Legal News

Local firms give big to UC-Irvine's new law school

By Jason Siegel

­ The University of California, Irvine Donald Bren School of Law has raised $23.5 million from individual donors, which include many local lawyers and law firms.

UCI¹s law school plans to open its doors by fall 2009. Two dozen donors have given financially to UC Irvine as of Jan. 15.

The largest gift, at $20 million, came from billionaire and local philanthropist Donald Bren, the namesake of the school. Another $1 million each came from the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Clarke Foundation and Mark Robinson, founder and senior partner of Robinson, Calcagnie & Robinson in Newport Beach, Calif.

J. Craig Williams and Lisa Chester, of the Williams Lindberg Law Firm in Newport Beach, gave $150,000. Williams, an environmental litigation attorney, is a lecturer at UC Irvine on law involving toxic materials. Chester is chief financial officer and controller at the firm.

Among the 13 donors that gave $100,000, all but one were lawyers or law firms. National firms that gave $100,000 were Jones Day (through its foundation), Latham & Watkins, O¹Melveny & Myers, Morrison & Foerster and Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis.

Thomas Malcolm, a partner in the Irvine office of Jones Day, is a member of the advisory committee to Erwin Chemerinsky, who was hired last fall to become the dean of the Donald Bren School of Law. He officially starts on July 1.

Three Los Angeles-based firms gave to UC Irvine: Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Irell & Manella. Snell & Wilmer, based in Phoenix, gave $100,000. All the firms listed have offices in Orange County, Calif.

Locally, Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear and Payne & Fears, both based in Irvine, each gave $100,000. Anne Andrews, name partner of Andrews & Thornton, which is based in Irvine, also gave $100,000. Andrews specializes in personal injury and mass tort litigation, especially involving the herbal supplement ephedra.

DecisionQuest Inc., a Los Angeles-based trial consulting firm, is the only non-law firm or lawyer that gave $100,000.

Los Angeles-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which has an office in Costa Mesa, Calif., gave $30,000; Winthrop Couchot, a bankruptcy firm based in Newport Beach, gave $25,000; Dorsey & Whitney, which has an Irvine office, gave $17,500; the Law Office of Michael Fields gave $1,000; David S. Ettinger, a partner at Horwitz & Levy in Encino, Calif., and his wife, Susan, gave $250; and Norman H. Green, a partner at Irsfeld, Irsfeld & Younger in Glendale, Calif., and his wife, Rachel, gave $100.

Chemerinsky has been instrumental in attracting donors. Last fall, UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake initially withdrew his offer to Chemerinsky to become dean of the new law school. His decision sparked uproar among legal scholars; Drake reoffered Chemerinsky the position days later.

Green said he was solicited, but didn't give a donation to UC Irvine, soon after Drake withdrew his offer to Chemerinsky. "After they rehired him, I got a different solicitation and sent them $100," Green said. "I said it was in honor of Dean Chemerinsky."

-- Amanda Bronstad

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on January 24, 2008 (boomark / email).