Champagne with a Twist: Bar Passers Reception Adjusts to Covid Concerns

A lot of the traditional trappings were missing. Covid prevented the cacophonous gathering in the Great Hall at San Joaquin College of Law for the Bar Passers Champagne Reception and the staircase stood empty instead of lifting the eleven February Bar Passers even higher than they have propelled themselves.

By Missy Cartier, Public Information Officer

Instead, about 25 celebrants gathered on Zoom on the Monday evening following the release of bar results to raise a glass in celebration. SJCL staff members Beth Pitcock, Diane Skouti, and Dean of Students Logan Tennerilli did their best to assure it wasn't just any glass; they coordinated a delivery of champagne, sparkling cider, and SJCL wine glasses to the homes and offices of as many bar passers as possible.

And while the surroundings were vastly different than Champagne Receptions of the past, many of the same themes popped up among the celebrants. One was jobs. The nine bar passers able to participate in the Zoom session all had them, including many “you pass, you're hired” offers. They include Rena Harrison, who has already clerked for Hammerschmidt Broughton for the past two years and now becomes its latest Associate Attorney. Sara Tarasevic has a similar agreement at Laughlin Falbo Levy & Moresi, while Maritza Uribe is trading her clerk job for the Associate Attorney position at Perez Williams Medina & Rodriguez and Maria Valencia becomes the newest Associate Attorney for McCormick Barstow.

Others were unsure if they would continue with their current firms and hadn't had time for those discussions just one business day after learning of their bar passing success. Sebastian Santana hopes to continue working for the State Workers Compensation, saying he likes the work balance there, along with forgiveness of student loans later on. Meanwhile, Jacquelyn Plata Rios was in the process of deciding between two offers and Sukhveer “Prince” Girn plans to move up from his job of tutoring MBEs for students headed to the bar exam at Lincoln and McGeorge Law Schools.

Another theme that has a long tradition during Bar Passers Receptions is stories of the extreme anxiety during the wait, and the exhilaration of passing! Emilio Avellaneda says he felt pretty confident after taking the bar, but the anxiety closed in on the day results were slated to be released. Maria Valencia says she had to camp out in her Mom's prayer room, Rena Harris says she screamed so loud and so much that her throat hurt for three days, Joy Rodriguez says she had to have her sister push the button when it came time to see her pass/fail status, and Jacquelyn Plata Rio says she was was pretty sure she had logged into the wrong portal, so her husband had to check for her. Sebastian Santana has the option of reliving what he calls “the longest 20 minutes of my life,” after his wife recorded the final minutes of waiting for his results to pop up.

Along with an array of SJCL staff, several professors joined the Zoom conference to offer congrats. They included Professors Christine Goodrich, Logan Tennerelli, Mark Masters, Justin Atkinson, Phillip Cherney, John O'Connor, Jodie Howard, and of course, Dean Janice Pearson.

Only two of the Bar Passers didn't get a chance to have their say. Cory Massey popped up for a couple minutes without sound or a camera, but he had warned SJCL in advance that his help was needed at his wife's veterinarian clinic. So, as Dean Pearson joked, “He's literally herding cats.”

Also missing from the reception was Bar Passer Michael Kuchar. Fellow Bar Passers speculated he might have gone to Las Vegas, prompting others to remark “but there's nothing going on there.”

“There is if he's there,” was the answer.