Media Advisory: Ambassador Carlos R. Moreno to Deliver Commencement Address at UCI Law on May 7
IRVINE, Calif., April 25, 2016 — U.S. Ambassador to Belize, Carlos R. Moreno, will deliver the commencement address for University of California, Irvine School of Law on May 7, 2016.
WHAT: University of California, Irvine School of Law will celebrate its fifth commencement, in which 119 students are expected to participate. The outstanding students in UCI Law’s Class of 2016 personify the Law School’s commitment to public service. This year, the Law School celebrates an especially notable milestone: UCI Law students have volunteered more than 50,000 hours through the Law School Pro Bono Program since the school opened in 2009. The Class of 2016 is responsible for 11,300 of those hours.
WHO: The commencement speaker, Ambassador Carlos R. Moreno, arrived June 21, 2014, in Belize and presented his credentials to Governor General Sir Colville Young on June 24, 2014. Previously, Ambassador Moreno had a long and distinguished legal career.
Ambassador Moreno served as an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court from 2001 to 2011. From 1998 to 2001, Ambassador Moreno served as a United States District Judge in the Central District of California, nominated to the bench by President Clinton. He also served as a Superior Court Judge for Los Angeles County from 1993 to 1998 and as a Municipal Court Judge for the Compton Judicial District from 1986 to 1993. Prior to his appointment to the bench he was a lawyer in private practice. He began his legal career serving as a Deputy City Attorney in Los Angeles from 1975 to 1979, where he focused on prosecuting criminal and civil consumer protection cases and handling politically sensitive and legislative matters as special counsel to the city attorney.
Ambassador Moreno has served as President of the Mexican American Bar Association and as a board member of numerous civic organizations. Ambassador Moreno received the 1997 Criminal Justice Superior Court Judge of the Year Award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the 2003 Roger J. Traynor Appellate Justice of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. He chaired the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, as well as the California Judicial Council's statewide Bench-Bar-Media Committee.
Born in Los Angeles on November 4, 1948, Ambassador Moreno is married to Christine Moreno and has three children: Keiko, Nicholas and Heather. He has a J.D. degree from Stanford Law School (1975) and a B.A. degree in political science from Yale (1970). He has maintained ties to both universities, sitting on the Board of Governors of the Yale Alumni Association and in 2009 was awarded the Yale Medal for his service to the University. He has also served on the Stanford Law School Board of Visitors.
WHEN: UCI Law Commencement is Saturday, May 7, 2016, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in Aldrich Park in the center of the UC Irvine campus. Map and parking information.
MEDIA CONTACT: Media wishing to attend Commencement must reserve a media pass by emailing their contact details to Rizza Barnes, University of California, Irvine School of Law Communications, rbarnes@law.uci.edu, (949) 824-0385.
About UC Irvine School of Law
UCI Law is a visionary law school focused on training talented and passionate lawyers and driven by professional excellence, intellectual rigor, and a commitment to enrich our communities through public service. UCI Law is a collegial environment, and our faculty comprises accomplished, nationally ranked thought leaders from around the country with a broad range of expertise. In the 2015 study by University of St. Thomas School of Law, the UCI Law faculty ranked No. 6 in the nation in scholarly impact. More about the Law School is available at law.uci.edu.