News & Events

Following the sudden loss of President and Dean Dawn Dekle, the Board of Trustees of Thomas Jefferson School of Law has appointed former Dean Linda M. Keller to serve as President and Dean effective immediately.  Dean Keller brings over five years of experience as Dean at the Law School and over twenty years of experience […]

On Thursday, April 10, 2025, TJSL students Danielle Mai (3L) and Sulmy Pivaral (3L) were awarded the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego (FALSD) 2025 scholarship. They were honored at the Annual Kamayan and Scholarship Awards Dinner at Kusina San Diego. TJSL Dean Dawn Dekle stated, “Our connection to the FALSD community is strong, and […]

Thomas Jefferson School of Law first-year student, Illiana Sughayar, has written two articles for the March 2025 ABA GPSolo Division’s eReport. The first article is “A Ramadan Guide for Attorneys and Clients” and the second article is “Protecting Minors’ Privacy Rights and Well-Being Online.” Illiana’s legal writing professor, Julie Houth, commented, “I am very proud […]

On Monday, February 24, 2025, Thomas Jefferson School of Law inaugurated the new Alumni Association Board of Directors. Dean Dekle administered the oath, and commented, “I am so pleased to see our alumni coming back to the campus and engaging with the school. The excitement at the meeting tonight was electric, and I am really […]

TJSL Alumni, Jeffrey Schwartz and Ko Sharif, came to campus on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, to lead a session about Delta Theta Phi, the law fraternity. Delta Theta Phi had a chapter at TJSL for a number of years, and both Schwartz and Sharif were members as law students, and they remain members today. There […]

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, Director of the Legal Writing Program, Netta Burke, shared her recent research, “Clearest Point – Muddiest Point: Creating an Effective Feedback Loop for Greater Student Engagement and Heightened Cognition” with the learning community at the law school. Director Burke provided the context that to her, teaching is more than being […]

On Saturday, January 25, 2025, the TJSL Alumni Association hosted an Open House and offered 3 “hard to get” Continuing Legal Education (CLE) sessions. The first session, Avoiding Malpractice, was delivered by Deborah Wolfe. The second session, Ethics and Trust Account, was delivered by David Carr. The third session, Managing and Running a Law Firm, […]

On January 16, 2025, TJSL students participated in the Tulane University School of Law International Baseball Arbitration Competition in New Orleans. The team of Thomas Schimmel (3L), Johnny Gomez (3L), and Addyson Ocker (1L) was coached by Ashley Newton (2L) and Hazel Heath (3L). There were 42 total teams and TJSL faced Hastings, Pace, and […]

What a wonderful way to kick off the New Year!  Professor Linda M. Keller was honored to attend the formal installation of Commission Lizbet Muñoz (TJSL ’99) to the San Diego Superior Court on January 7, 2025.  Judge Muñoz reflected on her experience at TJSL, attending part-time after believing law school was not in the […]

On December 14, 2024, 4 TJSL students were awarded scholarships during the SDLRLA Scholarship Fund Dinner and Gala, held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. TJSL Dean, Dawn Dekle, was in attendance, and she said, “I was so proud of our students receiving these scholarships. All of the recipients are involved with our campus chapter […]

On Friday, December 6, 2024, the San Diego County Bar Association (SDCBA) celebrated the inauguration of Environmental attorney Michelle A. Gastil (TJSL 2009) as the new President for 2025. TJSL Dean Dawn Dekle was in attendance to represent TJSL and mark the important occasion. “We are very proud of our alumnus, Michelle, for all of […]

Lorena received her JD from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2003. She was President of the TJSL La Raza Association for two years. She has a B.A. in Russian and Soviet Studies from UCSD. She served on the TJSL alumni board after graduating. She is past President of the San Diego La Raza Lawyers […]