September 6, 2002

School of Law receives nearly $1,000,000 in grants and gifts

The School of Law recently received nearly $1,000,000 in funds. The Kendall Vick Public Law Foundation gave the law school $600,000 to establish the Kendall Vick Endowment for Public Law. Both the foundation and the endowment bear the name of a Loyola professor who taught in the 1960s.

The $600,000 gift is intended to support student internships, special projects, legislative drafting instruction and administrative assistance, public information presentations, and international training. The endowment will help further Loyola's longstanding commitment to public law that is pervasive through the curriculum, programs, and faculty. Likewise, the School of Law is committed to excellence in legal education in the Ignatian spiritual tradition: wisdom and social responsibility, not mere technical competence. The law school has exhibited this commitment through the 1988 creation of The Public Law Center, jointly operated with Tulane Law School. As such, Loyola was named one the 20 best law schools in the country for public interest programs by the National Jurist magazine, the only law school in the Deep South to make the list.

Chair of the Kendall Vick Public Law Foundation is Jerome Reso, a business and law graduate of Loyola who currently serves as vice chair of the university's Board of Trustees. He said that the foundation was impressed by Loyola's proposal and the Endowment for Public Law was "consistent with Kendall Vick's desire to encourage students to consider careers as lawyers in the public sector. We trust that the implementation of the endowment will result in an awakening of student interest in this field."

University President Bernard P. Knoth, S.J., said the $600,000 "will bolster the stature of our public law programs by supporting scholarship and clinical education in public law. Endowment gifts demonstrate vision and foresight and build the future in a way few gifts can. The Kendall Vick Endowment for Public Law will be a fitting symbol of Loyola's heritage of service to others, the foundation's mission, and our partnership with the foundation to promote excellence in public law."

According to David Marcello, director of The Public Law Center, this gift "recognizes Loyola and Tulane's institutional commitment to service and value of service to the community. The funds will provide additional resources as we continue to create a learning environment for students to help people in need."

The Public Law Center is committed to community service and social change through the interaction of the legal profession and the legislative and administrative process. The law center is the only law program in the state to offer training in legislative and administrative advocacy in a client-oriented context, and the center is the only joint program in Loyola's and Tulane's history.

Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation $375,000 gift

The School of Law also received a $375,000 gift from the Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation (LOCHEF). Donations will be paid over 20 years and support the establishment of an endowed professorship in legal ethics.

The funds are made possible through the 1998 $206 billion settlement reached between plaintiff states and major tobacco companies. Thirteen Louisiana and four out-of-state law firms represented the state of Louisiana in the dispute. Louisiana's share of the settlement is $4.6 billion. The 17 law firms created LOCHEF as a vehicle for distributing donations to a variety of organizations in the state. LOCHEF will give Loyola $60,000 this year, $60,000 in 2006, $60,000 in 2010, $15,000 in 2012, $90,000 in 2014, and $90,000 in 2018.

School of Law alumni Michael X. St. Martin, a 1967 graduate and former member of the Board of Trustees; Morton H. Katz, 1969 graduate; Kenneth E. Badon, 1971 graduate; Ken Carter, 1978 graduate; and 1984 graduate Conrad S. Williams, III, were lead attorneys for the state.

Law Dean James Klebba said the funds would help to "build our endowment and expand our ability to prepare a new generation of attorneys. One way in which we can train students for zealous advocacy is to not only give them an appreciation for and knowledge of the law, but to instill in them an ethical and moral compass. I thank the members of the Louisiana Outside Counsel Health and Ethics Foundation for their foresight and generosity in helping to enhance our legal ethics program."

"It is vitally important that young attorneys have ethics training to understand and maintain high standards in the legal field," St. Martin emphasized. "I hope the training provided at Loyola will prevent future breaches of these standards due to a lack of knowledge about professionalism."

"Our long-term commitment to Loyola by virtue of this gift is in recognition of the university's commitment to high standards in education and the profession of law," added Carter.