It was a record-setting year of alumni support through USC Gould’s seventh annual Law Firm Challenge. All told, 540 alumni from 60 firms and organizations contributed nearly $400,000 to support current students, faculty, and programs. This is a 17 percent increase in the number of donors and the most funds ever contributed in the Challenge.
Over 80 alumni served as volunteer representatives within the participating firms this year to encourage their USC Gould alumni colleagues to donate.
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| Dave Walsh '85 |
“A defining characteristic of USC Gould alumni is their willingness to give back of their time and their resources,” said Dave Walsh ’85 of Morrison & Foerster, who chaired the 2014 effort. “It is an honor to lead the Challenge, but ultimately our success comes from the dedication of the volunteers within each of the participating firms and companies – they really demonstrated the effectiveness of our Trojan network.”
Eighteen firms won the 2014 Challenge by reaching 100% participation and leading the effort to a final total of 70 percent participation overall. In addition, the number of alums giving at the Law Leadership Society level of at least $1,000 annually more than doubled over last year. Perhaps most importantly, 23 alumni made their first gift to the law school during the Challenge.
Leading the effort at Gibson Dunn, one of the winners of the Partner’s Challenge with a high percentage of Law Leadership Society Donors, were Amy Forbes ’84, Lauren Eber ’06 and Megan Kundu ’07.
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| Amy Forbes '84 |
“The lawyers of Gibson Dunn who went to USC owe the law school a huge debt. The fact that Gibson Dunn once again reached 100% participation is an acknowledgment of our commitment to the law school,” Forbes said. “It is especially gratifying that partners and associates alike give generously to support the exceptional legal education that USC continues to offer.”
Three corporate legal departments also participated in the annual Challenge, including: Amgen, The Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros.
“A high level of alumni participation is an outward demonstration of the Trojan network. It is important to the law school’s reputation and should be something alumni from all sectors care about,” said Casper Partovi ’99 of Amgen. “USC law is increasingly offering opportunities for in-house counsel alumni to stay connected to the school, which makes our participation even more pertinent.”
Partners Challenge winners
Group I (31+ alumni)
Gibson Dunn
Group II (11 – 30 alumni)
DLA Piper
Group III (2 – 10 alumni)
Hahn & Hahn
Phillips Law Partners
Firms with 100% Participation
Group I
Gibson Dunn
Group II
Bingham McCutchen
Littler Mendelson
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Reed Smith
Rutan & Tucker
Winston & Strawn
Group III
Feinberg, Mindel, Brandt & Klein
Goodwin Procter
Hahn & Hahn
Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear
Morrison & Foerster
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Parker Milliken
Phillips Law Partners
Sauer & Wagner
Snell & Wilmer
Stoel Rives
Venable
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