Michelle Rigual Associate Dean for Information Services and Operations Professor of Law | UNM School of Law Clinical Programs
The University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Law is set to hold its 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, May 17. The event will feature Court of Appeals Judge Shammara H. Henderson as the keynote speaker. Judge Henderson, appointed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals in February 2020, made history by becoming the first Black appellate judge and the first Black woman elected to a statewide office in New Mexico. She is an alumna of the UNM School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 2007.
Judge Henderson's legal career commenced as a clerk for Justice Charles W. Daniels at the New Mexico Supreme Court. She then served at the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office and as Associate General Counsel for the Governor’s Office. Subsequently, she worked at the Office of the United States Attorney’s for the District of New Mexico and co-founded Henderson & Grohman, which later merged with Freedman-Boyd, et al. Henderson's practice areas have included criminal, civil, and administrative law at both trial and appellate levels. Additionally, she has been an adjunct professor at the UNM School of Law.
Judge Henderson expressed her enthusiasm for speaking at the commencement: “I am honored to address this year’s graduating class. Over the years, I have remained connected with the school and its students, and I am thrilled to see so many brilliant, creative, and determined law students graduate from my alma mater and join our bar.”
