The school's second commencement ceremony on May 26 at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts gave the Class of 2010 a moment to savor a three-year quest that had been completed and opportunities that lie ahead.

Dean Roger Dennis commended the graduates for providing more than 13,000 hours of pro bono service and applauded their work in co-op placements and clinics.

"From our colleagues in the practicing bar, I constantly receive comments about your competence and maturity as budding professionals," Dennis said. "You have already served many clients exceedingly well."

American Bar Association President Carolyn B. Lamm, who received an honorary degree, urged the graduates to remember the power that they have as professionals.

"You realized a dream, a dream I shared," Lamm said. "We have a profound effect on people's lives by protecting their legal rights...We must work to ensure that all have access to justice."

Jacqueline Lowthert, a member of the school's inaugural Class of 2009, welcomed the graduates to "a very exclusive club."

Alluding to the struggling job market, Lowthert sounded a note of optimism, recounting how she'd become an associate at Halpern and Levy after starting as a legal assistant with a temporary agency.

"Persevere," she said. "You have the full encouragement and support of your fellow alumni."

Class speaker Patrick Doran commended the faculty that "showed us the bright lines and the blurry ones." While professors had provided a legal compass, Doran said the graduates must strive to keep a moral compass before them, as they had for the last three years.

"We are in the community, throughout Philadelphia, providing direct client services," Doran said. "Through all our work, we've built a brand, crafted and refined it, and have shaped our school in an indelible way."