2022-2023 GIVING IMPACT REPORT
Fiscal Year 2023: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023
Dear Friends, Your generosity is truly essential to our being an outstanding law school. I very much enjoy the opportunity at the end of each fiscal year to share with you the far-reaching impact of your giving.
3,750
The stories and statistics we feature in this Giving Impact Report are just a sample of the many ways that your gifts change not only the lives of our students, but also the communities we serve through our research, advocacy, and pro bono work. Thank you for your financial support and also for the many hours of your time spent mentoring students, participating on event panels, and helping to recruit the next class of effective and confident Berkeley lawyers.
Donor households
19.6%
As you know, state support and tuition cover only a portion of our expenses. Your gifts to support student scholarships, new faculty chairs, faculty retention and recruitment, our centers and clinics, and the Law School’s many programs make a tremendous difference and allow us to thrive. And we are thriving. Our superb faculty, our impressive J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., and Ph.D. students, and our dedicated staff do extraordinary work every day in pursuit of justice.
School operating budget financed through gifts and endowment income
$34,048,149
As we begin the new academic year, I will continue to work tirelessly to support excellence, access, and scholarship here at Berkeley Law. Please know that I do not take your gifts for granted and I look forward to reporting back to you on all that you have made possible.
Raised through philanthropy
18%*
With enormous gratitude,
2
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
Photo by Laurie Frasier
Erwin Chemerinsky Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law
J.D. alumni giving participation rate *Includes outright gifts, pledges, or pledge payments to all law funds. If a couple are both law grads, they are counted as two donors, not one.
Berkeley Law
3
STUDENTS
Claire Weintraub ’23 and Natalie Kaliss ’23 finished law school with a memorable experience, arguing in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for a client petitioning the denial of her asylum application.
$100,086
Academic-year 2022-2023 full cost of attendance for J.D. candidates, including tuition, fees, books, health insurance, and estimated living expenses (CA residents).
Part of Berkeley Law’s Ninth Circuit Practicum, where students craft and argue cases under attorney supervision, they relished representing their client while developing vital lawyering skills: performing a thorough record review, using legal research tools and subject matter outlines, and writing effectively and persuasively. Calling the experience “valuable and illuminating,” Kaliss says, “Although we can’t control the outcome of a legal fight or the external factors influencing a judge’s decision, we can control the content, quality, and emotional commitment we apply to our presentation of the case.”
$152,368
Average total debt load for Class of 2023 graduates.
School’s investment in student support: scholarships, loan repayment assistance, and summer public interest fellowships in Fiscal Year 2023
4
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
Photos by Brittany Hosea-Small (left) and Shelby Knowles (top)
$25,018,333
Claire Weintraub ’23 and Natalie Kaliss ’23
The fact-intensive case presented many complex issues that fueled regular practice sessions. When the moment of truth arrived, Weintraub delivered the opening argument — highlighting procedural missteps and other concerns from the initial trial — and Kaliss presented a powerful rebuttal to the government’s case. “They mastered the details of a lengthy trial record to effectively tell their client’s story,” says practicum supervisor Amalia Wille ’13. “During oral argument, they deftly responded to the judges’ questions — showing facility with case law while also backing up their arguments with pinpoint citations to the trial transcript.” Weintraub and Kaliss recently began working in San Francisco at the Immigration Center for Women and Children and at Latham & Watkins, respectively. Both say their practicum experience provided a huge career boost. “It was extremely rewarding,” Weintraub says. “I learned a lot that I’m sure will be useful in my future work.”
Berkeley Law
5
FACULTY
Bankruptcy and Corporate Finance aren’t exactly known as the most riveting law school classes. But Tara Kay ’24, who took both with Professor Kenneth Ayotte, enjoyed them immensely. “He has a remarkable talent for making the complex relatable and interesting and truly embodies the qualities of an outstanding educator: passion, knowledge, dedication, and a genuine love for teaching,” she says. This year’s Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction winner, Ayotte joined the faculty in 2014 after stints at Northwestern Law and Columbia Business School and is a core member of Berkeley Law’s top-ranked business law group.
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law
Ayotte calls Bankruptcy his favorite class to teach because of its complexity and constant evolution. He also appreciates its life lessons for students. “With time and breathing space, people can make amends for past mistakes and figure out how to move forward,” he says. Student Jay Krishnan ’24 calls Ayotte’s passion for the field contagious and says students gain vital skills from his knowledge, dedication to teaching, and mentorship.
Photos by Brittany Hosea-Small
6
Kenneth Ayotte
“I try to reveal my authentic self as much as possible when I’m teaching … to be honest about what I know and what I don’t know,” he says. “This makes my students feel comfortable bringing up ideas that they might be unsure about.”
In Memory of Professor Emerita Eleanor Swift (1945-2023)
“He acknowledges that teachers share a similar yet rewarding burden of constantly winning over their students daily, and he most certainly does not disappoint,” Krishnan says. “We’ve learned that secured creditors are typically at the head of the cap table. But in Professor Ayotte’s life, we know it’s us, his students, who are never an exception to the absolute priority rule.”
Berkeley Law
7
CLINICS
Students are integral to the Clinical Program’s mission to advance racial, economic, and social justice. The program includes 14 clinics — six at the law school and eight at the East Bay Community Law Center — led by faculty members with deep subject matter expertise and a passion for teaching and justice. Clinic seminars offer students a foundation in law and practice, while hands-on client work builds critical lawyering skills. Donor support is crucial for Dean Chemerinsky’s goal of expanding the clinical program to ensure every student can participate in a clinic.
8
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
300+
Students participated in clinics last school year
Death Penalty Clinic
5,250+
Environmental Law Clinic
East Bay Community Law Center
International Human Rights Law Clinic
Hours of collective student clinic work each week (16-22 per student)
4
Clinical professors to be added in the next four years
3
New in-house clinics to be added in the next four years
“My conversations with clinic staff and peers about law, poverty, professional ethics, and everything in between have profoundly shaped how I think about my role as a future legal aid attorney and my relationship to our clients.” — Maya Fegan ’23
New Business Community Law Clinic Policy Advocacy Clinic Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic
Whether students pursue public interest and public sector work, judicial clerkships, or BigLaw opportunities, their experience in legal research and writing, oral advocacy, client representation, and litigation prepares them to succeed in a wide variety of legal settings and practice areas. Every year, the school honors students’ pro bono and public interest work, including these three Clinical Program award winners. Meredith Haung ’23 won the 2023 Brian M. Sax Prize for Excellence in Clinical Advocacy for her outstanding work in the Policy Advocacy Clinic (PAC) and the Death Penalty Clinic (DPC). At PAC, she drafted and advocated for a bill eliminating juvenile fees and fines in Utah that passed unanimously out of the state senate. At DPC, she worked at the intersection of state and federal habeas law, including supporting investigation for clemency proceedings. Maya Fegan ’23 won the Sax Prize Honorable Mention for her excellent work in the East Bay Community Law Center’s Health and Welfare Clinic, where she handled cases on behalf of adults and children with disabilities in areas such as housing. Fegan, who also participated in EBCLC’s Clean Slate Clinic, worked on cases involving clients facing mental health and cognitive challenges. Anthony Ghaly ’23 won the Clinical Legal Education Association Outstanding Clinical Student Award for his impressive work in the International Human Rights Law Clinic, where he drafted a legal argument for a women-led Mexican human rights group under state surveillance and filed a United Nations human rights petition about Vietnam’s repression of journalists and human rights activists.
Berkeley Law
9
CENTERS 10
At Berkeley Law, research is part of our DNA. The school hosts more than 25 research centers and initiatives where faculty and researchers seek solutions to wide-ranging challenges, from developing business strategies to combating climate change to safeguarding intellectual property in the global economy. Unrestricted gifts to the Berkeley Law Fund enable the school to support our centers, many of which also receive direct support from donorinitiated funds.
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
•
Anglo-American Studies Program
•
Criminal Law & Justice Center
•
Berkeley Center for Law & Business
•
•
Berkeley Center for Law & Technology
The Election Administration Research Center
•
Berkeley Center for Private Law Theory
Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice
•
Human Rights Center
•
The Institute for Legal Research
•
Kadish Center for Morality, Law & Public Affairs
•
Korea Law Center
•
Law, Economics, & Politics Center
•
The Honorable G. William & Ariadna Miller Institute for Global Challenges & the Law
•
Public Law & Policy Program
•
The Robbins Collection
•
Statewide Database
• •
Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law
•
Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law & Israel Studies
•
Berkeley Judicial Institute
•
Robert D. Burch Center for Tax Policy & Public Finance
•
California Constitution Center
•
Center for Law, Energy & the Environment
•
Center for Law & Work
•
Center on Race, Sexuality & Culture
•
Center on Reproductive Rights & Justice
•
The Center for the Study of Law & Society
•
Civil Justice Research Initiative
Berkeley Law’s research centers and institutes help students pursue solutions to vexing societal challenges. The Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice connects them with professors, lawyers, activists, and others to provide advocacy training and confront issues relating to power, equity, and subordination. The donor-funded Henderson Center Scholars Program offers financial assistance, mentorship opportunities, and robust programming to 1Ls who showed a strong social justice commitment before law school. Marah Ajilat ’25 is a prime example.
Marah Ajilat ’25
Growing up in Jordan during the Arab Spring, she has worked to prevent nefarious online advertising tools and big data from influencing elections, and to expand victims of human rights violations’ access to accountability mechanisms in the digital age. “Judge Henderson is a landmark figure in civil rights and social justice, and carrying his name is a real honor,” she says. “The center’s scholars program helped me minimize my loan burden and join a cohort of diverse peers known for their dedication to important causes... The center reminds me of why I’m here and why it matters. It’s a wonderful space that I find really grounding.” The center helps fund summer work in otherwise unpaid or low-paid public interest internships, and administers the Race and Law Certificate and the Public Interest and Social Justice Certificate to students who complete focused curriculums. Ajilat also calls Executive Director Savala Nolan ’11 a treasured resource. “You’ll have different mentors in law school, but it’s really hard to find people you can be completely vulnerable with,” she says. “Talking to Savala completely suspends that for me.”
Berkeley Law
11
Thank you to our Alumni Workplace Challenge Volunteers Berkeley Law’s annual workplace giving program owes its success to the 77 Alumni Workplace Challenge captains — at 55 law firms and companies — who ran a successful 2023 campaign that yielded over $900,000 from 571 donors. We are grateful for their advocacy and that of the program’s co-chairs, Berkeley Law Alumni Association Fundraising Chair Michael Charlson ’85 (Vinson & Elkins LLP), Theresa Lee ’03 (Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP), Anna Remis ’07 (Sidley Austin LLP), and David Zapolsky ’88 (Amazon.com, Inc.)
We are delighted to recognize the organizations that placed at the top of their mod in the Fiscal Year 2023 campaign as well as the captains who led the charge. Mod A | 41+ alumni Fenwick & West LLP: Taimur Case ’15 & Julia Ushakova-Stein ’11 Mod B | 30-40 alumni Jones Day: Nadim Houssain ’20 & Brian McDonald ’02 Mod C | 20-29 alumni Farella Braun + Martel LLP: Nathan Anderson ’16 & Janice Reicher ’12 Mod D | 15-19 alumni Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP*: Caitlin Brown ’17 & Osa Wolff ’97 *Organizations that achieved a 100% participation rate among their Berkeley Law alumni employees. 12
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
Mod E | 10-14 alumni Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP*: Deborah Festa ’99 & Alissa Miller ’01 Vinson & Elkins LLP*: Michael Charlson ’85 & Rob Landicho ’13 Mod F | 7-9 alumni Baker Botts LLP.*: Kevin Chiu ’18, Sam Dibble ’98, & Allison Mallick ’10 Mod G | 2-6 alumni Conrad Metlitzky Kane LLP*: Cara Sandberg ’12 Lane Powell PC*: Lisa Poplawski ’11 Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLC*: Cozette Tran-Caffee ’12 Venable LLP*: Jean-Paul Cart ’09 Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger*:
Participating Organizations, Fiscal Year 2023 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Amazon.com, Inc Arnold & Porter Baker Botts LLP Bartko Zankel Bunzel & Miller Boies Schiller Flexner LLP Conrad Metlitzky Kane LLP Cooley LLP Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP Crowell & Moring LLP Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Dentons US LLP Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Farella Braun + Martel LLP Fenwick & West LLP Fish & Richardson P.C. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Google LLC Greenberg Traurig LLP Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian Hanson Bridgett LLP Hogan Lovells Jenner & Block LLP Jones Day K&L Gates LLP King & Spalding LLP Kirkland & Ellis LLP Lane Powell PC Latham & Watkins LLP Lyft Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP McDermott Will & Emery Microsoft Corporation Milbank LLP Miller Nash LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP O’Melveny & Myers LLP
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP Perkins Coie LLP Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Proskauer Rose LLP Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP Sidley Austin LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Uber Venable LLP Vinson & Elkins LLP Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Berkeley Law
13
Thank you to our Alumni Volunteers
Berkeley Law Alumni Association 2022-2023
Volunteers are one of Berkeley Law’s great assets. Their reach is far and wide, from student recruitment to alumni networking events around the globe. Thanks to all of our graduates and friends who devoted time and energy to Berkeley Law during this last year.
Cara Sandberg ’12, President, Co-Chair Admitted Student Outreach/Recruitment Committee
Monique Liburd ’08
Carly O’Halloran Alameda ’06, Past President
Heather Mewes ’99
Sewit Beraki ’24, Student Representative
Nicole Ozer ’03
Thank you to our Board of Directors
Tam Ma ’11
Admitted students recruitment
Charles Breyer ’66
Spencer Pahlke ’07
•
Advisory boards for many of the law school’s research centers
Michael Charlson ’85, Chair, Fundraising Committee
Kendrick Peterson ’24, Student Representative
•
Alumni guide program
Paul Clark ’80
•
Alumni workplace challenge fundraising campaign captains
Jami Floyd ’89
Jay Purcell ’11, Secretary, Co-Chair, Admitted Student Outreach/Recruitment Committee
•
Berkeley Law alumni association board of directors
Terry Friedman ’76, Co-Chair, Mentorship Committee
Smita Rajmohan ’14, Co-Chair, Mentorship Committee
Ricardo García ’95
Irma Rodriguez Moisa ‘92
•
Career mentoring
Joanna Goldenstein ’97, Co-Vice President
Jennifer Romano ’97
•
Distinguished speakers
Lillian Hardy ’06
Jonathan Simon ’87, Faculty Representative
•
Journal and student organization alumni volunteers
Jeffrey Harleston ’88
Armilla Staley-Ngomo ’08
Noah Ickowitz ’17
Quyen Ta ’03
•
Regional alumni engagement Chapters (REACh) leadership
Yury Kapgan ’01, Co-Vice President, Chair, Regional Chapters
David Zapolsky ’88
•
Reunion class campaign volunteers
Erika Kelton ’87 Kenton King ’87
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
And special thanks to Jay Purcell, Jonathan Simon, and David Zapolsky for their 9, 4, and 9 years of service, respectively, on the Board of Directors.
Photo by Keegan Houser
•
David Larwood ’86 14
Jose Luis Lopez ’09
Berkeley Law
15
Your unrestricted support of our core needs gives the dean budget flexibility and demonstrates our shared vision of the essential Berkeley Law experience. Thank you for your trust.
$2,643,987
In Support of Core Needs in Fiscal Year 2023
$2,142,577 Berkeley Law Fund: Schoolwide Support $319,615 Berkeley Law Scholarship Fund $68,358 Faculty Excellence Fund $64,630 Clinical Program Fund
16
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small
$48,807 Summer Public Interest Fellowship Fund
Berkeley Law
17
FINANCIAL SUMMARY 18
4.8%
Revenue by Source Net state support of Berkeley Law has plummeted and philanthropy now accounts for nearly four times the state’s contributions to our revenue.
5.1% 6.7%
4%
Net State Support
Contracts & Grants
1.4%
4.7%
Other
Sales & Service Revenue
Facilities & Maintenance (and Debt)
Student Activities & Support
3.2%
External Engagement
5.6%
Library & Collections
10.1%
Schoolwide Administration
6.8%
76% 41% 24% 4.8% 1990
2000
2010
Philanthropy provides
19.6%
2023
Reserves
Instruction & Clinics
55.6%
8.6%
Endowment Support
Student Tuition & Fees
13.5%
Research & Centers
$25m
11% Gifts
17.7%
Financial Aid
of our income
2022-2023 Giving Impact Report
41.2%
Financial Aid is a top priority and essential to our public mission. We spent $25 million in Fiscal Year 2023, more than twice the $10.5 million we spent in 2010.
Expenses by Category
2023
$10.5m 2010
Berkeley Law
19
University of California, Berkeley School of Law Development & Alumni Relations 224 Law Building Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID University of California, Berkeley
On the cover (from left to right):
Supporting Berkeley Law
Ben Wise ’25 Arielle Amegashie ’23 Shahmeer Ahmad ’25 Alitzel Cervantes Solis ’24 Jessica Gomez ’23 Matt Menezes ’23 Heidi Kong ’24
510-643-9789 gift4law@law.berkeley.edu law.berkeley.edu/giving
Photos by Brittany Hosea-Small (Ben Wise, Alitzel Cervantes Solis, Matt Menezes, and Heidi Kong). Other photos provided by students.