Notre Dame Law School

05/29/2026

New city. New role. New chapter. Meet some of the Notre Dame Law School Class of 2026 graduates and hear where they’ll be working. 🎓☘️

05/28/2026

The University of Notre Dame’s first Asian graduates earned their degrees 120 years ago. In January 1905, a group of young people from the Philippine Islands arrived in South Bend and enrolled at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s Academy. Traveling by ship and train, they journeyed more than 8,000 miles.

Among them was José Eduardo Valdes of Manila, who became the first Asian graduate of the University and earned his law degree with high honors in 1906. Other Filipino students and alumni connected to Notre Dame Law School would go on to become influential lawyers, public servants, and political leaders in the Philippines, including Double Domer José Antonio Urquico, Alfonso Ponce Enrile, and Carlos P. Romulo, who received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Notre Dame.

Read more about these Filipino trailblazers in Notre Dame Magazine: https://magazine.nd.edu/stories/the-pensionados/

Photos courtesy of The Dome, via Notre Dame Magazine.

05/28/2026

Notre Dame Law School alumnus Thomas Curtin ‘68 J.D. has been selected to receive the prestigious 2026 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Third Circuit. This award honors a lawyer or judge whose career and conduct reflect extraordinary character, unwavering integrity, and a steadfast commitment to professionalism. This honor was awarded to Curtin during the 2026 Third Circuit Judicial Conference on May 6-8, 2026.

Curtin is a partner at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, where he practices civil and commercial litigation and mediation in New Jersey federal and state courts. He has also been an active member of the Notre Dame Law Association Board for several years and served as president of the board from 2000 to 2001.

Read more: https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/tom-curtin-68-j-d-receives-2026-american-inns-of-court-professionalism-award-for-the-third-circuit/

05/27/2026

Following the release of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical as pontiff, Notre Dame Law Professor Paolo Carozza, also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and chair of the Meta Oversight Board, was interviewed by several news outlets about the encyclical’s focus on ensuring that AI and other emerging technologies preserve human dignity and serve the common good.

You can find all of Professor Carozza's appearances here: https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/paolo-carozza-provides-insight-on-pope-leo-xivs-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas/

05/27/2026

Congratulations to the LL.M. graduates of Notre Dame Law School’s Class of 2026! This year’s graduates in the International Human Rights Law program came from across the globe, including the United States, Honduras, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Ecuador, Mexico, South Africa, and Rwanda. We also celebrated an LL.M. graduate from Morocco who studied at Notre Dame Law School through our partnership with Paris Panthéon-Assas University.

To celebrate the graduates, the International and Graduate Programs office hosted a reception attended by faculty, staff, our international J.D. graduates and J.S.D. graduate, current J.S.D. candidates, and families. We are proud that Notre Dame Law School’s mission to educate a “different kind of lawyer” continues to reach across cultures and communities around the world. ☘️

05/26/2026

Notre Dame Law Professor Paolo Carozza, who was appointed by Pope Francis to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, appeared on CNN’s “Inside Politics” to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on the dangers of artificial intelligence.

“What he’s really concerned about is what he calls a culture of power. What he’s calling for is attention to the dignity of every human person.” -Professor Paolo Carozza

Listen here: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/25/politics/video/inside-politics-pope-leo-artificial-intelligence-warning

05/26/2026

"As a lawyer, you are now uniquely equipped to change the world—a world desperately in need of the change that only you can bring. Your legal training gives you power, a power that not everyone has. Your training has equipped you with special skills that will allow you to act on behalf of others, to fight for their rights. You are now warriors in the fight for justice. The fight for justice is at the core of what it means to serve as a lawyer." -G. Marcus Cole, Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School

Dean G. Marcus Cole delivered the commencement address at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law Class of 2026 Commencement Ceremony on May 21. The law school also conferred upon him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Watch his full speech here: https://taxprofblog.aals.org/2026/05/24/congratulations-pepperdine-caruso-law-class-of-2026/

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country, and we hold their loved ones in our prayers.

We especially remember the members of the Notre Dame family whose sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Thank you 🇺🇸

05/25/2026

Notre Dame Law School Professor Paolo Carozza, a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and chair of the Meta Oversight Board, shared his insights on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (Magnificent humanity), which offers moral guidance on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. Read his comments below.

On Monday (May 25), Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas (Magnificent humanity), which provides moral guidance to bishops, clergy and the faithful on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence (AI). Below, University of Notre Dame faculty experts....

05/25/2026

Join us at 4PM Tuesday, May 26, for a zoom flash panel conversation with Notre Dame experts on the import of Pope Leo XIV’s highly anticipated first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

Paolo Carozza (Notre Dame Law School), Paul Scherz (Department of Theology), and Rev. John Paul Kimes (Notre Dame Law School) will discuss the content and implications of the Holy Father’s reflection on the rise of artificial intelligence, which he has called “another industrial revolution . . . that pose[s] new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.” Details & register: https://ethicscenter.nd.edu/events/2026/05/26/flash-panel-magnifica-humanitas-human-dignity-in-the-age-of-ai/