Recent grads participate in bar admission ceremony
Story by Maria Iacobo
Photos by Mikel Healey
USC Gould recently welcomed the return of 110 graduates of the class of 2013 to campus.
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| Judge George King '74, Dean Rasmussen and Justice Nora M. Manella '75 |
The occasion was the annual Bar Admission Ceremony where the recent alums were feted by friends, family and faculty at Town and Gown.
“The California bar exam is a three-day test that examines analytical rigor, creativity and stamina,” Dean Robert K. Rasmussen said. “Our students here have passed that exam and this ceremony marks the transition from [law student to lawyer].”
The new alumni were sworn into the state and federal bars by Justice Nora Manella ’75 of the California Court of Appeals and George King ’74, the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Justice Manella told the audience that the feeling the recent grads were experiencing after passing the bar exam was “relief.
“Relief that the long nightmare of your formal legal education is over. Relief that you did not incur an enormous amount of student debt for nothing. And, of course, relief that you will never again have to take this particular bar exam. This is not a unique reaction to having survived a trial by fire and having emerged on the other side alive and kicking. Nevertheless it is a cause for genuine celebration.”
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| Justice Nora M. Manella '75 |
Justice Manella told the recent graduates that they could look forward to interesting and exciting careers with a variety of opportunities ahead. While some of the new lawyers might know exactly what they want to do with their legal careers, she reasoned that most of them did not, and that was “just fine.”
She noted that she herself has had “nine or 10” jobs and has always learned something about what she liked and didn’t like with each one.
“But, there is no excuse for being bored,” Justice Manella said. “Not because there aren’t boring legal jobs but because there are so many interesting ones.”
Judge King also congratulated the graduates for passing “one of the toughest bars to pass in the country,” and reminded them to thank their family and friends for their support and contribution to their successful passage through law school.
But, the main message of Judge King’s talk was to impart advice he felt was important for the new lawyers to hear: technology and its inherent dangers. While he acknowledged the many advantages to our rapid communication vehicles and social media, he reminded the audience of its “potential dark side.”
Said Judge King: “There is now a serious premium on circumspection. Your thoughts, your communications may in fact, under different circumstances, be disclosed to the world. Before the day and age of the Internet, youthful indiscretions sort of faded as quickly as one’s memory.
"But if your youthful indiscretion is played out on the Internet, do you really think it will be as easy to forgive or forget when that episode resurfaces decades later under different circumstances? When you’re up for a federal judgeship, for example? These are matters I believe deserve your careful consideration and reconsideration. These are things that should never be far from your mind as you’re working in this day and age.”
Following the swearing-in ceremony, the alumni and several hundred guests joined the dean and faculty for a reception.
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