Law School Graduation

Spring Commencement & Swearing In Information

General Information
Graduation Events
Invitations
Garb
Graduation Photos
Swearing-in Ceremonies

General Information

Graduation is a wonderful celebration, and there are a number of events for you, your friends, and your family. Here are the dates and scheduled events. More detailed information follows.

Overview of Events:

Sunday, December 21, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 11a.m. -- UW Fall Graduate and Professional Student Graduation
Kohl Center
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. -- December Graduation Luncheon at Main Lounge, Memorial Union

Thursday, May 14, 2009
Spring Annual Honors and Awards Event: (More information to come)
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. -- Honors and awards Ceremony at Memorial Union Theater, 800 North Langdon Street.
8:30 p.m. - 9.30 p.m. -- Reception for honors and awards recipients, family, friends, award presenters and law school community at the Memorial Union (room to be announced).

Friday, May 15, 200
1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.-- Spring Presenting of the Colors Ceremony at Monona Terrace Convention Center.
Keynote speaker:  TBA
http://www.mononaterrace.com

5:30 p.m. -- UW Spring Graduate and Professional Student Graduation
Kohl Center

Checklist of Things to Do:

• Invite Guests
• Make Hotel Reservations
• Make Dinner Reservations
• Rent Your Cap & Gown ( Check with University Bookstore for exact dates (711 State St. or 608-257-3784)
• Have Your Graduation Photo Taken at the Law School ( For all graduates -- April)

Friday, May 16, 2008: Commencement Ceremonies

Graduates report to the Monona Terrace by 12:15 p.m.:  All Graduates must report to the Monona Terrace to be lined up for the processional.

Presenting of the Colors Ceremony. At 1 p.m., the Monona Terrace Convention Center will be the site of a very special UW Law School Ceremony. Each student will be called to the stage to be "hooded" by a faculty or staff member and congratulated by Dean Davis. A professional photographer will take a photo of each graduate shaking hands with Dean Davis. Students receiving the Doctor of Juridical Science, Master of Laws and Master of Legal Institutions graduate degrees will also be honored at this ceremony. Speakers will include three students, the faculty speaker selected by the third year class, as well as a keynote speaker. You will not need tickets for yourself or your guests for this ceremony.

UW Graduate and Professional Student Graduation. Graduates are also encouraged to participate in this University graduation for graduate and professional students. The ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center, a beautiful University facility, located on West Dayton Street. You do not need tickets for the UW graduation ceremony and may bring an unlimited number of guests.

The Kohl Center is handicapped accessible and has over 300 wheel chair and companion seats. However, disabled parking is very, very limited and people with mobility problems will need to be dropped off close to the doors of the Center.

Invitations

We encourage you to celebrate these special graduation events with your family and friends. You are not limited to the number of guests you may invite to the Commencement events.  Law School Announcements can be ordered online through the University Bookstore website. There are three choices of vendors, however, you should choose CB Graduation Announcements, as it is the only company that is offering announcements specifically for our hooding ceremony at the Monona Terrace.  Scroll down the web page to the red heading Graduation Announcements and click on the C.B Announcements link.

Garb

The University Bookstore at 711 State Street handles all arrangements for caps, gowns and honors stoles. You can order your cap and gown by stopping by at the Bookstore or online at www.bookstore.com, or by calling 257-3784.  To confirm ordering dates and get more information about rentals, check the University Bookstore Web site , call 257-3784, or stop in at the University Book Store.  The gown you want is called the doctor of law gown and your hood is purple. Honors stoles for those receiving Dean's Academic Achievement Awards should also be ordered through the University Bookstore (see below).  The deadline for purchasing a cap and gown is March 1st, 2008 and the deadline for renting a cap and gown is April 11, 2008.

Honors -- Dean's Academic Achievement Awards: Graduating students who have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.35 on the letter-based grading scale (or 85.5 or better on the number-based grading scale) at the end of the fall semester receive a Dean's Academic Achievement Award. The Law School Registrar, Mary Beth Shiels Lubing, will post lists of tentative graduates and candidates for this award during spring semester. Please check those lists to be certain that your name is on the list, is correctly spelled and is listed as you want to see it on the graduation programs. Once the Registrar has determined which students are eligible for the Dean's Academic Achievement Awards, she will send the list to the University Book Store and the Book Store will allow those students to check out the red honors stole to wear at graduation.  Stoles are picked up at the same time as the cap and gown.  (Because we do not have final grades until after graduation, most students who receive the Dean's Academic Achievement Award are likely to graduate with cum laude, magna cum laude, or summa cum laude honors upon graduation. Students who receive these additional honors will receive a Law School certificate to recognize their honors status. The certificates will be mailed during the summer, so be sure that the Career Services Office has a permanent address for you.

Graduation Photos

May, August, and December graduates will be able to have their "exit" or graduation photos taken by a professional photographer who will come to the Law School in March. Each student will be able to select a photo from several for use in our graduate photo collection. Students will also be able to order copies for a nominal price. Please sign up online at www.wisconsinlawalumni.com.

Fall Photo Session Dates, Times, and Locations:

Thursday, October 23, 2008: 11:00am - 2:00pm; Student Organization Room

Spring Photo Session Dates, Times, and Locations:

Tuesday, February 17, 2009:  10:00am - 2:00pm; TBA

Wednesday, February 18, 2009:  12:00 noon - 4:00pm; TBA

Thursday, February 19, 2008: 2:00pm - 6:00pm; TBA

(The Student Org. Room is located next to the hang files by the vending machine room)

Submitting Your Own Photos

It is not required to use our photographer in order to include your photograph in the graduation pictures of the Law School graduation photo gallery.  However, you must send us a digital copy of your photo graph with your name as the document name by July 1, 2009 in order to be included in the Class of 2009 graduation picture.

Digital photographs should either be e-mailed or sent on a CD to Ms. Kimberly Frank, UW Law School Room 2348, Madison, WI 53706 or e-mail to kafrank2@wisc.edu.

We are sorry, but any photographs received after July 1 2009, will not be included in the graduation pictures.

Swearing-In Ceremonies

The swearing-in ceremonies (admission to the Wisconsin & Federal Courts) are the other important events for graduates. They are sponsored by the courts and the State of Wisconsin and are held a few weeks after graduation. The courts set the date and notify graduates. These are formal ceremonies and professional attire is required. There is a group swearing-in for May and December graduates. August graduates receive information about how to schedule individual swearing-in ceremonies after submitting their applications to the Board of Bar Examiners.  In 2008 the courts will hold the group swearing-in ceremonies on Wednesday, June 11.

Group Swearing-In for May Graduates

The swearing-in ceremonies are not part of graduation and are not held on the same day as graduation. As noted above, these ceremonies are under the authority of the courts and are held a few weeks after graduation.

Wisconsin State Courts. Your swearing-in ceremony for the Wisconsin state courts takes place in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Chambers at the State Capitol, beginning at 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, or 11:30. The groups are alphabetical, and approximately 35 are in each group -- you can estimate your time, but the final group assignments are not set until the week before the ceremony. The Board of Bar Examiners will notify you as to the time. After you are sworn in at the Supreme Court, you must sign the Supreme Court's Roll of Attorneys, and turn in your completed enrollment form. This is done in conjunction with a welcome reception that is sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin for you, your family, and your friends at the Monona Terrace Convention Center. 

Federal District Court. The swearing in for the Federal District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin is at the Federal Court House at 120 N. Henry Street is usually about 2-2 1/2 hours after the state court ceremony. You should go to the Federal Building and enter through the side door (next to the parking lot). Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the ceremony so that you will have time to go through the security check and get to the second floor.

To participate in the group swearing-in ceremony, your application to the Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners (BBE) for your Character and Fitness Certification is required to be filed according to a schedule set by the BBE. If you are applying for admission after the deadline or plan to graduate in August or December, upon submitting your application to the BBE, you will receive information about how to schedule an individual swearing in.

To Assist in Planning:

Directions & Parking

Memorial Union (Honors and Award Ceremony: May 15, 7:00 p.m.)
Monona Terrace (UW Law School Commencement: May 16, 1:00 p.m.)
Kohl Center (UW Professional Schools Graduation: May 16, 15:30 p.m.)

Accommodations

There is a wide selection of hotels within two to six miles of the Campus. It is strongly recommended that you make reservations as soon as possible to guarantee rooms as this will be a VERY busy weekend.

On or Very Close to Campus

Hotels:

The Edgewater
666 Wisconsin Avenue
608-256-9071
www.theedgewater.com

The Madison Concourse
One West Dayton Street
608-257-6000
www.concoursehotel.com

Double Tree
525 West Dayton Street
608-251-5511
www.doubletree.com

Hilton Hotel
Monona Terrace
9 East Wilson Street 
608-255-5110
www.hiltonmadison.com

Inn on the Park
22 South Carroll
608-257-8811
www.bestwesternwisconsin.com

University Inn
411 N. Frances Street
608-257-4881
www.universityinn.org

Small Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts:

Outside of the Downtown/Campus Area

Microtel Inn & Suites
2139 E. Springs Avenue
608-242-9000

Quality Inn
4916 E. Broadway
608-222-5501

Crown Plaza Madison
4402 E. Washington
800-404-7630

Holiday Inn - East
3841 E. Washington
608-244-2481

Days Inn
4402 E. Broadway Service Rd.
608-223-1800

Super 8 Motel
1602 W. Beltline Hwy.
608-258-8882

Country Inn & Suites
400 River Place
608-221-0055

Marriott Residence Inn
501 D'Onofrio Drive
608-833-8333

Comfort Suites
1253 J.Q. Hammonds Dr.
608-836-3033

Hampton Inn Madison West Towne Mall Area
516 Grand Canyon Dr.
608-833-3511

Fairfield Inn by Marriott - Madison West
8212 Greenway Blvd.
608-831-1400

For questions about Commencement, contact Lynn Thompson, Director of Events -- Room 2320 - 262-4915 or Kimberly Frank, Alumni & Student Events Coordinator -- Room 2320 - 890-0140