Alumni Success

Explore the diversity of our Alumni careers, to learn what a Juris Doctor degree can provide. One Degree. A World of Option.

Upon graduation, Carol worked with Michele Belanger-McNair doing plaintiff’s personal injury cases, but was encouraged to practice in the criminal defense arena by the Honorable Hollis G. Best who was the US Magistrate in Yosemite and who knew of her many years as a NPS Park Ranger there. In 1999 she opened her own practice doing exclusively criminal defense, first sharing space with Trudi Manfredo and Dorothy Carroll for 12 years, and then on her own. Carol says, “I love working for myself ~ I am the best boss ever.” Carol helps organize Law Day Yosemite each year where four hundred eighth graders from the rural areas surrounding Yosemite come to the Park to learn about the Rule of Law, participate in an essay contest, and enjoy lunch outside in the scenic splendor of Yosemite Valley.

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Extensive and Diverse Alumni Network

Our success can be seen in the extraordinary achievements of our graduates in bar passage rates and dynamic careers. San Joaquin College of Law graduates serve as District Attorneys, Superior Court judges, court commissioners, administrative law judges, general counsel of large corporations, in-house counsel to agricultural enterprises, and much more. Alumni have benefitted from launching their careers in a region where the population is growing and the prospect of getting into a prominent position quickly is proven higher. If a graduate desires to leave the Valley, he or she is in a strategic position to make a lateral move to a city of their choice or obtain a leadership position nationally or internationally.

More than 30% of the practicing lawyers in the Fresno-Clovis area are SJCL graduates. Of the women lawyers in the area, nearly 44% are SJCL graduates. More than 37% of the minority lawyers are graduates.

Careers of SJCL Alumni in the Area Include

  • Administrative Law Judge
  • Baker, Manock & Jensen
  • Bankruptcy Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • California State Assistant Attorney General
  • Centex Homes In-House Counsel
  • Children’s Hospital of Central California Counsel
  • City Attorney
  • County Counsel
  • District Attorney
  • Dowling Aaron
  • Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
  • McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth
  • Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • Member, Fresno County Board of Supervisors
  • Pappas Telecasting, Special Counsel & Vice President
  • Private Practitioners in every area of practice
  • Public Defender
  • Saint Agnes Medical Center Counsel
  • Superior Court Commissioner
  • Superior Court Judge
  • Research Attorney, Fifth District Court of Appeal
  • Research Attorney, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • Trinity Fruit In-House Counsel

Careers of SJCL Alumni Outside the Area Include

  • California Environmental Protection Agency, Deputy Director
  • California Secretary of Health & Human Services
  • California State Water Resources Control Board, Member & Chair
  • Chevron Human Resource Manager, Asia south Business Unit, Thailand
  • Chief of Staff for California State Assemblyman
  • Contra Costa County Court Commissioner
  • Delta Dental, In-House Counsel, San Francisco
  • Glenn County Superior Court Judge
  • Honeywell Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Monterey County Superior Court Judge
  • Nevada Care Counsel & CEO
  • Point Loma Nazarene University, Fermanian Business Center Director
  • San Francisco Assistant City Attorney
  • San Luis Obispo County Court Commissioner
  • Santa Barbara County Counsel
  • TelePacific Communications Corp, Assistant General Counsel, Nevada
  • U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.
  • Wells Fargo Bank, Trust Counsel, North Carolina