UPCOMING EVENTS

 
Greetings,
 
Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
 
That is true for all Wildcats. But some take it deeply to heart.
 
This week we take special note of devoted College of Law alumnus George Rountree III, Class of 1960.
 
For years George has returned from Wilmington, North Carolina, to our college, to his college, to give advice to students.
 
This time George and his wife Sylvia Rountree returned so we could thank and celebrate them.
 
Until the footnotes,
 
Marc

Celebrating and Thanking George Rountree III ('60)

George Rountree (center) received the LCA Award, with UA president Robert C. Robbins (left).

The name George Rountree ('60) will be familiar to our alumni as the namesake of the  Rountree Hall building, home to some of our best-known law school programs, such as the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program and our many clinics.
 
Originally from North Carolina, George came to Arizona as a youth. He spent his high school years in Phoenix, where he was an accomplished multi-sport athlete, and his college years right here in Tucson, where he played on the UA men's basketball team and was co-captain as a senior. He earned his BA in history in 1955.
 
When George decided to follow in his father's footsteps by going to law school, he chose the UA once again. In 1962, George returned to Wilmington, NC, where he has since maintained a practice in commercial and admiralty (or maritime) law. It's a fair bet that not many people come to the desert intending to become maritime lawyers!
 
He is currently special counsel at Rountree Losee, LLP, in Wilmington. He also served in the North Carolina House and Senate from 1971 to 1974 and in 1976 became legislative counsel to Governor Jim Holshouser.
 
George has remained closely connected to, and supportive of, his alma mater for over 50 years, with the distance between Tucson and Wilmington proving to be no barrier.


George with UA athletic director Dave Heeke (left) and current law students Bryce Nakamura (3L) and Reuben Dacher-Shapiro (3L) (at right).

 
Over the years, George's generosity has directly supported numerous law students through the Rountree Scholarship. He is also a member of the College of Law Board of Visitors, a former member of the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees, and a current member of the Foundation's National Leadership Council.
 
George and his wife Sylvia Rountree were in Tucson last week for a visit with many longtime friends from the University of Arizona, the College of Law, and Arizona Athletics. We presented him with a Law College Association award for which he was selected in 2017. The award is given to alumni who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession or in their support of Arizona Law. George has done both. When notified of the award he asked that we wait until he and Sylvia could join us back in Tucson to be with his many friends and champions in person.


George with Linda Livengood, Jim Livengood, and Sylvia Rountree (left to right).

 
Thirty attendees recently gathered at Vivace, one of George's favorite Tucson restaurants, to greet Sylvia and George. Guests included University of Arizona president Robert C. Robbins, athletic director Dave Heeke and Liz HeekeLute Olson and Kelly Olson, former UA president Peter Likins, former provost George Davis and Merrily Davis, former athletic director Jim Livengood and Linda Livengood, law dean emerita Toni Massaro, current law students, and several of George's Wildcat basketball teammates from the 1950s.


George with Lute Olson.


The evening was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and thank George for his longstanding devotion to our Arizona Law and Wildcat communities.

Around the College

Clinic Students Present on Employment and Labor Law 
 
Students in the University of Arizona Workers' Rights Clinic, Dina Aouad and Savannah Williamson, both 2Ls, recently created and delivered a one-hour presentation on the basics of federal and state labor and employment laws at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson. 

Professor  Shefali Milczarek-Desai ('01), who directs the clinic, says, 

"The feedback I received from the Mexican Consulate was that our students' presentation was enriching and professional. I think they did a fantastic job. Teaching the law to others not only ensures that our students learn the law inside and out, but it also provides them with valuable public speaking and interactive learning experiences."

Dina and Savannah covered a myriad of topics ranging from minimum wage to overtime to workplace discrimination to various medical leave laws. The audience was made up of employees of the Consulate's call center. The call center, which is located in the Consulate's Tucson office, receives calls from Mexican nationals across the United States, many of whom are workers seeking to learn about their rights.

 

In addition to making outreach presentations to various groups in Southern Arizona, students in the Workers' Rights Clinic provide direct representation to low-wage workers and engage in policy research and writing. This year's project is focused on the implementation and effectiveness of Arizona's new earned paid sick time law.
 

In the News

Newsweek, quoting professor Andrew Coan



When our college recognizes alumni for their contributions to the law, and to Arizona Law, we are thanking and honoring them. 

But we are also holding out our graduates as models for the current generation of students. It gives us immense pleasure to celebrate alumni for their lives of dignity and honor, two words that perfectly describe George Rountree.

Warmly,

Marc

 

 

 
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