John Lacy

Last week, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (RMMLF) recognized alumnus and Professor of Practice John Lacy ('67) at

its 61st Annual Institute in Alaska with the prestigious Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching natural resources law with consideration given to the fostering of a broad understanding of the law, mentoring of students, and innovative style.

While we are completely biased towards the many worthy accomplishments of our alumni, it is possible to be biased and right, and this award captures John's noteworthy achievements. We also take extra pride as John was recently named director of our new Global Mining Law Center. John has been critical in the conception and development of this new program.

The Global Mining Law Program is in many ways a reflection of John's life, work, and notable career. The son of Willard C. Lacy, the first head of the combined UA Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, John grew up around mining. John's career has been devoted to international mineral transactions -- including drafting the revisions to the mining law of the Republic of Bolivia and the English translation of the mining laws and regulations of Mexico. 

John has taught courses on mining and public land law, oil and gas law, and mining transactions at both Arizona Law and the UA Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, and he is the author of numerous publications concerning mineral rights and mineral law history. These publications include a portion of the American Law of Mining, 2d, published by RMMLF.

John and friends at a mine site

Under John's leadership our new Global Mining Law Center will provide training to both lawyers and non-lawyers from around the globe, engage in cutting-edge research on issues related to all aspects of global mining law and policy, foster productive dialogue among various stakeholders, and develop innovative real-world solutions to law and policy issues of importance to mining, natural resource, and energy development.

We are the first academic institution to establish a global center of this magnitude, with targeted degree programs focused on global mining law. Our center was created in partnership with the top-ranked UA Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, led by Dr. Mary Poulton. Indeed, with the support of the University, Mary has formally committed a portion of her time going forward to help build the Global Mining Law Program.

The center will dramatically expand offerings and impact in the field using distance learning to deliver content to mining professionals throughout the world. Programming is developing quickly due to generous industry partners and stakeholders, such as prominent alumnus Chuck Jeannes ('83, President & CEO, Goldcorp), the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, as well as grant support and the instrumental partnership of the RMMLF and its leadership. Find out more on the Global Mining Law Center website or by emailing mininglawcenter@email.arizona.edu.

Please join me in congratulating John on receiving this well-deserved award. We are grateful for his leadership, and with his help will train the next generation of leaders who work in and with the global mining industry.

Visible markers of the College's long and rich history line today's College of Law hallways -- a number of solid mahogany benches with origins in the 1920s. Dean Fegtly, the first dean of the law school, came to the UA from Chicago, where he attended Northwestern. Lincoln Hall, at Northwestern Law, is modeled on the English House of Commons. 

Lincoln Hall

Fegtly, once at Arizona, had the benches from that grand lecture hall copied for the first permanent law building on the UA campus, today known as the Douglass Building. The College inhabited the building from 1929 to 1959. The benches were then put into long-term storage prior to their current use (there is more to tell about this part of their journey in a future newsletter). In the first dedicated law building, students sat one or two to a bench, with the desk formed from the back of the seat in front of them.

Class underway circa 1929 in the Douglass Building, which housed the College of Law for thirty years

Former Dean Henderson elaborates on the significance of the benches' historical design: 

"The room at Northwestern known as Lincoln Hall is a duplicate of the Lincoln's Inn of Court whose origins go back to the 13th Century in England. It was one of the original four Inns and still exists today. It is part of an interesting history of legal education in Great Britain, something that at one time fell solely within the ecclesiastical realm, but whose jurisdiction was eventually limited by the Pope to cannon law. That is when the Inns were created and the common law was taught."

As he puts it, "One can imagine aspiring barristers sitting in the benches at Lincoln's Inn just as [former Dean] Chuck Ares ('59) and others did at the UA College of Law from 1929 to 1959."

Do you have photos or memories from your time at Arizona Law?  We would love to hear from you.  Please contact Emily McGovern, Centennial Coordinator, to share your images and stories.  

Homecoming-Centennial Week, October 18-25 

Visiting the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot  with the kids and their cousins

Our dog, Ruby, meets Monterey Bay

My son, Wyatt, and I take a moment to get away from it all

Warmly,