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During his 50 years as a family law attorney, Double Wildcat John Bolt (BS ’65, JD ’68) was known for his legal acumen, integrity and professionalism.
“John was a singular force in the practice of family law and was invaluable in family law reforms,” says Barbara Atwood, the Mary Anne Richey Professor Emerita of Law and co-director of the Family and Juvenile Law Certificate Program at Arizona Law, who remembers him as “warm, funny and very, very smart.”
After Bolt’s death in 2024, family and friends wanted to honor his commitment to family law and help Arizona Law students. With a new $50,000 endowment from his wife, Rebecca Nathanson, and extended family members, a scholarship for Arizona Law students that was founded in 2023 by the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) has now been renamed the AAML John Bolt Memorial Scholarship. The new funding increases the annual award available to students to $5,000.
Service to Clients and to the Practice
The scholarship is particularly fitting because Bolt was a long-time fellow of the AAML and past president of the Arizona Chapter. He also served as a member and chair of the Executive Council of the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona and a founding member of the State Bar Advisory Commission for Family Law Specialization.
Throughout his career, Nathanson says, Bolt was committed to his clients, constantly reading up on the latest case law to make sure he was able to represent them as effectively as possible and returning calls and emails immediately, no matter how busy he was. “So many clients expressed how he made life-changing impacts on their lives, whether it was through obtaining custody of their children for them or helping them get through a contentious divorce,” she recalls.
Suited for Success
Bolt was also known as a sharp dresser among peers in the Tucson bar and at Donau & Bolt, where he practiced most of his career. But before his legal career, Bolt was like many students on limited budgets. “John grew up very poor,” says his wife. “He had to borrow money to go to the Salvation Army to purchase a used jacket for his first mock trial competition as he could not even afford clothing.”
Years after he wore a thrifted suit to his first moot court competition, he accumulated a collection of designer suits. Nathanson has now donated them to the professional closet at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law, where she is a professor and directs a program to educate youth about legal processes.
“I know that John would be so happy to see students who couldn’t afford clothes for mock trial wearing his designer suits,” she says. “Similarly, I know that John would be happy about the scholarship. He loved the University of Arizona, the practice of family law and mentoring young lawyers. The AAML John Bolt Memorial Scholarship is a way to keep his legacy and passion for the law alive, while helping out students a bit.”
Student scholarships play a crucial role in Arizona Law’s commitment to making a legal career accessible to all of our students. Learn more about how to support initiatives like the AAML John Bolt Memorial Scholarship.
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