuring lawyer, will receive the prestigious Honorary Order of the Coif. The commencement begins at 2 p.m. in Macky Auditorium.
"I appreciate the opportunity to encourage new lawyers and welcome them into the legal profession," said Meese from his home in McLean, Va. "I am looking forward to my stay at the University of Colorado."
"It is a definite honor to all the graduates to have a speaker as notable as Mr. Meese," said Chad Hamilton, the Law School聮s third year Class Vice-President.
Meese graduated from Yale University in 1953 and holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He was a law professor at the University of San Diego from 1997 to 1981 and is currently chairman of the governing board of George Mason University in northern Virginia.
During the November 1980 presidential election, Meese served as Chief of Staff and Senior Issues Adviser for the Reagan-Bush Committee and headed the President-elect聮s transition effort following the election.
From 1981 to 1985, he served as Counselor to the President, the senior position on the White House Staff. During this time, he was the President聮s chief policy adviser and was a member of the President聮s Cabinet and the National Security Counsel.
In 1985 President Reagan appointed Meese the 75th Attorney General of the United States. He directed the Department of Justice and led international efforts to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime as the nation聮s chief law enforcement officer.
Meese is author of "With Reagan: The Inside Story" and co-editor of "Making America Safer."
He is a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and serves on the boards of the Landmark Legal Foundation, the Capital Research Center and the National College of District Attorneys. He lives in McLean, Va., with his family.
Carl Eklund, the Honorary Order of the Coif recipient, graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967 and went on to get his law degree from CU in 1971. His principal expertise is in large and complex bankruptcy cases as debtors聮 and creditors聮 committee counsel.
He has represented a number of large companies including the Creditors聮 Committee in the Chapter 11 case of Colorado Ute Electric Association, a generating and transmission system supplying bulk power to more than 70 percent of the state of Colorado.
Eklund, a Denver resident, is the author of numerous books on bankruptcy law and he also serves as a member of the Denver based American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association and on the advisory board for the "American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review." Eklund is listed in "The Best Lawyers of America."
This year聮s School of Law commencement also will mark an important change as law professor and former CU-Boulder Chancellor Jim Corbridge retires. As chancellor from 1986 to 1994, he worked with the President and Board of Regents in the leadership and administration of CU-Boulder and supervised the management of nine schools and colleges and nine major research institutes and laboratories.
Since 1965 Corbridge has been a member of CU-Boulder聮s faculty in various roles including Associate Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Vice President for Student and Minority Affairs, Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Services, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculties. He received the University of Colorado Teaching Excellence Award in 1972.
Corbridge has authored a number of books on natural resource management and is recognized for his expertise on water and natural hazard issues. Corbridge has also served as a member of several organizations, including the Rocky Mountain Mineral law Foundation and the International Water Resources Association.
For more information call the CU-Boulder School of Law offices at (303) 492-8047.