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UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

JAMES E. ROGERS COLLEGE OF LAW


JUNE 15, 2022

Greetings,


Our distinguished alumnus Dan Cracchiolo (’52) passed away June 1 at the age of 93.


Dan was a friend and mentor to University of Arizona Law alumni and many others in the legal community. His legacy is evident to anyone who walked through the doors of the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library here at the College of Law or benefitted from his extensive philanthropic work.

Until the footnotes,


Marc

FEATURE

Celebrating the life and legacy of the University of Arizona Law alumnus Daniel F. Cracchiolo 1929 – 2022

The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law mourns the loss of alumnus Daniel Francis Cracchiolo (’52) who passed away on June 1, 2022. He was 93. 


Referred to by friends and family as a “force of nature,” Dan was born in Detroit, MI, and later moved to Tucson, AZ, just four blocks from the University of Arizona. He found his passion for the legal field in his new hometown and graduated with his Juris Doctor in 1952 from University of Arizona Law. 


Upon being admitted to the Arizona State Bar, Dan began his career as a Maricopa County deputy attorney. After being admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1957, he pursued private practice—first as a trial lawyer and then as co-founder of Burch & Cracchiolo. The firm, which specializes in corporate litigation, high-profile family law, personal injury and real estate litigation employs 50 lawyers and remained a great source of pride for Dan. 


Well-regarded as a “lawyer’s lawyer” and wise counselor to thousands of clients, Dan has received countless accolades for his role in developing Arizona’s law community. The Maricopa County Bar Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010 and several “best lawyer” lists continue to bear his name.  


Also bearing his name is the beloved and beautiful Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library here at University of Arizona Law.  


“Dan’s generosity and vision transformed a traditional library into a bright, bold, and vibrant commons of learning and collaboration,” said Teresa Miguel-Stearns, director of the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Law Library. “His legacy will forever be remembered by current and future generations of students and scholars who wander into this spectacular space.” 


Beyond his legal accomplishments, Dan also maintained a philanthropic spirit. He served as a regent for Brophy College Preparatory, a board member and past president of COMPAS, a member of the Advisory Board of Homebase Youth Services and a board member for ChildHelp USA. His lasting charitable contribution was as founder, Chairman and CEO of the Steele Foundation.


Under his stewardship, more than $100 million in bequests have been distributed from the Foundation to beneficiaries in Arizona including Steele Indian School Park, Barrow Neurological Foundation, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Science Center, Desert Botanical Gardens, Virginia Piper Cancer Center, Heard Museum, and the Herberger Center.


The Foundation endowed the Daniel F. Cracchiolo Chair of Constitutional Law at the Sandra Day O’Connor School of Law and in 1992 funded the Steele Pediatric Research Center at the University of Arizona, a medical research facility dedicated to the eradication of children’s diseases. Carrying on his legacy is Dan’s daughter Marianne Cracchiolo Mago, who now serves as the Foundation’s CEO.

  

“Dan Cracchiolo was an amazingly public-spirited lawyer. We were exceedingly proud to honor him here at Arizona Law when we created the modernized Law Commons that now bears his name,” said Toni Massaro Regents Professor and Dean Emerita of University of Arizona Law. “Dan also was down to Earth, funny, warm, and generous. For me personally, there was the added grace note that he was a first-generation Italian American like my father, whom he resembled in multiple and uncanny ways. Dan leaves a beautiful legacy of friendship, professionalism, and devotion to the public good. Above all, he loved his famiglia. May we all follow his path.” 

UPCOMING EVENT HIGHLIGHT

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Join Us at the Arizona State Bar Convention!


University of Arizona Law is proud to sponsor the Tuesday night signature event at the 2022 State Bar Convention: 


When: Tuesday, June 28, at 5:15 p.m.

Where: Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass — 5594 W Wild Horse Pass Blvd, Chandler AZ 85226

Register: azbar.org/convention


For more information on the Convention, see azattorneymag-digital.com/azattorneymag/2022conmag?folio=7.


We would love to see you there! 

AROUND THE COLLEGE

Trial Team and Fegtly Highlights

Last week, we highlighted the national and regional moot court successes. Today, we round out our year-end recap of competition teams with the Barry Davis Trial Team and our own on-campus Fegtly Moot Court Competition. Congratulations to all of the competitors!

National Trial Team Regional Competition


Six members of the Barry Davis Trial Team competed in the National Trial Team Regional Competition in Las Vegas early in the spring semester. Twenty teams from Northern California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico constitute the region.


Established in 1975, the National Trial Competition is the oldest and most widely respected law student trial competition in the country. It attracts teams from more than 140 law schools in 15 different regions and involves more than 1,000 law students every year.  


Team 1, with members Clarissa Todd, Neal Brubaker and Sean Aiken advanced to the final round, losing to UC Berkeley. Team 2, with members Max Larnerd, Rachel Romaniuk and Vincent Yesue, narrowly missed advancing to the finals and finished in 9th place.  


Other members of the popular mock trial team, who did not compete but assisted in practices, were: Haley Stewart, Derek Kilgore, Joey Ramos-Mata, Ke’Vion Pinckney, Roy Wang and Sarah Gerstel.  


Brian Chase (’11) and Travis McGivern, themselves former trial team members at their respective institutions, coached this year’s team. Robson Hauser (’14) helped organize the event, hosted at UNLV.  

Samuel M. Fegtly Moot Court Competition

The Samuel M. Fegtly Moot Court Competition is always a highlight of the competition year. The Fegtly Competition is an appellate advocacy competition open to students who have taken or are taking Advanced Legal Writing. Students participate in practice arguments with Moot Court Board members and then compete in scored rounds judged by local attorneys and judges. This is a chance for students to use the skills they have learned in a high-level competition right here on campus.


This school year’s final round of the Fegtly Moot Court Competition was held April 12 with finalists Tyler Michalowski and Joseph Rousos-Hammond arguing before a three judge panel consisting of Judge Chad Readler, Judge John Hinderaker (’96), and Roopali Desai (’05).


In a close round, Joseph Rousos-Hammond won best oralist. Semifinalists included Katerina Grainger and Haley Stewart. Joseph was also the winner of the Suzanne Rabe Award for Best Brief as well as the Samuel M. Fegtly Award for the best combined score for brief writing and oral arguments in the preliminary rounds.

Other Fegtly awards include:


Excellence in Oral Argument:


Brien Brockbank

Lauren Swol

Katerina Grainger

Robert Teuton

Derek Kilgore

Vinny Venkat

Tyler Michalowski

Haley Stewart



Honorable mention for achievement in brief writing:


Lauren Swol

Katerina Grainger

Robert Teuton

Derek Kilgore

Tyler Michalowski

Joseph Rousos-Hammond

Sonum Dixit

Alyssa Dormer

The competition is supported by alumnus Scott Burns (’76) in honor of his father, F. Britton Burns, Sr. (’41).

IN THE NEWS

As Wildfires Blaze, the Southwest Must Reduce Water Demands

Green Builder Media, featuring Robert Glennon


The 15 states with the best and worst medical debt collection protections

Becker’s Hospital Review, featuring Innovation for Justice


Turning Childhood Trauma Into Advocacy for Older Adults

Health Science Connect, featuring Tara Sklar

Twitter, @uarizonalaw

Every time a student, faculty or staff member, or community member walks into our library, they see an image of Dan Cracchiolo in the library that bears his name. 


Seeing the image and the name, as new students join our community they naturally ask, “Who was Dan Cracchiolo?”. The answer to that question is clear and powerful, and those who worked with and knew Dan, and the record he left, will speak to those students and serve as a model for generations to come.

Warmly,

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