Campaign Updates
Barer Gift Provides Capstone to $70 Million Campaign
A $4 million pledge from UW Regent and law school campaign chair Stan Barer '63 and his wife, Alta, brings the total raised for the law school's campaign to more than $70 million. The Barers announced their gift, which will lead to the creation of the Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services, at law school Alumni Recognition Banquet on May 22, 2008.
"This extraordinary gift from the Barers is a wonderful capstone to the law school's successful $70 million campaign," said UW President Mark Emmert. "In addition to serving as chair of the Board of Regents, Stan is also a great friend and champion of the law school. This gift ensures that the UW will continue to produce leaders in the international human rights arena and provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and, most importantly, global legal education. We're very grateful to Stan and Alta for their vision and generosity."
"It is my and Alta's hope that the Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services will provide legal roadmaps for the establishment of enforceable duties and the resultant enjoyment of rights for the receipt of basic health care, educational and economic opportunity wherever those problems are most pressing in the globe," said Stan Barer. "It is a lofty goal but one that is close to our hearts and can no longer only be addressed by medicine and science."
American Bar Association President Bill Neukom congratulated the Barers and the law school on the gift. "The Barer Institute for Law and Global Human Services will surely enhance and extend the rule of law to communities in this country and throughout the world," said Neukom. "As we would expect of the Barers and the School of Law, this is a thoughtful and far-sighted initiative which will pay rich dividends."
The Institute, which will involve an interdisciplinary effort based in the law school, will study and promote the effectiveness of legal frameworks as essential elements in achieving goals for human health, education, and social and economic well-being in developing countries.
"The law school is fortunate to be the recipient of this generous gift from Stan and Alta," said law school Interim Dean Greg Hicks. "Their gift recognizes the law school's long history of addressing international human rights and our faculty expertise in international law."
GordonDerr honors Peter Buck '73 with gifts
The Seattle land use and real estate law firm of GordonDerr LLP recently honored UW law school alumnus, and former Buck & Gordon partner, Peter Buck '73 with the creation of the Peter L. Buck Public Interest Law Association (PILA) Grant in Environmental Law.
"The Peter Buck Grant is a generous endowment that will support and fund public interest legal work with an environmental focus for years to come," said PILA co-president Stephanie Kotecki. "We appreciate the dedication to public interest and the support for law students evidenced by this gift, and are honored to administer the grant."
The GordonDerr gift, which will provide one full PILA grant each year to a UW law student for projects that relate to the environment, is in honor of Buck's passion for helping young lawyers, as well as his expertise in environmental law.
"Pete has always enjoyed mentoring students from the law school, and GordonDerr (formerly Buck & Gordon) has a great history of supporting PILA," said Jay Derr, friend and former partner of Buck. "GordonDerr is proud to carry on this tradition."
Shellan Bequest to Support Mediation Programs
A pioneer in alternative dispute resolution, The Honorable Gerard M. Shellan may be off the bench, but he continues to hear cases as a mediator and an arbitrator. He has heard more than 3750 cases, everything from marriage dissolution to construction matters, and remains one of the most sought-after mediators in the United States.
In talking to law school students from Professors Julia Gold and Alan Kirtley’s classes, he stressed the importance of mediation. Not only does mediation make the court system more efficient, but clients benefit, in time and money, from a respectful process and the successful resolution of their issues. Judge Shellan also emphasized that today’s lawyers need to understand how to prepare for mediation, as opposed to preparing for a trial.
Shellan, who graduated from the law school at Columbia University and retired after a long career on King County Superior Court, strongly believes that mediation is a critical component of the judicial system and that students need a solid foundation in the practice and principles of dispute resolution. To this end, he recently included a $250,000 bequest and a gift of real estate property in his estate plan to support arbitration and mediation education at the UW School of Law. This newest gift is in addition to the $200,000 charitable remainder unitrust he funded in 1993 to benefit the law school. For Gold, director of the Mediation Clinic, this stable funding will allow the clinic to provide services to more people in the community while giving law students important hands on experience with clients.
“Alternative dispute resolution is now an equal part of the judicial system and handles more cases than public courts,” Judge Shellan told the students. “The Mediation Clinic is giving us new lawyers who are prepared for this component of our court system.”
Law Firm Annual Challenge
The Law Firm Annual Challenge (LFAC) was created to give alumni an opportunity to reconnect with their alma mater, to promote meaningful participation in the life of the law school, and to strengthen the Husky network within the legal community. The challenge will serve as the foundation for an organized and mutually beneficial partnership that will sustain and grow the UW School of Law for the betterment of the Puget Sound legal community and beyond. Twenty-seven law firms are participating in LFAC this year, and more than 80 law school alumni have already made a pledge to this year's campaign.
More Support for Students First From Costco Excutives
Two Costco executives recently made gifts to the UW School of Law to support the Students First campaign.
Joel Benoliel '71, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Costco, and his wife Maureen recently endowed a scholarship fund for law students in financial need. The Benoliel gift will provide a three-year award given annually to a first-year student beginning in September 2008. The latest gift from the Benoliels follows two other scholarships they created, one first awarded in 2006 and the other first awarded this year.
Benoliel has been actively involved in the law school for several years. He is currently a trustee of the Washington Law School Foundation, serves on the law school’s Capital Campaign Committee, and is a volunteer for the Law Firm Annual Challenge. He has been on the Dean’s Advisory Committee and was part of the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee.
In addition to the Benoliel gift, Costco co-founder and law school alumnus Jeffrey Brotman was honored with a gift in his name by Brotman’s long-time partner and Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal and his wife, Janet. Funds from the Sinegals gift will be slated to help financially needy law students who are first-generation college graduates, come from underserved areas of our region, or have demonstrated a strong desire in working with underrepresented populations.
Brotman, who received his J.D. from the law school in 1967, has served as a UW Regent since 1998 and is a board member of the UW Foundation. In 1998 Jeffrey and his wife, Susan, were recipients of the UW Recognition Award and, three years later, he received the School of Law's Outstanding Alumnus Award.
Joe Diamond '31, First Law Grad to Give to UW's Students First Program
Just weeks prior to his passing on March 3, 2007, three days shy of his 100th birthday, Joe Diamond along with his wife Muriel made a $100,000 gift to the School of Law to create the Josef and Muriel Diamond Law Student Scholarship. This is the first gift to the law school as part of the UW Students First campaign and, because the donation qualifies for matching funds, (equal to 50% of the contribution), the gift is considerably enhanced. The fund will provide need-based scholarships to students seeking a J.D. from the School of Law and was made in honor of Josef Diamond and his lifelong passion for the law.