Experienced Judge, Educator Joins Oregon Law to Prepare Students for Licensing

Oregon Law is pleased to announce Angela Ruocco is the new director of bar preparation and licensure.

Ruocco brings layers of experience in both legal work and education. Early in her career, she practiced immigration law before the United States Department of Justice courts and then pivoted to roles in local and state government as an assistant city solicitor for the City of Baltimore and an assistant attorney general for the State of Maryland. 

In Oregon, Ruocco has held two positions in the judicial system, as an administrative law judge for the state and most recently as presiding municipal court judge in the City of Bend. Her experience in higher education includes teaching in the Community Justice Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Law. 

At Oregon Law, Ruocco will enhance a multiyear bar preparation program, building on sustained success in bar passage rates and other pathways to licensure. Ruocco noted the tremendous bank of resources available to prepare students here at the Knight Law Center. 

“Oregon Law has absolutely invested in and committed to bar and licensure prep. And then, all around me, the talented faculty and staff, it's absolutely amazing,” Ruocco said. 

That investment has proven effective. Oregon Law graduates continued to outperform both the Oregon and Washington state averages for first-time test takers in July 2024. Law Ducks scored 10 percentage points higher on the Oregon Bar Exam and 7 percentage points higher on the Washington Bar Exam.

Ruocco is looking forward to helping students continue to excel.

“I deeply enjoy teaching and mentoring the next generation of attorneys and legal advocates and look forward to using my passions for access to justice and the rule of law to assist Oregon Law students on their paths to success,” Ruocco said. 

Ruocco earned her JD at the University of Maryland School of Law and her master's degree in government at Johns Hopkins University.