For its upcoming commencement ceremony on May 17, Boston University’s School of Law has chosen LGBTQ+ leader John Ward — founder of GLAD Law, recognized as Boston’s first openly gay male attorney, and the first gay male attorney to argue a case before the US Supreme Court — to deliver the commencement day address.
Reports The Record, News & Stories from BU Law:
While he was a student at BU Law in the early 1970s, and after witnessing the courage of the Stonewall rioters, Ward began to accept and embrace his sexuality. He began his legal career clerking for Judge Raymond J. Pettine (LLB’37, LLM’40) of the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Just a few years later, Ward opened his own practice, placing an ad for his legal services in a gay community newspaper. “Once I started representing LGBTQ+ folk, I knew I was in the right place,” Ward noted in 2019.
In 1978, just two years after graduating from law school, he founded GLAD—Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (now known as GLAD Law: GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders)— to fight systemic police harassment. GLAD’s first case, Doe v. McNiff, targeted a District Attorney-backed sting operation at the Boston Public Library that outed and arrested over 100 gay men. GLAD’s civil rights lawsuit charged the Boston Public Library and police officials with violating the civil rights of one of the men arrested. That case ended with a settlement.
Ward’s commitment to human rights also includes what he has called a “passionate opposition to the death penalty;” he spent years representing people on death row in California in post-conviction proceedings. He has also taught law, including classes at BU Law on courts and the LGBTQIA+ movement. In 2023, Ward was chosen by the US State Department to host a discussion at BU Law on human rights around the world.
“I am thrilled that John Ward will share his wisdom and passion for justice with the Class of 2026,” says Dean and Ryan Roth Gallo Professor of Law Angela Onwuachi-Willig. “John is a true trailblazer who has long stood at the forefront of advancing civil rights. His work has helped make a profound difference for the LGBTQIA+ community, and more broadly, for all those seeking equal justice under the law. He represents the best of BU Law and is an inspiration to us all.”
