2012 Commencement, May 7

The School of Law's 2012 Commencement ceremony will take place on Monday, May 7, at 2 p.m. in the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric.

Commencement speaker William F. Kiniry Jr., J.D. '76, is a partner at DLA Piper, where he serves as co-chair of the firm's product liability practice. Involved in all aspects of civil litigation, with a particular emphasis on product liability cases and mass torts, Kiniry serves as national counsel for a major motorcycle manufacturer and national trial counsel for a number of automotive manufacturers and automotive component manufacturers. He has served as chairman of the joint defense team in mass tort and Superfund litigation, and as regional and national trial counsel in asbestos and tobacco litigation. Kiniry has lectured both here and abroad on product liability and risk management and has produced documentary films for multinational corporations in support of their litigation and marketing interests.

Kiniry served as a special agent with the Pennsylvania Department of Justice Narcotics Control Strike Force prior to entering active duty with the United States Army. He then became a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and began law school at the University of Baltimore, where he was president of the Student Bar Association and the winner of both the Dean Joseph Curtis and University President awards.

Kiniry is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's School and the University of North Florida School of Accident Reconstruction and has attended numerous technical training courses offered by original equipment manufacturers and component part manufacturers within the automotive industry. He is a former company commander in the U.S. Army's Special Operations Forces.

Kiniry will be introduced by Interim Dean F. Michael Higginbotham. University of Baltimore President Robert L. Bogomolny will offer greetings to the attendees. Remarks by class valedictorian Emily E. Keller will be followed by the presentation of Law Faculty Awards. Bogomolny will confer the degrees to all graduates, and University System of Maryland Board of Regents member Louise Michaux Gonzales will offer congratulations to the Class of 2012.

Learn more about Commencement.