$2.5 Million Planned Gift to Support Law School Clinical Programs

King Hall alumni know that the best legal education sometimes takes place outside the classroom.  UC Davis School of Law's clinical programs have a long history of providing students with the opportunity for hands-on, real-world training and experience that gives them an invaluable edge when they enter the job market.  Now, thanks to a generous planned gift of $2.5 million, UC Davis School of Law will be in position to sustain and expand its clinical programs in the years to come.

"Legal education should involve more than just sitting in a classroom," said the donor, a King Hall alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous.  "For many years, I was a member of the recruiting committee at my firm, and we interviewed students from top law schools all over the country.  I came to recognize that the most interesting and successful candidates were the ones who had gone out into the community and gotten some real-world experience.  It made me realize the importance of clinical programs in legal education, and I decided I wanted to do something to support them at UC Davis."

Making a planned gift targeted to support the Law School clinics and other programs that provide hands-on experience proved to be easy, he said.  "I told them what I wanted to do, and I found that the Law School has procedures in place where they can supply you with draft language and walk you through the process."

The donor, a member of the King Hall Class of 1974, was a tax attorney at a prominent firm in the northwest until his retirement, when he decided to take advantage of a program that offered low-cost classes for retirees at a local university.  The experience renewed his belief in the importance of supporting public education, and as he considered how he might make a contribution, he was surprised to learn that planned gifts to educational institutions are relatively rare. 

"It seemed to me that this was a perfect way to support education," he said.  "With a planned gift, you're able to retain control over your assets for as long as you live, yet you're also able to do some good later on."

Planned gifts not only provide support and long-term fiscal stability, but also help King Hall to meet critical fundraising goals set as part of the $1 billion Campaign for UC Davis, the university's first-ever comprehensive campaign. The Law School has agreed to raise $20 million over the course of the campaign, and because the donor is over the age of 62, it has been able to count his $2.5 million planned gift toward the campaign goal.  This helped the School of Law to bring in a total of $4.3 million in private support during the 2011-12 fiscal year, more than the double the highest total of any prior year, and to bring its campaign total to an impressive $13.2 million.

"I hope this gift helps the Law School not only to preserve its outstanding clinical programs, but to make them grow so that they become part of the experiences of even more students and have an even greater impact in the community," said the donor.  "I also hope that publicizing this gift encourages other alumni to consider the impact they can make with a planned gift of their own."

Planned gifts are an integral part of the Law School's strategy to increase private support and continue to offer the best in legal education to outstanding students of all backgrounds.  To find out how you can support UC Davis School of Law, please contact Jean Korinke, assistant dean for Development and Alumni Relations, at jfkorinke@ucdavis.edu.