On August 19, Cornell Law School welcomed 218 students in the J.D. Class of 2029, 27 J.D. exchange students from international partner schools, and 2 transfer students for their first day of Orientation. The incoming 1L class was selected from a highly competitive pool of nearly 6,000 applicants, marking a 29 percent rise in applications compared with the previous year—the most selective acceptance rate in school history.

The Class of 2029 boasts a median LSAT score of 173 and a median GPA of 3.94, the strongest academic credentials in school history. Geographically, the class represents 35 states, the District of Columbia, and 5 countries. Their undergraduate backgrounds are equally varied, with students coming from 129 different institutions.

At the opening welcome event, Shane Cooper, Senior Associate Dean for Enrollment and Student Services, told the students that the admissions committee had seen exceptional qualities in each of them, including “intellectual curiosity, leadership, resilience,” and emphasized the contributions they would make to the Cornell Law community. “You belong here, you are welcome here, and we are fully committed to helping you thrive,” he said.

Jens David Ohlin, Allan R. Tessler Dean and Professor of Law, welcomed the students to what he called “the first day of your legal career.” Although each arrived with a distinct story and different aspirations for a career in law, Ohlin said, they had come together in Ithaca for “three years of intense study, of immersion in the spirit of the law, and in a tremendous journey of self-discovery.”

Reflecting on his own journey to Ithaca, Ohlin told students that seeing Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey over the summer had prompted him to think about the significance of the place they had all found their way to. Like Odysseus, who returned to Ithaca changed by his journey, Ohlin said the students would leave Cornell transformed by what they encounter here. Their careers would take “many twists and turns,” he said, but their experiences at Cornell would help them develop their own distinctive contributions to the legal system.

The morning continued with remarks from the Hon. Stephen C. Robinson ’81, J.D. ’84, retired judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and co-vice chair of the Cornell University Board of Trustees. Robinson told the entering students that they were crossing an important threshold: “You are not starting a program. You are entering a profession.” Drawing on Cornell cofounder Andrew Dickson White’s aspiration to educate “lawyers in the best sense,” Robinson emphasized honesty, professional competence, and respect for others as qualities students should begin cultivating from their first days at Cornell. “Personal integrity is not a switch that you flip on in your screen,” Robinson said. “It is a habit, and it is a habit that is built in small moments, usually when nobody is watching.”

Robinson shared a lesson from his great-grandmother that he has carried throughout his life: “No matter how high you rise, no matter how far you’ve come, and no matter how low the person you’re talking to seems, you must treat everyone with respect.” As a child, Robinson wrote that lesson in a notebook that became his personal “book of rules,” which he carried with him through Cornell, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the federal bench. He encouraged the students to begin developing their own such rules for the lawyers and people they intend to become.

Robinson then administered the Oath of Professionalism to the entering students. Together, they pledged themselves to “service without prejudice,” “integrity without compromise,” and “civility and professionalism” as they began their legal education.

The three-day Orientation program, held August 19–21, is designed to introduce students to law school life and includes sessions on academic success, wellness, and professional development; student panels; and introductions to the Law Library and legal research tools. Orientation concludes August 21 with a celebratory luncheon bringing students, faculty, and staff together to mark the beginning of the academic year and strengthen the connections formed during the students’ first days at Cornell Law School.