AZ Supreme Court Justice Rebecca White Berch Honors AZ Summit Law School Graduates with Commencement

PHOENIX - Jan. 5, 2015 - PRLog -- Arizona Summit Law School was joined by Arizona Supreme Court Justice Rebecca White Berch, who delivered the commencement address at the law school’s fall 2014 graduation on Saturday, December 20 in downtown Phoenix.  Justice Berch, who recently retired from a five-year term as the court’s 23^rd Chief Justice, commemorated the success of the law school’s 155 fall and 36 summer graduates in their educational achievement, community engagement accomplishments and recognizing the many notable employment positions they have secured.

Notable positions secured by Arizona Summit Law School graduates range from local and national law firms to high-profile public offices and in-house counsel departments. Several key positions are with the following; Quarles & Brady, Fennimore Craig, Kutak Rock, Ryle Carlock & Applewhite, Resnick & Lewis, Arizona Court of Appeals Judicial Clerkships, Arizona Attorney General’s office, Department of Homeland Security/ICE, Houston Immigration Court, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office, Avnet, American Express and Crown Castle International.

“We were honored to have Justice Berch joining our graduates, faculty and staff to commemorate the significant achievement of earning a law degree,” said Dean Mays, Arizona Summit Law School. “The Justice’s reputation and commitment to advocating to the legal community about the importance of volunteerism and pro bono service mirrors a core value of our school and helps to reinforce the duty we share to serving those who are underserved community, as we strive to close the “justice gap.”

Justice Berch is known to be a strong proponent of volunteerism and pro bono work, which is closely aligned to Arizona Summit Law School’s mission of serving the underserved. The new graduates have already demonstrated a commitment to these values by providing more than 8,000 hours of volunteer and pro bono legal services, which equates to an average of more than 53 hours per student. These contributions were primarily made through volunteer projects, and participation in legal clinics focused on mediation, homelessness, domestic violence, family law issues and the Native American legal clinic.

The private downtown Phoenix law school offers a diverse and inclusive environment for full-time students, part-time students, working adults and civic-minded leaders to earn their law degree. Arizona Summit Law School’s fall graduating class valedictorians areSean M. Smith and Wendy Metcalf Anderson. These new graduates take the total number of Arizona Summit Law School alumni to 1273.

Rebecca White Berch recently stepped down as the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona. She joined the Court in 2002 and remains on the Court as an Associate Justice. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court, she served as a Court of Appeals Judge, Solicitor General of the State of Arizona, First Assistant Attorney General, ASU law school faculty member, and as an attorney in private practice.

About Arizona Summit Law School: Founded in 2005, Arizona Summit Law School is dedicated to diversifying the legal profession by advancing advocates and civic-minded leaders from serving underserved communities.  The school, which is located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, earned early recognition from the American Bar Association for the development of comprehensive professionalism teaching modules, including the 2009 E. Smythe Gambrell Professionalism Award. Arizona Summit Law School has also earned top honors for two consecutive years by prelaw Magazine, a law school journal published by National Jurist, for its innovative ideas and approach to legal education. Arizona Summit Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association, and aims to establish the private law school as a benchmark institution for legal education in the 21st century. Additional information is available at www.azsummitlaw.edu.