San Joaquin College of Law

Online Program

Online Program

In addition to its successful, traditional in-person program, San Joaquin College of Law is now offering a remote J.D. option.

Learn More

Apply
Accepting applications for in-person
or online programs.

Bar Pass Success
The ABA requires that at least 75% of a law school’s graduates pass a bar examination within two years of graduation. While SJCL is not ABA accredited, its graduates have exceeded that ABA standard for the classes of 2020 (80%), 2021 (82%), and 2022 (94%). Note: Statistics for Class of 2023 and 2024 results will be posted once two years of attempts have been completed.

More Info

74%
Percentage of first-generation students in the incoming class of 2024.

Events

LSAT Prep Class

April 9, 2024 | 6:00 - 8:00pm

Join us for a free session on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), led by San Joaquin College of Law's Professor Shannon Wentworth, to develop strategies to approach the analytical thinking questions on the LSAT.

Learn More

Law School 101

April 21, 2025 | 6:00 - 8:00pm

Our free informational monthly law school forum will help prospective students learn about law school, from courses offered to admission requirements.

Learn More

In the News

ABC 30 - Central Valley attorney shortage

ABC’s Channel 30, Corin Hoggard interviews students at SJCL's Career Fair.

Central Valley Today Show Interview

Academic Dean Justin Atkinson and current student Cindy Arrendondo discuss legal career options in the Central Valley.

Online Program

In addition to its successful, traditional in-person program, San Joaquin College of Law is now offering a remote J.D. option.

Serving the Central Valley

Choosing a law school in a region where the job market is promising is a primary reason to attend SJCL. SJCL has produced talented graduates who hold prestigious and influential positions both locally and throughout the State. Located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, SJCL is the only law school in a 100 mile radius.

Learn more about our unique location

READ THE LATEST NEWS FROM SJCL •

Monday April 7, 2025

The new issue of Inter Alia, our quarterly magazine, has been published. Get a sense of San Joaquin College of Law through its' amazing alumni and students.

See all the back issues here.

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2025/Paul%20Robert%20Jacobsen.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2025/Paul%20Robert%20Jacobsen.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2025/Cherney.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2025/Cherney.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/2024%20Hall%20of%20Fame.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/2024%20Hall%20of%20Fame.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Palsgraf%20v%20Long%20Island%20Railroad%20Co.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Palsgraf%20v%20Long%20Island%20Railroad%20Co.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Deyci01.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Deyci01.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Class%20of%202024.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Class%20of%202024.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Francisco%20Javier%20Rosas.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Francisco%20Javier%20Rosas.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Tiffany%20Pack.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/Tiffany%20Pack.jpg?width=660&height=400

Image not found: https://www.sjcl.edu/images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/International%20Lawyers%20Day.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/InterAlia/News/2024/International%20Lawyers%20Day.jpg?width=660&height=400

Paul Robert Jacobsen

SJCL notes with sadness the passing of Paul Robert Jacobsen (Tax Law ‘92) after a two-year battle with brain cancer, on February 14, 2025, in Boise, Idaho.

Professor Phillip Cherney

It is with great sadness that SJCL announces the passing of Professor Phillip Cherney on January 31, 2025. He was 75. Professor Cherney began teaching Criminal Law at SJCL in 2014. He impressed upon his students his passion for the protection of individual rights, the defense of death row clients, and the pursuit of justice, in conjunction with human compassion.

Meet the Hall of Fame Inductees for 2024

By Diane Skouti Baiza, Alumni Liaison

Most highly accomplished people share traits in common that contribute to their success. They often exhibit multi-faceted talent and smarts, in addition to having reached a pinnacle of academic pursuit. The four newest inductees to the SJCL Hall of Fame share these attributes in spades.

Constitution Day: The Supreme Court is Off the Rails. Are we past the Zone of…

By Logan Tennerelli, Dean of Students

I met my husband, Vince Tennerelli, when we were students at the University of Chicago Law School in 2006. This year, we teamed up on September 19 for SJCL’s 2024 Constitution Day Lecture (Video of the event is below), yielding an in-person audience of 50+ people and an online audience of 20+. (Offering my Fresno City College students extra credit for coming can’t hurt, right?)

Balancing Law School, Family, and Leadership: A Story of Resilience and Inspiration

Balancing family life and her law school dreams with fierce determination, Deyci Nunez Garcia is a testament to resilience and ambition. As a second-year law student at San Joaquin College of Law, Deyci has overcome many obstacles to reach this point and she's setting an inspiring example for first-generation and Latino students.

SJCL Graduates 51st Class

By Logan Tennerelli, Dean of Students

The Class of 2024 was cheered by a crowd of over 1,000 family members and friends as the graduates basked in the spotlight at the Saroyan Theatre in June.

SJCL’s 51st commencement included the heartwarming moments of triumph, inspiration, and gratitude we’ve come to cherish throughout the law school’s history.
Highlights included Dean Atkinson reading the graduates’ biographies in five languages: English, Spanish, Hmong, Punjabi, and Swahili! Many graduates also showed pride in their cultures, identities, and membership in student organizations by donning personalized stoles. One graduate, Jose Ireta, displayed the flag of Mexico as his bio concluded with, “Viva la Mexico!” Members from the SJCL Alumni Association welcomed the graduates to their fold with a gift for each. Dean Tennerelli hooded the graduates, with the exception of Michael Prentice, who was hooded by his father David, a founding partner of Prentice Long, PC.

Unity Bar Honors First-Gen Supporter

By Beth Pitcock, Director of Human Resources & Compliance

Francisco “Javier” Rosas, Director of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion at San Joaquin College of Law was honored with the Unity Bar Award this spring, for his passion and commitment to supporting unity and diversity in the legal community. The award was presented at the Central California Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Honorable Mikio Uchiyama Annual Scholarship Banquet in May. Speaking in place of Attorney General Ron Bonta who appeared via video due to a sudden trip to Washington D.C., Associate Justice Shama Hakim Mesiwala noted the grit and tenacity that is required to blaze a path as the first in a family or underrepresented group to achieve a college degree and become a successful professional.

Alumna Tiffany Pack Honored as Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

By Diane Skouti Baiza, Alumni Liaison

On her left arm, criminal defense attorney Tiffany Pack (Law ‘18) has a large tattoo of a jellyfish, an original drawing by her daughter. Her right arm - also fully tatted (even her elbows are inked) displays colorful and happy images from Disney movies, symbolizing her love of family and adventure. “My job (criminal defense attorney at Fitzgerald Alvarez & Ciummo) is stressful,” Tiffany says. Rather than spend a fortune for a therapist, she prefers to talk with her tattoo artist. “He listens to me. It’s therapeutic and it makes me feel better.”

Happy International Be Kind to Lawyers Day!

Did you know that today, April 9^th, 2024, is International Be Kind to Lawyers Day? Wedged into the month of April between the 6^th - Sorry Charlie Day (an unofficial holiday acknowledging that rejection is a common part of the human experience that touches us all), and the 11^th – Submarine Day (to honor people who build and work on submarines, which one celebrates by eating a submarine sandwich!), International Be Kind to Lawyers Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday in April, with an aim to dispel the negative associations often ascribed to lawyers.

On the Move...

Have you moved? Changed firms? Opened one of your own? Gottern married? We’d love to hear from you!

Fill out the SJCL Alumni On the Move Form or email Diane at dskouti@sjcl.edu

Yvette Estrada

Yvette Estrada (Law '18) is now an Associate Attorney at Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud, & Romo.

Virginia Madrid-Salazar

Virginia Madrid-Salazar (Law '16) is now a Deputy City Attorney II for the City of Fresno. Virginia is part of the litigation team for Labor and Employment.

Tomas Ross

Tomas Ross (Law '13) has joined the Drake Law Firm in Los Angeles as a Senior Trial Attorney representing catastrophic injury victims throughout California. He will be opening and managing the firm's first Fresno office in 2024.

Stephanie Landeros

Stephanie Landeros (Law '22) is now an associate attorney with White Canepa of Fresno, where she practices Civil Litigation and Medical Malpractice Law.

Sean Quint

Sean Quint (Law '21) has joined the Fresno County District Attorney's Office as a Deputy District Attorney.

Samantha Williamson

Samantha Williamson (Law '21) is now an Associate Attorney at Tipton Legal.

Ryan Heller

Ryan Heller (Law '22) is now a Deputy District Attorney with the Merced County District Attorney's Office.

Rose Oregel Gonzalez

Rose Oregel Gonzalez (Law '22) is has joined the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a Judicial Law Clerk.