Years of hard work, months of endless studying leading up to three excruciating days of testing, followed by more months of waiting came to a successful and joyous conclusion on December 1. For 15 每日大赛 College of Law graduates who recently learned they passed the July 2014 California State Bar exam, the commitment and determination paid off as they swore oaths of office for both the State Bar and the Central Federal District Court in a special ceremony at the law school\u2019s Ontario campus.<\/p>\n
Taking the oaths made each graduate official officers of the court. For Lisa Cho, the event provided both a joyous conclusion and a celebratory beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI start work tomorrow,\u201d said Cho, a new attorney at Garcia & Reed LLP in Riverside. \u201cIt\u2019s the beginning of my professional career.\u201d<\/p>\n
In all, 19 of 29 La Verne Law graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in July passed \u2013 a 66 percent success rate. And when combined with the February 2014 results \u2013 which featured a pass rate 19 points above the statewide average for first-time takers from ABA-approved law schools \u2013 La Verne Law graduates finished the year with a 73% first-time pass rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people you see here are the product of a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication,\u201d said La Verne Law Dean Gilbert Holmes. \u201cThey have successfully traveled the journey from students at orientation to licensed attorneys in the state of California.\u201d<\/p>\n
One major factor involved in the recent bar pass success at La Verne Law has been the resources the law school has provided through its Center for Academic & Bar Readiness (CABR). Along with assisting students throughout their academic careers, the Center also provides a customized post-graduation bar review. The Bar Exam Strategic Training (BEST) program is available to La Verne Law graduates at no additional charge.<\/p>\n
While Assistant Dean Jendayi Saada could not attend the Swearing-In Ceremony because of knee surgery earlier that day, Dean Holmes praised her and the CABR staff for their essential contributions to student success from orientation to beyond graduation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Center is unique in the country because we take a proactive approach to bar support. Most centers like ours identify those students who are not doing well and provide them with academic support,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cWe embed academic and bar readiness into our curriculum, making no assumption that someone needs or does not need support. That approach gives our students the greatest opportunity for success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrew Salera, one of the 19 who passed the bar exam on his first attempt, credited CABR for his accomplishment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing. I could not have done it without the support of everyone here at the College of Law, especially the Center for Academic & Bar Readiness,\u201d said Salera, who is volunteering in the San Bernardino County Public Defender\u2019s Office. \u201cAs of today, I am a volunteer attorney. I am getting great experience, being in court every day and absolutely loving it. They open up hiring in January and I\u2019ll see what happens from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bristow, who administered the oath of office for the Central Federal District Court, encouraged the graduates to remember the goals and passions that made them want to become lawyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had just about every legal job you can possibly have, which I believe is not a bad thing,\u201d Bristow said. \u201cMy point is, never give up. If you have a goal and want to do something, figure out a way to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople forget: To be a nation of laws, you must have lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice Douglas Miller of the Fourth District Court of Appeals administered the California State Bar oath. He reminded the new attorneys that none of them had achieved this success without help.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a number of people who made this all possible, including all the lawyers who came before you,\u201d Miller said. \u201cNo one becomes a lawyer by himself. There are many, many people \u2013 including those closest to you \u2013 who provided the opportunity for you to be here tonight.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the lawyers who came before you \u2013 you stand on their shoulders. These are lawyers who have been at it for many, many years and who helped make it possible for you to be one among them. Never forget that this is an honorable profession. Be proud to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n