A Trojan for Life

Sorrell Trope '49 inducted to USC Hall of Fame

-By Gilien Silsby

Sorrell Trope '49

Since stepping onto the USC campus as a newly turned 17-year-old freshman, Sorrell Trope ’49 felt like he was home. That may explain why he went on to pursue his law degree at USC, and is one of the university’s most dynamic alums. Today, he sits on USC Gould School of Law’s Board of Counselors, having served in the past as the Chair.

Recently, the Half Century Trojans inducted Trope, along with four other alumni, into the USC Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame.

“I love this university - it is everything I am. It is me,” Trope said at the luncheon. “Without the university, I wouldn’t be where I am today… I have continued to be here at USC ever since I took my last class in law school.” 

Trope has given thousands of volunteer hours to USC Gould as well being a million dollar donor. He was nominated to the Hall of Fame by Dean Robert K. Rasmussen, who said that Trope’s service to USC Gould, which includes teaching students, hiring graduates, advising deans and contributing generously “has known no bounds.” 

“Sorrell Trope is profoundly loyal and committed to USC,” Rasmussen said. “We are only successful because of dedicated people like him.”

Trope is the founder and principal of Los Angeles-based Trope and Trope, the country’s largest law firm specializing exclusively in family law. His firm has represented some of the country’s biggest celebrities – Cary Grant, Rod Steiger, Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage, among others. He is credited with revolutionizing the field by creating a firm that is, in itself, a family environment.

In his remarks at his Hall of Fame induction, Trope said that he still recalls the wisdom and words his professors imparted to him. “The heart and soul of the university are the people who teach here,” he said. “From the day I entered, I had the most magnificent faculty - they were the most magnificent individuals… One of my favorites was my debate coach, Alan Nichols…He beat into you perfection, or to the greatest extent he could, the elements of perfection. It is what I learned at this school that has helped me and guided me along the way, even today.”

Although there is much talk about the Trojan Family, Trope said it is not a myth. “When I left USC to go out into the professional world, I came to a realization, something that was sort of not spoken, but was actually factually true...There is such a thing as the Trojan Family. It has progeny, it has siblings, and it has everything you want. There are always ways that people find out that you went to USC or you went to USC Gould School of Law, and it means something, and it is something.”

Trope said he is looking forward to many more years of involvement at USC. He credits Rasmussen with much of his enthusiasm for USC Gould. “I don’t know if I would be standing here today but for Bob’s input,” he said. “It’s really a special place… I would rather have gone to USC Law School than to Harvard Law School. I rather have gone to USC than to have gone to Yale or Princeton in terms of undergraduate school. It is me, I am it. I owe the entirety of my life to this university, I feel it, I live it and I breathe it.”

 To watch Sorrell Trope's talk at the USC Hall of Fame induction, please click here