Miss Canyon Lake 1991 passes the bar, takes Long Beach law firm job
Rina Stinson, Miss Canyon Lake 1991, passed the California Bar Exam recently and has joined the firm of Andrea Cook & Associates. She sat for the exam in October in a first-ever COVID-19-required online test. She received notification last month that she had passed.
“I could never have successfully completed the coursework alone,” Rina, a non-traditional student at the University of California, Irvine School of Law and a divorced mother of two, said. “My mother, Marina Stinson, provided regular childcare, driving from Canyon Lake to Irvine weekly and my godmother Andrea Cook provided professional guidance and encouragement.”
Rina Stinson
Rina now begins her career as a lawyer after more than a year of working as an intern and then law clerk. During the three years of her legal education, Rina was involved in several internships including the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange and Los Angeles Counties and the Orange County Superior Court. Additionally, Rina represented clients through the Domestic Violence Clinic and the Veterans Appellate Litigation program.
Rina had the unique and moving experience of being sworn into the state bar at sunset, surrounded by her family on the Laguna Bluffs by the Honorable Kimberly Knill, Rina said.
“Rina was held in high regard by her fellow students and her professors at the law school,” Andrea said. “In addition to being a busy lawyer, Rina is committed to the success of her children, Koa and Marina Liles, in these challenging times of remote learning.”
Rina said she enjoyed her first two years of undergraduate education at UC San Diego, then transferred to UC Irvine, where she graduated with honors. Most recently, she returned to law school as a mom and lived on campus with her two school-age children in tow. Rina earned both the Dean’s Award and the Faculty Award from the University of California, Irvine School of Law and graduated in May 2020.
Rina’s family includes Canyon Lakers Marina Stinson, Robert Stinson, Kathleen Leone, Lauren Stinson and Michael Siller.
“We all congratulate Rina on her significant accomplishments and extend our best wishes for a wonderful future,” Marina said.