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<h3>In Honor of Valentine's Day: <em>Falling in Love with the Law (and a law student) - One Couple's Journey to Juris Doctorate Degrees . . . and the Altar</em></h3>
<p><img style="float: right;" src="{staticroot}files/resources/johnandlauren600px.jpg" alt="" width="33%" />&ldquo;My mother raised me to be a strong, independent woman with career goals. To me, law school was about graduating with the best grades possible and getting a good job. I had no time for romance - I was a career woman.&rdquo; Lauren A. P. Cirrinicione &rsquo;07 had no intention of meeting her husband at law school - it just happened.</p>
<p>John D. Cirrinicione &lsquo;07, on the other hand, always believed that law school would offer more than just a law degree. &ldquo;Since high school, I wanted to be a trial lawyer, so law school was always in my future. As for romance, I regularly told my friends and family that I would meet my future wife in law school.&rdquo;</p>
<p>In late August of 2004, Lauren and John&rsquo;s paths crossed on their first day of law school. &ldquo;I will never forget it. Civil Procedure with Professor Johnston in Polishook Hall, first thing in the morning on day one as a 1L,&rdquo; remembers John. &ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t quite awake until I saw Lauren walk in.&rdquo; As Lauren recalls, &ldquo;I remember thinking he was cute but had a terrible haircut. Thankfully, he started to let it grow out.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Several weeks later they had their first interaction. Lauren laughs as she remembers, &ldquo;&rsquo;Mr. Smooth&rsquo; asked me during a break in class if I was Italian. I raised an eyebrow and answered, &lsquo;Yes.&rsquo; He paused, looked at the ground, then looked back up at me, and asked if I was &lsquo;full&rsquo; (as in 100%) Italian. I raised my other eyebrow, and answered, &lsquo;Yes.&rsquo; He then thanked me and ended the conversation. It was probably the oddest exchange I have ever had with another person. He&rsquo;s lucky he&rsquo;s cute!&rdquo;</p>
<p>A year later, John asked Lauren out on the most romantic date as he could afford at the time - dinner at the Macaroni Grill. While falling in love with each other, John and Lauren found their own paths at the law school. &ldquo;If you were to ask her, I don&rsquo;t think Lauren would say she &lsquo;fell&rsquo; in love with me. We both know I tripped her.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Lauren earned a place on Law Review, and, with John&rsquo;s support, become the internal business editor. John became a member of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society and, with Lauren&rsquo;s support, was elected Student Bar Association President. After sharing class notes, and many dinners, with each other, the couple graduated in May 2007, and served as New Jersey Superior Court, Criminal Division Law Clerks before entering the practice.</p>
<p>In November of 2009, Lauren and John were married. Today, they are proud parents of two sons. Like many Delaware Law alumni, their story is one of growth in love for the law and each other. &ldquo;Lauren is a rare combination of brains and beauty without the ego. She&rsquo;s the most genuine, down-to-earth person I know, and she carries that with her in every case she handles. What you see is what you get &ndash; one of the many things I love about her,&rdquo; says John.</p>
<p>Lauren says, &ldquo;Of all the words I could use to describe John, I think the most accurate would be honest and humble. He never lies and will be the first to make fun of himself when he makes a mistake. I believe his success as a trial lawyer has to do with his ability to connect with a jury - they recognize the honesty and humility within him. It makes him a great lawyer and a great husband.&rdquo;</p>