UCLA School of Law Receives $1 Million Pledge from Paul Hastings for its First Endowed Law Firm Chair

December 05, 2005

UCLA School of Law has received a pledge of $1 million from international law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (Paul Hastings) to establish the Paul Hastings Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law. This is the first endowed chair UCLA Law has received from a law firm. It is also the first endowed law firm chair in the City of Los Angeles.

“We’re pleased that Paul Hastings has taken a leadership role in funding the first endowed law firm chair at UCLA School of Law and in Los Angeles,” said Michael Schill, dean of UCLA School of Law. “Their generous gift enables us to enhance our faculty and thereby attract the best and brightest students. The Paul Hastings Chair will also draw other talented scholars to UCLA School of Law,” noted Dean Schill.

The Paul Hastings Chair will support the teaching, scholarship and service activities of a distinguished faculty member by underwriting important research projects and funding graduate research assistant support, among other things. This particular endowed chair will enhance UCLA School of Law’s scholarly leadership in critical areas such as corporate law, securities law and regulation, and corporate governance.

“UCLA School of Law professors are among the finest legal scholars in the nation, and we’re pleased to support the school’s efforts to continue raising the bar on the caliber of its faculty,” said Greg Nitzkowski, managing partner of Paul, Hastings, and a 1984 alumnus of UCLA School of Law. “We hope our gift will inspire other law firms around the country to support UCLA School of Law.

“The scholarly success of the UCLA Law faculty sets the stage for the curriculum they implement in the classroom, and in turn, law firms like Paul Hastings and numerous others are the ultimate benefactors, as we employ UCLA Law graduates who come to our firms well grounded in the law,” added Nitzkowski.

Once the Paul Hastings Chair is approved by the President of the University of California, Dean Schill will commence a search to fill the chair. The scholar selected will have impeccable academic credentials in the area of business/corporate law.

“As a leading international law firm with a strong transactional practice, Paul Hastings is committed to investing in the training and development of young legal minds,” said Robert Miller, Corporate Department Chair at Paul Hastings. “The Paul Hastings Chair will provide the foundation for extensive training in corporate and securities law to talented individuals who will pursue a career in this area of the law.”

The Paul Hastings Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law is part of UCLA’s Ensuring Academic Excellence Initiative, a five-year effort aimed at generating $250 million in private commitments specifically for the recruitment and retention of the very best faculty and graduate students. The initiative was launched in June 2004. Its goals include $100 million to fund 100 new endowed chairs for faculty across campus, increasing the number to 331. In addition, campus officials plan to increase support for an estimated 3,500 graduate students per year by raising $100 million to fund fellowships and scholarships in the UCLA College and $50 million for fellowships and scholarships in UCLA's 11 professional schools.

About Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker

Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, founded in 1951, is an international law firm, representing Fortune 500 companies with more than 1,000 attorneys located in 17 offices: Atlanta, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, Orange County, Palo Alto, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Stamford, Tokyo and Washington, DC.

About UCLA School of Law

Founded in 1949, UCLA School of Law is the youngest major law school in the nation and has established a tradition of innovation in its approach to teaching, research and scholarship. With approximately 100 faculty and 970 students, the school pioneered clinical teaching, is a leader in interdisciplinary research and training, and is at the forefront of efforts to link research to its effects on society and the legal profession.