On Tuesday, December 3, 2013 Thomas Jefferson School of Law bar passers, their families and friends along with TJSL Board of Trustees Members, Alumni, faculty and staff came together on TJSL’s 8th floor to celebrate Thomas Jefferson School of Law’s newest attorneys.
“This is a great day for you – congratulations!,” said TJSL Dean and President Thomas Guernsey. “But we should also take a moment to recognize all of the people who supported you in this endeavor.”
“All of the hard work has finally paid off,” said Chris Heim ‘13, who attended the reception hosted by TJSL’s Office for Alumni Relations & Development with his wife Elisa and his mother Theresa. “In this moment you realize that everything has come to fruition. This is a great moment.”
“Congratulations to all of the bar passers, I wish you the best of luck in your careers,” said Board of Trustees member Professor Randy Grossman ‘94.
“This day was awesome!,” said Steve Cortez ‘13. “I personally have to thank Adjunct Professors Dennis Saccuzzo and Nancy Johnson of TJSL’s Bar Secrets® Program for everything I learned in the program while studying for the bar. They are amazing.”
The ceremony to swear-in all of the new attorneys to the state and federal bars took place at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina earlier in the day.
“This moment feels different than when I was notified that I had passed the bar,” said Lindsay Demery ‘13. “When getting sworn-in you realize what you have to do as an attorney. You realize that this is a big accomplishment.”
“Another reason this day is so great is because I got to stand next to and be sworn-in with my fiancée, Kenny Robbins ‘13 and one of my best friends Elizabeth Chu ‘13,” said Demery. “It’s kind of like a full circle because we all started together.”
Swearing-in day concludes the long process that becoming an attorney entails. Being officially sworn-in to the state and federal bars represents a culmination of hard work, dedication and an opportunity to uphold the law with dignity and respect.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Camara Mathis ’13 who attend the swearing-in ceremony and TJSL reception with her father Judge Greg Mathis and her mother Linda Mathis. “I am still in shock.”
Camara Mathis’s Father is a retired Michigan 36th District Court judge and a syndicated television show arbiter on the reality court show Judge Mathis. “I am more proud of her than I was for myself,” said Judge Mathis. “Today is a very special day.”
“This is one of the coolest days ever,” said TJSL Alumni Association President Eric Ganci '08. “On behalf of the Alumni Association, we congratulate you and encourage you to always be proud of the law school that you graduated from,” said Ganci. “Thomas Jefferson has a really good reputation here in San Diego as well as across the nation so please be sure to uphold this reputation going forward. Be sure to hang up your diploma on your office wall and tell everyone that you graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law.”
New attorney and Navy veteran Nicole Heffel ’13 chose not to be sworn-in at the official December 3 ceremony. “I'll be sworn-in on December 16th at 4:30 p.m. at sunset on the flight deck of the USS Midway,” said Heffel. “This signifies the ending of one chapter and the beginning of a new chapter, but always remembering my foundation in the military. The presiding Judge of Veterans court, an Army veteran, will give me the oath.”
On this day, Thomas Jefferson School of Law honored those who passed the July 2013 California Bar Exam.
