Law Strategic Initiatives Fund Aids Recent Grads in a Tough Economy

BY MIKE WALLACE

Law Graduates

Jessica Seargeant graduated from Santa Clara Law in 2009 during the worst economic downturn since World War II. “The job market was really, really tough,” she said. “Most of the openings were asking for people with three to five years of experience.”

 

After months of fruitless searching, she was happy to receive a notice that Santa Clara Law had launched a new program offering paying fellowships for recent graduates. The fellowships allow grads to work in the legal field, receive mentoring and continue to take classes to enhance their legal education. She applied and was one of 15 accepted to the program in January of this year.

 

She has been working with Professor Kathleen M. Ridolfi on the Northern California Innocence Project, reviewing allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in appellate cases between 1996 and 2009. Her research, along with that of others in the project, will appear in a paper now being prepared for publication.

 

“I’ve gotten to do some good research and learn about an important issue while developing my skills,” Seargeant said. “The fellowship has enabled me to continue thinking legally and continue to learn. It’s been very helpful.”

 

Graduate fellowships such as hers were made possible for the first time this year by the success of the Law Strategic Initiatives Fund (LSIF). The new fund was created a year ago at the behest of Dean Donald J. Polden to replace the annual fund as the primary vehicle for raising unrestricted funds to support the school’s mission and objectives. So far it’s been highly successful; as of early June, contributions to the LSIF were 40 percent higher than the prior year’s contributions to the annual fund.

 

In addition to the graduate fellowships, LSIF funds will be used for scholarships and financial aid, technology and resources, learning programs and scholarly endeavors, and alumni services. Dean Polden said all these things work toward the larger strategic goal of attracting and retaining the best faculty and attracting a highly qualified and diverse student body.

 

“We decided to invite our donors and friends to invest in our strategic initiatives—to consider the key issues we’re looking at and identify with them,” said Dean Polden. “Our donors are very interested in how their funds will be used, and most of them have confidence that they’ll be used in the best way possible. When we first presented this to prospective donors, they could see the benefit at the front end.”

 

Jacqueline Wender, Senior Assistant Dean, Administration, said that 37 percent of the students in the law school receive school-funded financial aid, and that the LSIF funds will be an important source of that aid. The graduate fellowships, which she administers, are consistent with Santa Clara Law’s goals of continuing education and support of alumni, she said. The program is expected to cost $83,000 this year.

 

Other projects alumni are working on under the fellowship program include preparing a casebook on doing business in China, teaching constitutional law in high school classes, working with the Law Career Services office to improve alumni services, and compiling a detailed database on the California Bar Exam.

 

“These programs show how valuable the LSIF funds are,” she said. “Their importance can not be overstated.”

 

Polden said he has high hopes for the continued success of LSIF as a way of raising critical funding for the law school. “Our donors have an interest in accountability and stewardship,” he said, “and this will be one of the most important ways our friends and supporters can help make a difference at Santa Clara Law, consistent with our mission.”

 

DONOR PROFILE

Omar Habbas graduated from Santa Clara Law in 1985, and even with the passage of a quarter-century, he has a fond recollection of the caring, almost familial relationship between the school and its students.

“The classes were intense and rigorous, as they had to be,” he said, “but the accessibility of the professors and the dean for anything you wanted to talk about, including personal concerns, was remarkable. The office door was open, and they took an interest in how you were doing in that demanding environment.”

A desire to see the law school continue its tradition of providing support to students and alumni played a large part in Habbas’ decision to become one of the major lead donors to the Law School’s Strategic Initiatives Fund. He was particularly attracted by the fund’s support of the Graduate Fellowship Program. “Highly qualified graduates, who 10 or 20 years ago would have been snapped right up by some law firm, are finding themselves unemployed,” he said. “This program lets them sharpen their legal skills and be involved in the community without having a gap in their résumé.”

After spending years building up his firm, Habbas, Nasseri and Associates, which specializes in personal-injury and tort law, Habbas said he looked at the idea of a significant gift to Santa Clara Law and involved his family in the decision. His son Tarik is now attending Santa Clara as an undergraduate and his daughter Alexandria began as a freshman this fall. His wife, Rita, was highly supportive of contributing to the Strategic Initiatives Fund.

The Law Strategic Initiatives Fund appealed to them because of its unrestricted nature, and because of their belief in the judgment of the people at the law school who will be administering the fund. “Santa Clara cares about traditional values and has a good track record in the use of funds,” he said. “They’re in a much better place to determine the needs of the school and the community than I am.”

Even though times are tough, Habbas said he hopes other graduates will give generously. “I’d really encourage other alumni to step forward,” he said. “Regardless of the amount, it will be valued. Regardless of the tough economy, it’s time to be more selfless than ever before. If we all do, it will enable the students there now to thrive as we did.”
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