Mary Elizabeth Magill, Dean of Stanford Law School
Mary Elizabeth Magill, Dean of Stanford Law School (Photo by Lenny Gonzalez)

Line up 100 Stanford Law School graduates and ask them about their careers. You will find almost as many career paths as graduates. Our grads are practicing law in firms, in government agencies, in nonprofits, and in corporations—in this country and around the globe. But our graduates are also appointed or elected to office as judges, ambassadors, and legislators; they are starting or running companies, big and small; they are journalists, professors, investors, and philanthropists. And some could mark (almost) “all of the above” on a multiple-choice questionnaire about their careers. This should come as no surprise. Our graduates have learned about the law and the legal system, and they have learned to be powerful legal advocates. But they have also learned how to think rigorously and systematically; to untangle and analyze the different strands of complex issues; to solve problems; and to lead.

In this issue of the magazine, we feature a group of graduates who have chosen to take all that they have—their talent, their learning, their skills, and their passion—and devote themselves to advancing the public good as they see it. These graduates have founded, or hold leadership positions in, nonprofit organizations. Their work could not be more varied—delivering medical care to impoverished Nigerians; increasing the racial diversity of computer programmers; watching over thousands of Christian missionaries working in some of the world’s most dangerous places; helping lead an innovative charter school organization; advancing the rights of women; and defending the legal rights of students.

While their work is varied, they have much in common. First, they all believe their legal education helped them to get where they are and to do what they do. And, second, they are inspired by a desire to give back, to use their gifts to make the world a better place by their lights. This commitment runs deep in our students and in our graduates. We work hard as an institution to cultivate this ethos in our students and graduates, to help it grow as they make their way through Stanford Law. We could not be more proud that so many of our graduates are living that principle in the work they do every day.

As usual, turning the pages of Stanford Lawyer will give you a snapshot of the goings-on at SLS and in the alumni community. Professor Deborah Rhode discusses civil liberties issues with Anthony Romero, the executive director of the ACLU. You can read about Gabby Franco Parcella’s rise to the top of Mellon Capital, where she is now CEO and chair, about Professor Joe Bankman’s effort to teach law students anxiety-relieving methods that incorporate the insights of cognitive behavioral therapy, and about the work our students are doing in the Community Law Clinic. And we have two poignant tributes, one for Professor William Cohen and one for alumnus Roderick Hills. But there’s much more. Read on.