Leondra Kruger, a trailblazing lawyer and jurist who serves as a justice on the Supreme Court of California, will deliver the keynote address to the Class of 2025 at UCLA School of Law’s commencement ceremony on May 16.

Kruger is one of the most accomplished and respected people in the law today.

She was 38 when Gov. Jerry Brown nominated her to a seat on California’s highest court. She has served with distinction since 2015, earning a reputation as an even-handed justice who is committed to, as she has said, enhancing “the predictability and stability of the law and public confidence and trust in the work of the courts.”

The daughter of an immigrant from Jamaica and the granddaughter of immigrants from Eastern Europe, Kruger grew up in the Los Angeles area. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard and her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was the first Black woman to serve as the editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal.

Following two prestigious clerkships, including for Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court, Kruger specialized in appellate litigation in private practice and distinguished herself in government service. As a member of the Office of the Solicitor General, she argued 12 cases for the government in the Supreme Court and twice earned the department’s highest employee honor, the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service. Later, in the U.S. Department of Justice, she was the deputy assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.

In a message to the law school community, UCLA Law dean Michael Waterstone wrote, “It’s a tremendous honor that she has agreed to share her wisdom, time, and story with us. … I am delighted that Justice Kruger will speak at commencement and offer her views on the importance of the rule of law, public service, and how our graduates can play a meaningful role in carrying on the traditions of the legal system.”

UCLA Law’s commencement ceremony – honoring the law school’s J.D., LL.M., M.L.S., and S.JD. graduates – will take place in Pauley Pavilion on Friday, May 16. More information about the event can be found on the commencement website.