Montana Law graduates urged to embrace uncertainty, practice empathy and candor

University of Montana’s Alexander Blewett III School of Law conferred Juris Doctor degrees on the class of 2025 at its commencement ceremony, where speakers urged new lawyers to embrace uncertainty, practice empathy, and maintain candor in court.

Dean Elaine Gagliardi opened the ceremony and welcomed graduates, faculty and guests. Noah Gibson, president of the Student Bar Association and the student speaker, reflected on community and tradition, and told classmates, “I am so proud of all of you.” Federal Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, drew on her own career to counsel graduates on professional habits and on handling an era of technological change.

DeSoto, who took her judicial oath in 2019 and is the first female federal judge in the Missoula Division, said uncertainty is an inevitable part of legal careers and can be liberating if approached proactively. “Uncertainty can be paralyzing, or it can be liberating,” she told the graduates. She encouraged imagining different outcomes as a decision-making tool and advised new lawyers to cultivate empathy: “If there is a quality that I believe is the most valuable in the practice of law, it’s empathy.”

DeSoto emphasized professional basics she said are essential to reputation and effectiveness: respond to mail and calls, avoid overpromising, and be candid with courts and colleagues when you do not know an answer. On the impact of artificial intelligence in legal practice, she warned graduates to verify AI-generated results and to “proceed with caution,” adding, “Always, always check your work.”

Student speaker Noah Gibson praised the law school community and traditions and urged graduates to carry the relationships they formed into practice. Gibson closed with a familiar courtroom send-off: “I’ll see y’all in court.”

President Seth Bodnar formally conferred the degrees, saying, by authority of the Montana University System regents and on the recommendation of the law faculty, “I confer the Juris Doctor degrees upon those of you who have successfully completed all of the requirements.” Dean Gagliardi invited graduates to a post-ceremony reception at the law school.

The ceremony also included award presentations and the reading of graduates’ names. Several students received honors and certificates in areas such as American Indian law and natural resources and environmental law; among those singled out in remarks was Sapphire Carter, who received multiple awards and certificates.

Speakers repeatedly thanked the families, staff and faculty who supported the class through three years of study and urged graduates to remember service, professional responsibility and the rule of law as they begin practice.