2013 Hooding & Commencement Ceremony
The 2013 University of La Verne College of Law Hooding and Commencement Ceremony will take place in the Sports Science & Athletics Pavilion at the University of La Verne main campus on Saturday, May 11 at 5 p.m. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., tickets are required. Graduates should report to La Fetra Hall at 3:30 p.m. in their regalia. Faculty and administration participating in Commencement should report to Hanawalt House by 4 p.m. in their regalia. Parking is available in Lot “D” or other designated University parking lots, permits are not required. Handicapped parking is available in Little Lot “D” with advance notice, please contact August Farnsworth, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Career Services at afarnsworth@laverne.edu to request a handicapped parking pass.
Graduation Brunch
In order to celebrate our graduates’ achievements and to reminisce, La Verne Law will be hosting a Graduation Brunch on Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. to noon at the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel & Conference Center in the Sonoma Ballroom at 601 W. McKinley Avenue in Pomona. Parking is free.
Refreshments at La Verne Law
Following the Graduation Brunch, the University of La Verne College of Law will be open for graduate’s and their families and guests to visit, take pictures, and get a tour from their graduate. Refreshments will be available in the Frank J. Mistretta Family Foyer from noon to 3:30 p.m.
After Commencement Reception
There will be a reception after Commencement in the Ludwick Conference Room located on the third floor of the Sara & Michael Abraham Campus Center enter from approximately 6:30 p.m./7 p.m. to 8 p.m. All graduates, guests, alumni, faculty, and administration are welcome. President Devorah Lieberman will be honoring Dean Philip A Hawkey with a special recognition presentation approximately 20 minutes after Commencement is over on stage at the reception.
The faculty and administration are looking forward to celebrating this wonderful occasion with our graduates and their family and friends.
For further information on Commencement, please contact August Farnsworth, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Career Services at (909) 460-2016 or afarnsworth@laverne.edu.
Keynote Address by Richard H. Friedman
The University of La Verne College of Law is proud to present Richard Friedman as our keynote speaker for the 2013 Hooding & Commencement Ceremony.
Richard H. Friedman is recognized as one of the nation’s top civil trial attorneys representing individuals and small businesses injured by large corporate and government interests. His cases include those involving catastrophic injury, defamation, wrongful death, medical malpractice, insurance bad faith, and business torts. Among the most notable of his cases are Myrick v. Mastagni, believed the first case in California holding a building owner liable for injuries sustained in an earthquake, and Robinson v. State Farm, which exposed the use of phony doctor’s reports to deny claims. Four of his verdicts have ranked in the top 10 largest verdicts in the United States.
Licensed to practice in Alaska, California, Nevada, and Washington, Friedman also regularly appears pro hac vice in other state and federal courts around the country. He is Of Counsel to Shernoff Bidart Echeverria Bentley LLP of Claremont, the nation’s leader in protecting policyholders from insurance company abuse. He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group consisting of the best plaintiff trial lawyers in the United States, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.
Friedman is also author of three best-selling legal books: Rules of the Road, Polarizing the Case and Rick Friedman on Becoming a Trial Lawyer (all published by Trial Guides, LLC, of Portland, Oregon). Mary Lynn Tate, co-director of the University of Virginia National College of Trial Advocacy and former president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association, calls Rules of the Road “the most significant and practical contribution to advocacy and trial practice in several decades.” David Ball, author and nationally known jury consultant and trial skills trainer, says it “is among the most necessary trial advocacy books ever written.”
A New York native, Friedman received his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1979 and a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College (Ohio) in 1976. He started his career in a small town in Alaska as a lawyer with no staff and a personal passion for studying the books and transcripts of leading trial lawyers. Today, lawyers from across the country seek his assistance with their cases.