Orange County-based law firm Rutan & Tucker, LLP has again committed an annual gift of $15,000 to Chapman University Fowler School of Law to support its first year oral and written advocacy competition program. With the addition of this year’s gift, Rutan’s recent contributions to the law school now total $235,000.

“We hold Chapman in the highest regard, and we are delighted to continue our annual support of the school’s efforts to expand its scholarship fund. Rutan intends to support this exceptional program for decades to come as the future leaders of our legal community graduate from the Chapman University Fowler School of Law,” said Steve Nichols, the firm’s managing partner.

Having earned a “Top Schools” ranking in U.S. News and World Report, the law school is a forum where diverse and highly accomplished faculty members provide students with a combination of personalized instruction and real-world clinical and courtroom experience.  Chapman’s academic programs provide the best of both worlds: foundational accredited legal instruction coupled with a varied selection of specific concentrations, joint degrees, and Master of Laws degrees.

rutan-gift-story-feb-2015


From left: Fowler Law Associate Dean Jayne Kacer, Rutan & Tucker Managing Partner Steven A. Nichols, and Fowler Law Dean Tom Campbell.



“Rutan & Tucker is a very special Orange County firm and we are delighted to have their continued support for our Law School. We are proud to have several Rutan & Tucker attorneys teaching practical skills classes for us. Our partnership with Rutan & Tucker greatly enriches our law school,” said Fowler Law’s Dean Tom Campbell.

“Further, we have named our law school’s first year oral argument and drafting competition for Rutan & Tucker.  The best oralist is the Rutan & Tucker Golden Gavel winner, and the best brief writer wins the Rutan & Tucker Golden Quill award,” Campbell added.

The competition provides an opportunity for first year Fowler Law students to participate in a rigorous mock oral and written argument, building core advocacy and research skills. Students compete against each other before panels of volunteer judges consisting of sitting judges, practicing lawyers, professors and members of
Fowler’s Appellate Moot Court Board
.

About Rutan & Tucker LLP

Rutan & Tucker
is California’s largest full-service law firm headquartered in Orange County, California with offices in Costa Mesa and Palo Alto. Primary practice areas include business and real estate litigation, corporate and securities law, labor and employment law, intellectual property, real estate, municipal and government agency law, land use law, bankruptcy, condemnation and property valuation, environmental law, and taxation and estate planning.