Seventy-seven students received the degree of juris doctor at Thomas 
Jefferson School of Law’s Fall Commencement on Sunday, December 17, 2006 at the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park.
The commencement speaker was prominent Los Angeles criminal defense and civil rights attorney Thomas Mesereau, known for his tireless community service legal work, and for defending Michael Jackson, among other celebrity clients.
Mesereau told the graduates that no matter what legal specialty they choose, that they can “make a difference in the world that will be priceless by carving out a percentage of your time to help those in need.”
Valedictorian Erin Lindquist told her classmates: “I’m proud of all of us for making it through what hopefully was the three most intellectually challenging years of our lives; I’m proud that you’re the group of people that I had the privilege to call classmates and I’m proud that it’s Thomas Jefferson (School of Law) that got us here.”
Thomas Jefferson Dean Rudy Hasl congratulated the new graduates on joining “a noble and learned profession. I hope and pray that your professional and personal lives reflect a fervent commitment to justice and compassion in a world which so desperately needs your assistance.”
Most of the graduates will immediately begin preparing for the bar exam in California, and other states.