U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D-California) will deliver the keynote address to the UCLA School of Law Class of 2021 at the law school’s virtual commencement ceremony on May 21.

Rep. Lieu is the congressman who represents UCLA and surrounding neighborhoods in Washington, and he has visited UCLA and the law school several times since his election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014. He is admired as one of the staunchest advocates for civil rights, the environment, and issues surrounding technology, among many other things.

Before entering politics, Lieu was an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and he currently serves as a colonel in the Reserves. His distinguished record includes a clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, work as a litigator at Munger, Tolles & Olson, and terms as a member of the California State Senate, State Assembly, and Torrance City Council. He earned undergraduate degrees in computer science and political science from Stanford University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal.

Other speakers during the online commencement program will include UCLA Law Dean Jennifer L. Mnookin, Professor of the Year honoree Jennifer Chacón, class president Michael Cohen, J.D. graduate Jazmine Buckley, LL.M. graduate Hala Khalil, M.L.S. graduate Miranda Wilcox, and several special guests. Graduating J.D. student Ryann Garcia will offer the land acknowledgement. UCLA Law’s musical group LawCappella is slated to sing the national anthem.

The virtual ceremony will take place starting at 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, May 21. Further details about the event, including streaming links, are forthcoming.