[caption id="attachment_35224" align="alignright" width="432" caption="2011 graduates from Empire Law School with Dean William Robertson and former Dean and Superior Court Judge Pat Broderick, center front."][/caption]
SANTA ROSA – Empire College School of Law graduated 31 students in its 35th graduating class in a ceremony June 5.
The graduates are:
Barrick Arnold is the fourth child to Marji and Max Arnold, a local attorney. He spent most of his youth in Redding, attending Enterprise High School. He was on the Santa Rosa Junior College nationally-ranked parliamentary debate team. Mr. Arnold is currently employed as a law clerk for his father.
Jarin Beck has worked for the Council on Aging as a Lawyer Referral Coordinator and assisted in the Disability Law Clinic, Self-Help Access Center, and Elder Law Clinic at Empire. He was the recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship in 2010 and the Witkin Award for Academic Excellence in Constitutional Law.
Beki Berrey began working with Walter Rubenstein, in the criminal defense field during her second year of law school. In January 2010, she was hired on with the Sonoma County Public Defender’s office as a certified law clerk. Ms. Berrey intends to pursue a career in criminal defense.
Jennifer Ann Capuano worked full time as the Senior Legal Clerk at ThermaSource, a geothermal drilling firm, during law school. She also worked with the Disability Services & Legal Center for which she earned Empire Law School’s Community Service Award.
James Carroll is a U.S. Army veteran and paratrooper. While attending Empire, Mr. Carroll has been a Certified Law Student, representing victims of domestic violence in court for Legal Aid of Sonoma County, as well as clerking for several local attorneys. He participated in the Small Claims and Family Law Clinics and received a Dean’s Scholarship in 2010.
Lisa Cortina worked as an RN in maternity health services, pediatrics, and pediatric oncology. When Ms. Cortina started law school she was working full time managing a medical office and working part time as a surgical RN. Ms. Cortina intends to pursue a career in law relating to the health care field.
Joseph Curren wrote ethical standards adopted by 55 hospitals in the United States, Great Britain, and Puerto Rico during seven years as Director of Psychiatric Assessment Services for a private hospital corporation. While in law school Mr. Curren served in the Elder Law and Small Claims Advisory Clinics.
Costandi Dada grew up in the city of Sonoma and graduated from Sonoma Valley High School. He attained his degree with a concentration in Global Economics from Sacramento State University.
Yuvanna Diaz worked in the Elder Law, Self-Help Access Center, Immigration Law, and Disability Services & Legal Center Clinics. During her participation in the Immigration Clinic, Ms. Diaz helped prepare U-Visa applications, one of which the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently approved and the applicant gained legal residency status.
Jeffrey Finkel, prior to beginning his legal education, Mr. Finkel enjoyed a successful tenure as Chief Administrative Officer and co-owner of a start-up surgical services company, negotiating contracts and learning the basics of employment law in the process. He now works at Smith Dollar PC, where he provides litigation support in complex civil matters before Federal District Courts throughout the United States.
Akaisha Gardner achieved two model answers in Contracts in her first year at Empire. In her second year of law school, she and her husband welcomed their first child. Overcoming her son’s traumatic stroke at birth, she returned to law school determined to achieve her lifetime goal of becoming an attorney. Shortly after returning to school, Mrs. Gardner was privileged to begin working for the Law Office of Adams and Rafferty and the Law Office of Lauren Gardner gaining hands-on experience in dissolutions, child custody proceedings, trust litigation, conservatorships and estate planning.
James Michael (Mike) Gordon, while completing the four-year JD program in three year, has worked in real estate, done contract work for attorneys in the area, worked with a start-up winery and wine tasting room, worked with contractors and construction consultants, as well as becoming the Supervisor of the Sonoma Small Claims Clinic.
Carla Alejandra Hernandez, upon transferring to Empire College, participated in the Self-Help Access Center, Elder Law Clinic, and the Small Claims Clinic. Since beginning law school, she has worked for several family law attorneys and is currently working at the Law Offices of Carla Boyd Terre as a Legal Assistant. She intends to pursue a career in family law.