Greetings,

This week we feature our remaining two Law College Association Award Winners: Jim Rogers and Professor Jim Anaya.  We also celebrate our Moot Court Program.

Until the Footnotes,

Marc 

On Saturday night at the Law College Association Annual Appreciation Dinnner, we will celebrate the accomplishments of five extraordinary alumni, including James E. Rogers, our 1962 alumnus and benefactor. The Law College Association Award will be presented posthumously.

 Jim grew up in Las Vegas, during an

 era of boom growth and enormous business potential. After graduating from the University of Arizona in business administration, Jim attended Arizona Law.

Returning to Las Vegas, Jim started a law practice with his iconic friend, Louie Weiner, that spanned real estate, corporate law, and -- in at least a couple of cases -- handling the affairs of magnate Howard Hughes. (Jim's colorful and productive law career is detailed in his autobiography.

In addition to being profitable businesses, Jim had always considered radio and TV as having great potential for public education and debate. In 1971, Jim founded the Valley Broadcasting Co. In 1979, he acquired the NBC affiliate KSNV-TV in Las Vegas. Jim also founded Intermountain West Communications Co., which owned and operated more than a dozen television stations in the western U.S.

In 1981, Jim became a Nevada National Bank board member and, in 1995, he founded the Community Bank of Nevada.  From 2005 to 2009, Jim served as the ninth chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Jim won countless awards and honors over his lifetime. He also held honorary degrees from institutions including the University of Arizona, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Idaho. He also earned a listing by Time magazine as one of the top 12 philanthropists in the nation, having gifted or pledged more than $275 million to colleges and universities. In 2006, Jim received the Paschal Murray Award for Outstanding Philanthropist from the Association for Fundraising Professionals.

Jim was a man of extraordinary vision and foresight. He was business savvy and a tough lawyer with an ardent passion for education. Jim was not only a financial benefactor to the College but a trusted advisor. When I became Dean, Jim offered the benefit of his wise counsel as he had done with the Deans before me.

Jim and his wife, Beverly, have created extraordinary opportunities at Arizona Law. Jim was a regular visitor and every Arizona Law student from 1998-2014 had the opportunity to hear him speak, and to meet him in person.  He sponsored the 3L luncheon and made it a point to get to know the faculty, and especially the newest faculty members.

Jim's contributions to the College began with a couch. When Jim's son -- alumnus Perry Rogers '92 was a student, Perry complained to his father about the lack of seating in the lobby. Jim responded to Perry's concern by purchasing a massive 108' wrapping couch that was custom made for the law school lobby creating an instant gathering space for students.

Many Arizona Law alumni remember the "red couch" and the time they spent their exchanging information. After contributing the couch Jim began to envision the school's future, working closely with the college to address unmet needs, especially given state budget cuts. 

Beyond his transformative gifts to Arizona Law, Jim encouraged us all to think bigger, to aspire to greatness, and to always remain open to the opportunities that change presents. His support for education at all levels -- and his leadership in bringing critical issues to public attention -- was a true public service. He was a true friend, passionate and unflinching, and his passing was an enormous loss for all of us.

On Saturday, we will also celebrate the achievements of Professor Jim Anaya, Regents Professor, James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy, and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Jim teaches and writes in the areas of international human rights, constitutional law, and issues concerning indigenous peoples.

His work integrates his leading scholarship and theory with active on-the-ground engagement.

Jim participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was the lead counsel for the indigenous parties in the case of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua, in which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the first time upheld indigenous land rights as a matter of international law.  Just this week, in a case Jim worked on the Caribbean Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court judgment finding that the Maya indigenous people of southern Belize have rights to the lands they have customarily used and occupied. For more information click here.

Last year, Jim was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Professor Anaya is the Co-Director with Professor Robert Williams - of our Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program.  This program has achieved worldwide prominence for offering the most advanced training in the field with its JD, LLM, SJD, and MLS program.  The program's reputation and the scholarly, educational and policy work of IPLP faculty, staff, alumni, and students reach around the globe and make a difference in the lives of indigenous people in the United States and across the world.

Professor Anaya has lectured in many countries and advised numerous indigenous and other organizations on matters of human rights and indigenous peoples.  He has represented indigenous groups from many parts of North and Central America in landmark cases before courts and international organizations.

As UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples for six year (2008-2014), Professor Anaya monitored the human rights conditions of indigenous peoples worldwide, addressed situations in which their rights were being violated, and promoted practical measures to secure indigenous peoples' rights, travelling frequently to meet with government officials and visit indigenous communities.

Prior to becoming a full time law professor, he practiced law in Albuquerque, New Mexico, representing Native American peoples and other minority groups. For his work during that period, Barrister magazine, a national publication of the American Bar Association, named him as one of "20 young lawyers who make a difference." 

On April 16, 2015, the Legal Writing Department and 2L Moot Court Program honored the following students for their contributions to and achievements in this year's Advanced Appellate Advocacy course and Samuel M. Fegtly 2L Moot Court Competition:

D. Burr Udall Award for Best Brief: This award, consisting of an inscription on a plaque for permanent display in the law school, goes to the student who wrote the best Moot Court brief:

Professor Susie Salmon presenting the Best Brief plaque to Daniel Roberts

Daniel Roberts

Samuel M. Fegtly Award: This award, recognized by inscription on a plaque for permanent display in the law school, goes to the student who has the best combined score for brief writing and oral arguments in the preliminary rounds:

  Erica Morris

F. Britton Burns Awards: These awards, consisting of two $500 prizes and sponsored by alumnus J. Scott Burns (class of 1976) to honor his father F. Britton Burns (class of 1941), go to the students who presented the best oral arguments in the final round of the Moot Court

Kate and Erica with J. Scott Burns

competition:

        Kate Hollist

        Erica Morris

Moot Court -- Excellence in Brief Writing: This award, in recognition of an outstanding quality written brief in the Moot Court competition, was presented to:

 Mitchell Turbenson

Three students received certificates of honorable mention for achievement in brief writing:

 Erica Morris

         Kate Hollist

         Lisa Davary

Moot Court -- Excellence in Oral Argument: This award, in recognition of outstanding quality in oral argument in the preliminary rounds of the Moot Court competition, was presented to:

Jingyuan Zhou

James Carlson

Receiving a certificate of honorable mention for achievement in oral argument was

Bradley Pollock

Finalist Certificates: This year, 18 students competed in the Samuel M. Fegtly 2L Moot Court Competition.  Based on the outstanding quality of their briefs and three rounds of oral argument, four participants were selected as finalists. For this accomplishment, the Program presented certificates of recognition to:

Briana Campbell

Kate Hollist

Erica Morris

Ryan Pont

These four students are also eligible to compete as primary oral advocates on the College of Law's ABA Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy Competition team next year, along with James Carlson and Daniel Roberts.

"Yes, And" Award:  Each year, we give one award to a student who exemplifies a value that makes a good lawyer.  This year, this award, named after a cornerstone principle of improvisational theater, recognizes a student who demonstrates the nimble thinking that characterizes an outstanding oral advocate. 

 Jingyuan Zhou

Jayme Weber

Team Captain Award:  This award goes to the unofficial leader, coordinator, and team captain of the 2015 ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition team.

 Jayme Weber

2015 Board Members

All of the 2015 Moot Court Board members received engraved gavels in recognition of their work on this year's class and competition:

Seth Apfel

Scott Boncoskey

Matthew Ruskin

Emily Tyson

Jayme Weber

Kylie Winkleblack

Arizona Wildcats Hall of Fame website

Martin Gentry (1903-1989), a 1929 graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and is the subject of a recent news article in the Sierra Vista Herald

A gifted athlete, Gentry played varsity football for the University of Arizona and was the captain of the 1927 football team. The Herald reports that Gentry was in fact a teammate of John Button Salmon, the player who famously uttered, "bear down," on his deathbed.

After Salmon's death, Gentry was "a key figure in leading the student body to have the university officially adopt Bear Down as its [...] slogan." Gentry's letterman's sweater has recently been recovered and, with the help of another College of Law alumnus, Matthew Borowiec (Class of 1962), is being donated to the UA's Hall of Champions for future exhibit. 

 On graduation from law school, Gentry entered practice with his brother in Willcox, Arizona. He served in the United States Navy from 1942-1945 and then resumed law practice in Bisbee until his retirement in 1970. Gentry was president of the University of Arizona Foundation for nine years and a member of the Arizona Board of Regents for seven. He provided a role model for many young lawyers who joined his firm and who later gained prominence through the practice of law, and, public service in Arizona and the nation.  

Do you have photos or memories of law student life? We would love to hear from you. Please contact Emily McGovern [ emcgove@email.arizona.edu ], Centennial Coordinator, to share your stories.

The last days of classes are here.  By next week's Wildcat Wednesday - Letter of the Law, only the February bar courses will be taking place.  Exams are upon us.  Then graduation...and then summer and life beyond our halls. 

When the students take their passion and energy to firms, agencies, and courts, it is a great day for the profession, and a great day for our well-trained students and soon-to-be alumni. 

But the work of the College does not stop in the summer.  Faculty ramp up their scholarly work.  Some classes are taught.  I spend more time on the road and with our large community of alumni and other friends.  Foundational work is done for all critical aspects of the operation of the College. 

In the weeks and months ahead, we'll be surveying the year past, highlighting the summer's events, celebrating the people, ideas, and work of our community, and looking forward to the exciting times ahead.  

Warmly,

Marc