Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA, Calif.— May 17, 2004—Larry W. Sonsini, chairman and chief executive officer of the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, will speak at the Santa Clara University law school commencement on May 22. Sonsini specializes in corporate law, corporate governance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions.

The law school will award 289 J.D. degrees and 23 LL.M degrees at the commencement ceremony, which will be held at 10.30 a.m. in the Mission Gardens on Santa Clara University’s campus.

“SCU School of Law is very pleased to have a lawyer of Mr. Sonsini's stature and reputation speak to our graduates and their families,” said Donald Polden, dean of the law school. “He is regarded as one of the most influential lawyers in the country and will inspire our graduates to engage in community and professional service throughout their careers, as he has done.”

Sonsini joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1966 after earning his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley.  He also earned an A.B. from U.C. Berkeley in 1963.  Sonsini was admitted to the California Bar in 1966. 

Sonsini has received a number of distinguishing awards including: 1993 Community Service Award for Exemplary Leadership from the National Conference for Community and Justice; 1996 Award for Achievement of the California Alumni Association at the University of California, Berkeley; 2000 Software Development Forum Third Annual Visionary Award; 2001 member, Berkeley Fellows; 2001 Boalt Hall School of Law Citation Award; 2001 Director’s Award, San Francisco Exploratorium; and the 2003 National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) Special Achievement Award in Commerce and Law.

In 1999 Sonsini was selected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  In addition, he is a member of the American Law Institute and the University of California President’s Board on Science and Innovation. He was formerly a trustee at the University of California, Berkeley (1990-1996).

About Santa Clara University School of Law

The SCU School of Law, founded in 1912, combines a tradition of excellence with a commitment to ethics, diversity, and social justice, and is fully accredited by the American Bar Association. Its students work in criminal and civil community law clinics and may earn certificates in intellectual property law, international law or public interest law, and LL.M. degrees in intellectual property law and international law. For more information, visit http://www.scu.edu/law.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,047 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the fourth-highest graduation rate among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is online at www.scu.edu