Like many of our students, Gabi's path to law school began with Teach for America. Gabi, a 2010 UA grad in political science, taught for two years in the Phoenix area before returning home to Tucson. During that time she obtained a master's degree from "the university that shall not be named" -- her words not mine. Her stint in Phoenix made her realize how much she missed the close-knit Tucson community, so she chose Arizona Law, knowing it would open opportunities.

After graduation, Gabi hopes to practice in Tucson. Her ultimate goal is to form a non-profit that provides children with legal assistance. She wants a resource for children that extends more broadly than the juvenile system and can help the child across the full range of life and legal challenges and opportunities.

Gaby and her husband, Eric

Gabi was just elected to the board of the Marshall Foundation, a local organization that supports charitable programs in education, health and youth services. She is enjoying the opportunity to help so many people.

This summer Gabi is working at the Udall Law Firm as a summer associate. Gabi has had the opportunity to research and write about a wide range of topics from business to medical malpractice. She is really enjoying the position, including the collaborative nature of the firm and the collegiality of the attorneys. Gabi also likes the constant exposure to new legal topics and learning new things.

When Gabi is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Eric. Eric owns a liquor auditing business (think Bar Rescue). Eric and Gabi like to try new bars and restaurants and attend art and food events. Currently Gabi is spending time with a new hobby as well -- salsa lessons. 

Burr Udall ('54), Ron Zack,  Jessica Dorvinen, Gabi,  Jeanna Nash ('03), Mimi Petro ('03),  Janet Linton ('06), & Peter Akmajian ('84)

McCormick as a young faculty member

J. Byron McCormick joined the law faculty in 1926 and succeeded Dean Fegtly to become the second dean of the College of Law in 1938. 

During his tenure the college experienced a wartime decline in enrollment. In the 1941-42 Annual Report, Dean McCormick wrote, "There is the probability that the law student body will next year be reduced to one half the current enrollment." This proved to be the case, as total enrollment in 1940-41 was 77 and dropped to 33 in 1942-43.

In the 1944-45 Annual Report for the college, Dean McCormick wrote that, as of August, 1944, "nearly 30 percent of all the graduates of the College of Law were then in military service." In addition, 47 students left law school prior to graduating in order to enter the Armed Forces.

After the war, there was a surge of returning veterans, and soon the college was filled to capacity. There were 180 students enrolled for the 1947-48 school year. Having seen the college through this era of dramatic transition, Dean McCormick resigned his position and was appointed president of the University of Arizona on July 1, 1947. He remained a part of the law faculty until 1970.

Dean McCormick and the greatly expanded student body pictured in the 1947 Desert yearbook

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.  

A special thanks to all of the Arizona Law Alumni  who caught up with Assistant Dean Willie Jordan Curtis  -- affectionately known as Dean JC --  in San Diego at CLE by the Sea

Homecoming-Centennial Week, October 18-25 

Next week, the most recent 10 classes of graduates will receive an email from the college inviting them to join the alumni directory. Another group of classes will be sent invitations to sign up the following week, and so on, until all classes are incorporated. 

To join and update your information in the new online directory, simply click the embedded link, create a password, and log on. The default setting makes all information private except class year and a link for other alums to send you an email. Once you log on, you can adjust your privacy settings and edit your information, including your preferred address.

We especially hope you will do electronically what so many of you have done in person -- indeed virtually without exception -- which is to invite current students to reach out to you for advice. To make this effective, and to allow classmates or other alums who are looking for you, or looking for some alum with a particular expertise, we need you to affirmatively invite such connections in the online directory (even if you have done so before verbally), and we also need you to add information on your practice area. The more alums who do so, the stronger the directory will be as a networking and referral tool.

I know you are busy, and even though it doesn't take much time, joining the directory is one more thing for you to do. We understand. Let me share with you just four quick examples of ways that this directory can be helpful to you and our students and why we think this is worth your time.

Your 30-year reunion is coming up. You would like to get in touch with your classmates to plan an event. You can log on to the directory, search by graduation year and quickly find a list of all your former classmates. Or perhaps you are interested in finding out how many other College of Law alums practice in the same geographic area (it is often more than many alums think).

How about this scenario? You need local counsel in Ainsworth, Wisconsin. Using the alumni directory, you can search by city and state and within seconds find an Arizona Law alum practicing in Wisconsin. If the alum in Wisconsin takes the time to fill out their profile on the alumni directory, something we hope all of you will do, you will also be able to search by practice area and area of interest. In a matter of seconds, you can access the entire network of Arizona Law alumni wherever they are practicing.

One more: imagine you are a student from California with the hopes of returning to California. You have secured a summer position in LA but know you need to network to land a permanent job. You hop on the alumni directory, do a search for alumni in and around LA, and reach out for coffee. Without the directory that student has no way to easily obtain this information.

The possibilities for using the alumni directory truly are endless. This new directory makes it much easier for all of you to stay in touch with one another. I hope you will invest a few minutes of your time to make this new tool a success for you, your fellow alumni, and Arizona Law.

Warmly,