Order of the Coif ceremony honors members of Class of 2026 and welcomes Mimi Marziani ’08

On April 23, the NYU Law chapter of the Order of the Coif—a national honor society for law students who rank in the top ten percent of their graduating classes—welcomed 27 provisional candidates from the Class of 2026 during a ceremony in Vanderbilt Hall. Introduced by Helen Hershkoff, Herbert M. and Svetlana Wachtell Professor of Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, each honoree reflected on their most formative experiences during law school and thanked family and friends for their support.

The ceremony also recognized honorary inductee Mimi Marziani ’08. Marziani is a prominent Texas-based civil rights litigator who served as the president of the Texas Civil Rights Project from 2016 to 2023 before co-founding Marziani, Stevens & Gonzalez PLLC, which specializes in election, civil rights, and nonprofit law. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law and a member of the NYU Law Board of Trustees.

Dean Troy McKenzie ’00 introduced Marziani by highlighting how she has used her NYU Law education for broad impact. “Her career reflects a clear through line: a focus to ensure that legal institutions function as they should and that access to those institutions is real for the people who depend on them,” he said.

Addressing the group of students, Marziani imparted four lessons that she learned from her father, who practiced law at his own firm. She emphasized the importance of treating all clients, regardless of background, with dignity and respect. She also advised that students have passion for their careers, build their legal writing skills, and, importantly, retain their sense of curiosity.

“NYU has already given you the skills you need to be a great problem solver, which is the single most important thing a lawyer can be. But it is up to you to continue to build that intellectual muscle,” she said. “And ultimately, your understanding of the broader world and how history and law and politics and business all intersect with each other and your ability to connect the dots between those things and legal issues before you—that is what will make you an excellent lawyer.”