2003 grads admitted to state, federal bars

Gleeful graduates of USC Law – and their camera-toting family members and friends – filled USC’s ornate Bovard Auditorium last week to celebrate their official entrance into the legal profession.

At the annual ceremony, recent USC graduates who have passed the California bar exam are sworn into the state and federal bars, which enables them to practice law in all California state courts, the U.S. District Court for the Central District, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Presiding over this year’s ceremony were two USC law graduates, Judge Nora M. Manella of the U.S. District Court for the Central District and Justice Candace D. Cooper of the California Court of Appeal.

In congratulating the class, Dean Matthew L. Spitzer said the ceremony “represents the culmination of success.”

As law students, Spitzer said, the graduates have learned that “hard work is punctuated by a few days of great importance. I am quite certain that this is one of those days … This is the photo opportunity of the year.”

In her remarks, Cooper told the new attorneys that their greatest assets were their integrity, intelligence and diligence.

“Have fun – don’t just work. But when you do work, work well,” said Cooper, who graduated cum laude from USC and received her J.D. from USC Law in 1973. In 2001, Gov. Gray Davis appointed her as presiding justice to the state Court of Appeal.

“Do your best. Expect the best. And the best will come to you,” Cooper added.

Manella, who graduated from the Law School in 1975, gave the class some practical tips: Don’t be late. Never miss a filing deadline. And never give anything but an honest excuse to the judge if you’re late or have missed a deadline. She also exhorted the attorneys to keep their briefs short, clear and convincing.

“Keep in mind that we call it a ‘brief’ for a reason,” she said to laughter.

Manella, who was nominated by President Clinton to the district court and confirmed in 1998, told her audience that they should expect many hours of hard work ahead.

“You have picked a labor intensive profession,” she said. “There is simply no substitute for elbow grease.”