The swearing-in of a federal judge played out like a class reunion in U.S. Southern District Court Tuesday, as many former and current colleagues of the new judge attended the ceremony.

Judge Corali Lopez-Castro of Coral Gables was sworn in at the Miami courthouse to preside over cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Related: This South Florida Lawyer Just Became a Federal Judge

Judge Corali Lopez-Castro
Courtest Photo

Lopez-Castro left her partner post at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton to sit on the federal bench.

“My parents left Cuba many years ago, and they sacrificed everything,” the attorney said when appointed. ”You can imagine their pride in having their daughter as a federal bankruptcy judge.”

Lopez-Castro brings more than three decades of experience as a bankruptcy practitioner handling cases for domestic and international clients during her time at her previous firm.