NEWMAN-  Being able to place three little letters behind his name has been a dream of one local man since he was a young child, and now Christopher Dean Warren is just one step away from making it a reality.

Warren has passed the California State Bar Exam and is waiting to be sworn in as a licensed attorney, entitling him to add “ESQ” to his title.

“I still can’t believe it, it’s an amazingly great feeling, I passed the California Bar!” Warren shared just after he received his results in November. “Now I am ready to get in the courtroom and start arguing and helping people.”

Warren has known he wanted to practice law since he was a young student, and freely shared that goal with others. Anyone who crossed paths with the determined young man knew he wanted to be a lawyer, become involved in politics, be a leader and make a difference in the world.

He pursued his goals with unwavering determination at every step along the way of his educational path.

Warren graduated Orestimba High School in 2002, received his bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley in 2006 and proudly received his law degree from the University of San Diego last spring.

And then it was time to hit the books again - this time in preparation for the state bar exam.

From May to July he studied 14 hours a day, Warren said. “Law school teaches you how to be a lawyer and how to think like a juror,” he explained.

But it was the bar exam preparation class where he learned the laws - all the laws, covering a broad spectrum of legal disciplines, without knowing which would be part of the exam.

Warren took the three-day bar exam in Sacramento in July.

“The experience was very intimidating,” Warren admitted. There were 1,200 people taking the test and security was very tight, with one proctor for every 10 test takers.  The exam was broken into three sections over three 8-hour days and included essay, practical exam and multiple choice segments.

“It was mentally exhausting,” he reflected.

Warren knew what he was experiencing was what he’d been working toward all his life. All the high grades, all the late nights studying, all the choices he had made in his life up to that point, led to the opportunity to take that exam and fulfill his career goal.

He knew he had prepared as much as he could, he performed the best he could and now he’d have to wait for the results. Three months he’d have to wait.

At first, Warren said, he felt confident that he had passed. But as the day the results were to be posted approached, he began to prepare himself just in case.

“I have always prided myself on excelling academically,” Warren pointed out, which is why the thought of not passing the bar was something he didn’t want to consider.

“The last few weeks of waiting I was trying to prepare myself in case I didn’t pass. And then, I noticed on my mom’s calendar, on the date the results were to be posted, she had written, ‘Today my son becomes a lawyer!’,” he described with a “great no pressure there” expression.

In reality, that confidence helped boost him along with the constant reassurance he received from other family and friends as the big day arrived.

It was a Friday. The results would be posted on-line at 6 p.m.

Warren spent the day with his family, went to a movie and out to eat before returning home that evening. With his laptop securely placed on his lap, sitting on the couch, his family nearby anxiously waiting in another room, he slowly logged in to the site. “I sat there for about five minutes praying the Our Father before I entered the code I had to use to get the results,” he described.  And there it was...the news he had been preparing to hear all his life..... “This name appears on the pass list of the July 2009 California Bar Examination.”

“I had to read it a few times before I could shout it out to my parents,” Warren expressed. A few days later the complete list of names was posted on the site for the public to read and by mid-week he had received an official confirmation letter.

“I am so blessed!” the elated new attorney stated. “I am going to get to do what I wanted to do all my life and I am ready to get to work.”

Warren anticipates being sworn in as a licensed attorney within the next couple months.