School of Law Announces 2018 Commencement Speakers
April 9, 2018 | Pepperdine Law is pleased to announce this year's honorees for Commencement Speaker, Distinguished Alumnus, and Young Distinguished Alumnus. We hope you will join us on May 18th for Commencement 2018 at 10:30am at Alumni Park.
Ken Feinberg, dubbed "The Leader in Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution" by The National Law Journal, will be the main speaker at this year's graduation ceremony. Ken has played a leading role in resolving many high profile disputes, including administering compensation funds for victims of: September 11th attacks, Virginia Tech shooting, BP oil spill, Penn State sexual abuse, Aurora, Colorado shooting, Newtown-Sandy Hook shooting, General Motors recall, Boston Marathon bombing, and the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
Presiding Justice Tricia Bigelow (JD '86), Second District Court of Appeal, Division Eight in Downtown Los Angeles, will be honored as the Distinguished Alumna. Justice Bigelow is a long-time member of our Board of Advisors, a preceptor, and frequent speaker and judge at Pepperdine events. In addition, she has traveled to Uganda with the Sudreau Global Justice Program. She was named Judge of the Year in 2014 by the California Courts's Judicial Council.
Speaking at this year's graduation breakfast event is Alex Wheeler (JD '05). He will also be honored at the commencement ceremony as the Young Distinguished Alumnus. Alex is a partner at PARRIS in Lancaster, CA. He leads the Class Action and Business Litigation practice groups. Alex also represents the firm's clients in severe personal injury and wrongful death cases in both the mass- and single-plaintiff context. Alex has been selected to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Southern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars List. he has also has been appointed as Lead Class Counsel in dozens of federal and state class actions and has obtained over $400 million in verdicts and settlements over the course of his career. Alex served on the faculty at Pepperdine Law, where he taught "Advanced Trial Practice
Congratulations to our speakers! For more information regarding commencement, visit here. Please contact Margaret Barfield at (310) 506-4653 or at margaret.barfield@pepperdine.edu with questions.