May 25, 2006 -- The Honorable Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr., United States District Court, District of New Jersey will be the featured speaker at the 28th commencement of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University at 2 pm on Monday, June 5. At the ceremony, which will be held at Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 364 men and women will receive J.D. degrees, and 66 will receive LL.M. degrees. Judge Greenaway, appointed to the federal bench at the age of 40 by President William Jefferson Clinton in 1996, has a warm and longstanding relationship with Cardozo. He visits the School to teach “master classes,” hires Cardozo graduates as law clerks, and has students work in his chambers through the Law School’s Alexander Fellows program. This year, two of his former Fellows and one intern are in the graduating class. Dean David Rudenstine noted, “Judge Greenaway has been a generous teacher and mentor to Cardozo students throughout the years and has touched many of their lives in meaningful ways. I am delighted that our graduates this year will have the opportunity to hear his insights, witness his humaneness, and be inspired by his example.” Judge Greenaway has often said that one of the most rewarding aspects of his judgeship is working with law clerks on difficult issues and speaking to students about their future careers. He said, “I tell my students to work hard and work smart. Our profession requires a drive to search for perfection; without that goal, mediocrity becomes the norm.” He holds a B.A. from Columbia University which honored him with the prestigious Columbia University Medal of Excellence in 1997 and the John Jay Award in 2003. At Harvard University, from where he received a J.D., he was an Earl Warren Legal Scholar. Early in his career, he clerked for the late Hon. Vincent L. Broderick, US District Court for the Southern District of NY and was an associate at Kramer, Levin, Nessen, Kamin and Frankel. In 1985, Judge Greenaway became an Assistant US Attorney in Newark, NJ, and after several years was named Chief of the Narcotics Bureau. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he was in-house counsel for Johnson & Johnson. On the federal bench he has decided civil rights cases, tobacco cases, and the famous “Melissa” computer virus case, among others. Judge Greenaway is chair of the Columbia College Black Alumni Council and is an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School.