Law schools will remotely swear in this Friday’s bar passers

Law schools are organizing remote swearing-in ceremonies as the bar exam results are expected to arrive Friday.

The State Bar said it would not host any ceremonies, even virtually, but would provide applicants with instructions on how to take the attorney oath virtually, said spokeswoman Teresa Ruano.

Law schools have taken it upon themselves to host events for students. Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University is planning to host a remote event on May 26, according to Dean Matthew J. Parlow.

The school is working out the logistics and how to handle the chaos that virtual meetings bring. But Parlow explained there would be judges who administer the oaths remotely with representatives from bar and alumni associations present.

"I'd love to be there with the graduates' families and congratulate them, shake their hands and all those kinds of things that we do in those ceremonies," Parlow said. "On the other hand, I think it's important that in this time of social distancing, that we still try to come together as a community, even if virtually, to celebrate in a different medium to have that connectedness that draws us together as a law school to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduates."

For the 2019 February California Bar Exam, approximately 265 applicants attended June swearing-in ceremonies sponsored by the State Bar statewide that year. Taking the attorney oath is a requirement for applicants to become attorneys in California.

The act of taking the oath in public is important to hold people accountable to their promises, said Michael Colatrella, interim dean at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. One bright side to remote ceremonies, he said, is more people can attend, virtually.

"There are some people who might not have been able to participate in the swearing-in ceremony because they've moved to locations that aren't close to where the ceremony would be," Colatrella said.

McGeorge School of Law will also hold virtual celebrations for their graduates this year until it's safe to have in-person parties.

One of Colatrella's students said she's grateful because her father wouldn't have been able to attend otherwise.

"I remember my swearing-in ceremony with my family around me. It was a really important day," Colatrella said. "We're just doing the best we can. I think there is something lost in doing it remotely. But there are also some of those gains too where people who live far away can't attend otherwise are able to be present in a remote way."

Santa Clara University School of Law has partnered with the local bar association to host the swearing-in ceremonies. It's uncertain how the ceremony will be conducted and the school is still planning the event, said Office of Academic and Bar Success Director Devin J. Kinyon in an email. He noted it's not unusual for alumni, who are spread across California, to get sworn in by a local official.

"Like many ceremonial events that have been canceled due to the pandemic, I will be sad not to be able to sit in a room and celebrate in person with our alumni being sworn in," Kinyon wrote in an email. "But I will be happy that more alumni of the Santa Clara University School of Law will be out in the profession, doing important legal work in service to the people of California during a time when many people need access to an attorney."