After the surprising news that Columbia Law School had invited former California Governor Gray Davis to speak at commencement, we got the bright idea to take a closer look at who was coming to a law school campus near you.
Happily, TaxProf Blog has done all the work for us. The site has compiled a list of some notable speakers from around the country.
A couple of people jump out from the list. For instance, it looks like Harvard is cheating:

Harvard: Elena Kagan (U.S. Solicitor General)

Kagan was the Dean of the law school until five seconds ago. Bringing her back to speak in front of a student body that has heard her speak countless times before seems lazy.
After the jump, some other notables.

Boston Colllege and Boston University continue their rivalry on the speaker circuit:

Boston College: Ben Bernanke (Chair, Federal Reserve)
Boston University: Howard Dean (former Chair, Democratic National Committee)

Isn’t funny that Howard Dean has received no credit whatsoever for being Obama-the-prequel, or the fifty state strategy that gave Democrats the Senate and a substantial majority in the House? Maybe he should start screaming again?
Surprisingly, future New York Governor Rudy Giuliani isn’t even going to be in-state:

Drexel: Rudy Giuliani (former New York City Mayor)

Meanwhile, Above the Law has learned that Karl Rove is scheduled to speak at Texas Tech.
But there is absolutely no contest for “the best” commencement speaker:

Cincinnati: Cris Collinsworth (Football Analyst, NBC’s Sunday Night Football)

He’s the best color analyst in the NFL, he’s replacing the legendary John Madden, and graduating from Cincinnati law in this market has to make you feel like a wide receiver going across the middle as your quarterback over throws the ball.
Read the full list here.
Law School Commencement Speakers [TaxProf Blog]
Earlier: A Tale of Two Commencement Speakers