UC Irvine law school opens doors to inaugural class

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky hands scissors to Acrivi Coromelas, UC Irvine's first law school student, to cut the ribbon on the opening day of classes.

Photo: Paul R. Kennedy

The first public law school to open in California in 40 years welcomed its first 61 students on Aug. 24 at UC Irvine.

Those 61 aspiring lawyers have already reaped the benefit of selecting UC Irvine for their education — full scholarships. Orange County business leader Donald Bren, a longtime supporter of the school and UC, donated $20 million, which made the scholarships possible. The school received 2,741 applications, more than 40 applicants for each of the available spots.

Acrivi Coromelas, the first student to commit to enrolling at the law school, cut the ribbon on the opening day of classes.

"We have ambitious objectives," said Dean Erwin Chemerinsky at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We're the first new law school to say that we will be a top 20 law school from the very beginning. While that might have been audacious when I first said that, it's now quite realistic."

Chemerinsky praised the quality of the faculty, students and facilities, ranking them all in the top 20 of the nation's law schools.

The inaugural class has 34 women and 27 men with an age range of 20 to 38. Twenty percent have advanced degrees including one Ph.D. and one M.D. They have a median GPA of 3.61.

At a new student orientation on Aug. 21, California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno spoke to the class, encouraging students to use the skills they will learn to ensure all segments of society can participate equally in the justice, economic and education systems of our country.

"Your contribution can and will make a big difference, an enormous difference," he told the students. "And don’t think for a single moment that because you are just one person that you can’t make a difference. Your legal training will change all of that in spades."