Commemorating 135 years of legal education, NYLS welcomes City Council Speaker Julie Menin as commencement keynote
The Honorable Julie Menin, Speaker of the New York City Council, will deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary degree at New York Law School’s 134th Commencement Ceremony.
The event will be held at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on Monday, May 18, 2026, 11 a.m., with 316 total J.D. and LL.M. candidates graduating this year.
“We are honored that City Council Speaker Julie Menin will join ‘New York’s law school’ and speak to our graduates,” said Anthony W. Crowell, Dean and President. “Speaker Menin is only the second lawyer to serve as Council Speaker and has an extraordinary and deep record of public service. From helping rebuild our School’s Lower Manhattan and Tribeca neighborhood after 9/11 to directing the City’s 2020 Census efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading two City agencies, and now leading the City Council, she has an inspiring story and unmatched set of experiences to share with our students. This year we are celebrating 135 years since we opened our doors, and our graduates have helped build modern New York and are on the frontlines of advocating for justice. We are in a unique moment, and we are very fortunate to benefit from Speaker Menin’s perspectives as one of our City’s most important and consequential leaders.”
“It’s an honor to join New York Law School’s commencement and celebrate a new generation of graduates who are ready to lead,” said Speaker Julie Menin. “New York has always been shaped by those willing to step up and serve, and I look forward to encouraging these students to bring their talents and values to the work of strengthening our city and our democracy.”
New York Law School is proud that one third of graduates go into public service and public interest roles, and through the past 135 years, it has a long history of alumni serving in New York City elected office including several Mayors. Since the New York City Council was established in 1938, at least 17 alumni have served, including two current Councilmembers and in its predecessor body, the Board of Alderman, 16 alumni served. NYLS also worked as a partner with Speaker Menin while she led the City’s 2020 Census efforts, through the Law School’s New York Elections, Census, and Redistricting Institute, which is the only law school institute of its kind dedicated to law and policy issues on the Census. NYLS also hosted Speaker Menin in December 2025 for her first public speech after securing the necessary support to become the next Speaker.
In recent years, NYLS commencement speakers have included New York Governor Kathy Hochul, TV Icon Judge Judy Sheindlin ’65, then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, the Emmy Award-winning co-creator of “Making a Murderer” Laura Ricciardi ’96, then-New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), and the late Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Robert A. Katzmann.
About City Council Speaker Julie Menin
Julie Menin was elected Speaker of the New York City Council on January 7, 2026. An attorney and civic leader, Speaker Menin has more than two decades of experience in the public and private sectors. Speaker Menin has proudly represented District 5, which includes parts of the Upper East Side and all of Roosevelt Island, in the Council since January 2022.
During her first two terms, the Council passed her legislation to advance universal child care, create an Office of Healthcare Accountability to rein in excessive prices, ease burdens on small businesses by creating a one-shop-stop web portal for city licenses, codify the right to reproductive health care services, and more. At the same time, Speaker Menin has effectively addressed a full range of constituent issues, including sanitation and rat-mitigation concerns, street safety, unlicensed smoke shops, robust capital funding for district parks and schools, and access to low-cost internet for NYCHA residents.
Prior to her election to the City Council, Speaker Menin served as the city’s 2020 Census Director, achieving a historic result where New York finished first of all major cities. As Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs, she helped implement the Paid Sick Leave Law and launched a new Earned Income Tax Credit initiative that resulted in over $260 million being returned to low-income New Yorkers. In that role, she also spearheaded the creation of NYC Kids RISE, which has now grown college savings accounts totaling more than $44 million for 280,000 public school kindergarteners. Speaker Menin is also a former Commissioner of Media and Entertainment and former adjunct professor at Columbia University who taught on city government.
Speaker Menin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Columbia and received her Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law. She resides in Yorkville with her husband and children.