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Greetings,
One of the important things we do for Arizona Law students is to give them a wide range of courtroom and practical experiences. Last week, this included the annual visit from the Arizona Supreme Court and its clerks.
A number of Arizona Law skills teams also provide invaluable experiences to our students in multiple practice areas. The Intellectual Property program, which in 2016 saw its patent team make it to nationals in the Giles S. Rich Moot Court Competition, has just seen an expansion in its capacity to support skills teams and established the Russ Russo Moot Court Team.
Until the footnotes,
Marc
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Family and Friends Endow IP Moot Court Team
in Honor of Russ Russo
I am excited to share news of a generous gift from 1978 Arizona Law graduate
Steven Russo on behalf of his father, longtime Tucson attorney
Russell Russo.
The
Russell Russo Endowment in Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship
was created by Steve and friends in celebration of Russ's 60th year as a member of the Arizona Bar.
Although Russ is not an alumnus of the UA, Steve is a double Wildcat (BS '75, JD '78) and Steve's son and Russ's grandson
Michael Russo ('09) also earned his JD at Arizona Law. The family selected the college's IP program as a beneficiary of their generosity as a nod to Russ's entrepreneurial skills.
Celebrating Six Decades of Connection to Tucson and the UA
 Russell Russo was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated with his law degree from Ohio State Law School and then entered the Air Force in 1953 as a Judge Advocate.
Fortunately for Tucson, and over time for the UA, Russ was stationed at Tucson's Davis Monthan Air Force Base for three years. He started his private practice in Tucson in 1956. Many of his original clients were connected to the base.
Arizona Law Class of 1962 alumnus
Tom Cox later became a part of the firm, and in 1978 Russ welcomed his son, Steve, to the firm. Russ retired in 1989, but remains Of Counsel.
Steve Russo obtained his BS in business administration, with highest distinction, from the UA in 1975 and graduated, with distinction, from the UA School of Law in 1978. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. Steve's practice includes municipal finance, estate planning, and probate law. Steve has represented numerous non-profits and corporations in tax matters, as general counsel, in corporate matters, and general business matters.
A Lasting Impact
This new gift builds on the significant momentum underway in the IP program! Professor
Allan Sternstein, co-director of the IP program, says the new endowment by the Russos expands the ability to send students to annual skills competitions.
Thank you, Steve, and thank you, Russ. We are honored to carry your name in such a vibrant part of our college program.
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Arizona Supreme Court Visit
On Tuesday, November 7, the
Rehnquist Center and Arizona Law welcomed the Arizona Supreme Court back to campus for its annual visit.
As part of its statewide education effort, the court heard arguments on two cases:
(1)
The State of Arizona v Hon. Gates/Apolinar Altamirano and
(2)
Mertola LLC v Alberto J. Santos/Arlene Santos.
In addition to the opportunity to hear oral arguments before the court, the visit included time for students and faculty to speak with the justices and their staff. The college held a well-attended luncheon with the clerks, who fielded questions from the audience.
The Latino Law Students Association also hosted a group of local high school students who are interested in exploring legal careers, accompanying them to the luncheon and as they watched the court in session.
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Alumna-Led Organization Wins Top Prize at Social Impact Pitch Competition
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Stacy Rupprecht Butler ('02) is third from the right, holding the check.
Photo credit: Great Bear Media.
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Congratulations are in order! The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship recently announced a first-place win by Arizona Law alumnus and professor of practice Stacy Rupprecht Butler ('02) on behalf of the organization Step Up to Justice in its first-ever Social Impact Pitch Competition. This was the culminating event of the McGuire Center's Social Impact Summit. (
Read original article by the McGuire Center.
)
Step Up to Justice provides civil legal services to low-income individuals in Pima County.
Stacy is the organization's board president, and she presented the winning pitch. She told the McGuire Center,
"Winning the first Social Impact Pitch Competition was incredibly affirming and energizing for our hard-working staff and volunteers."
Further,
"We are so grateful to the sponsors of this event for recognizing the need for innovative social justice solutions and for their belief in our ability to efficiently and effectively deliver quality free civil legal services. This award allows us to implement much-needed software technology into our service delivery model, so that we can continue to connect volunteer attorneys with the low-income clients who truly need their help. Our program is providing $1 million in free civil legal services to low-income individuals in Pima County this year, and we can't wait to show the community how much further we can reach with the help of this new technology."
The McGuire Center reports that, "The judges were impressed by the Step Up to Justice presentation, which clearly addressed all three components of the judging criteria: scalability, sustainability and capacity to solve a need."
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News Deeply,
commentary from Professor Robert Glennon
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The Daily Wildcat,
commentary from Professor Christopher Robertson
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Arizona Public Media,
commentary from Professor Lynn Marcus
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The Daily Wildcat,
commentary from Professor Dave Marcus and Professor Toni Massaro
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As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, we are deeply grateful to the Russo family and friends for their gift in support of the college's Intellectual Property program and the expansion in opportunities to hone their skills that this gift represents for our students.
Warmly,
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