Inaugural Class Orientation Aug. 19-21, 2009
The Inaugural Class actually hit the lecture halls the week before classes began, during a full Orientation Program.
The students eased into Orientation with a relaxed, casual picnic on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 18. The students and their families mingled at Aldrich Park with faculty, staff and VIP supporters of the Law School.
By 9 a.m. the next morning, the students were launched on a three-day schedule that included tours of the Law School facilities, an introduction to the Lawyering Skills course, a panel presentation by professors, and a mock oral argument by attorneys Mark Robinson and Anne Richardson, before Judge Richard Paez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
At lunchtime each day, presentations offered more food for thought as well as food for the body. The first day, students and their assigned mentors got to know each other over lunch at the University Club, where U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford asked the students to stand and take an "Oath of Civility," promising to take seriously their responsibilities as lawyers.
At lunch on Thursday, Earl Johnson Jr., former justice of the California Court of Appeal, Second District, spoke about the growing movement in indigent representation in critical civil cases. At Friday's lunch, Professor Rachel Moran spoke about "The Citizen Lawyer."
As orientation came to a close on Friday, California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno also emphasized the responsibility that comes with being a lawyer, and urged students to pursue "access to justice for all." Click here for Justice Moreno's full address.
The Orientation Program was funded by generous private donations.
> See full-length videos of select Orientation sessions> Dean Chemerinsky's personal recap of Orientation
> Full text of Justice Carlos Moreno's address
> UCI feature video highlights Orientation activities
> Office of the Chancellor photos and report on Law School orientation and opening