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Bar News - June 4, 2004 Senator Addresses FPLC Graduates on Lawyers' Responsibilities By: Beverly Rorick
Douglas J. Wood, Chair of Franklin Pierce Law Center’s Board of Trustees, presents Sen. Judd Gregg, who gave the 29th commencement address, with an honorary doctor of laws degree. Looking on is FPLC founder Robert H. Rines, who also received an honorary doctorate. U.S. SEN. JUDD GREGG emphasized the responsibility of lawyers to uphold the rule of law during the commencement address he delivered at Franklin Pierce Law Center’s 29th commencement ceremony on May 15, 2004 in White Park, Concord. Gregg told FPLC graduates that "the essence of the Constitution for lawyers is contained in the Fifth Amendment: ‘No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.’ Your job is to defend the rights of all." He continued, "We are still the first and most vibrant constitutional democracy in the world." As John Locke says, ‘Where there is no law, tyranny begins.’ But dignity returns with the rule of law." A Granite State native and resident of Rye, Gregg received his JD from Boston University Law School and has been a NH Bar member since 1972. During the ceremony, Douglas J. Wood, chair of the FPLC board of trustees, presented Gregg with an honorary doctor of laws degree. Gregg, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Subcommittee (Appropriations), has the distinction of being the first elected official in New Hampshire history to serve the state in each of the following positions: two terms as U.S. senator, two terms as governor; and four terms as U.S. congressman for the Second Congressional District. Robert Rines, founder of Franklin Pierce Law Center, also received an honorary doctor of laws degree at the ceremony. He reminisced about the early days of the school, telling stories of its first years on Mountain Road and relating some of the humorous events in its history. He also gave a few words of advice to the class, advising them not to be arrogant, to get involved in the life of their communities, and to keep a sense of humor. A teacher at MIT, Rines is a noted musician and composer, sharing an Emmy for the music for "Hiz Honor the Mayor." Additionally, he holds over 100 patents, one of the most notable being for electronic apparatus to improve radar and sonar scanning. The resulting scanning systems have been used to locate the wrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck—and Rines told the graduates that he hopes they will someday aid in the discovery of Scotland’s Loch Ness monster. John D. Hutson, dean and president of FPLC, led the ceremonies and John Orcutt, a law professor chosen by the class, delivered the faculty address. Margee Fagelson represented the students with a thank-you speech to the school’s faculty and staff. Orcutt memorably capped his speech with a vocal rendition of "I Will Remember You," and jokingly explained that he had always wanted to be a rock star but his performance proved that the law had been a better choice.
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