SANTA CLARA, CA – April 17, 2008. Santa Clara University School of Law is recognizing three of its distinguished alumni with the Alumni Special Achievement Award and a long-time faculty member with the Edwin J. Owens Lawyer of the Year award. The awards will be presented at this year’s Spring Awards Banquet on April 25 at the Leavey Center on the University’s campus. Each of award recipients has demonstrated remarkable leadership in his or her career.
The Alumni Special Achievement Award was established by the Law Alumni Association at Santa Clara University for the purpose of publicly recognizing outstanding achievements of its alumni. Recipients have distinguished themselves in their profession, in the community, and in service to humanity. This year’s recipients are Sal Liccardo ’56, J.D. ’61, Catherine C. Sprinkles ’73, and Rodney Gregory Moore ’85. The Edwin J. Owens Lawyer of the Year award honors a lawyer who has distinguished him/herself in the profession. This year’s recipient is Paul J. Goda, S.J.
Salvador "Sal" Liccardo B.S. ’56, J.D. ’61
Sal Liccardo is one of the top trial lawyers in the U.S. and a leader in the legal community. He has practiced personal injury and products liability law in the Bay Area for more than 45 years. He is a member (since 1974) of the Inner Circle of Advocates, limited to 100 of the most prestigious plaintiff trial lawyers in America.
Liccardo attended Bellarmine College Preparatory and earned a degree in political science from SCU in 1956. After SCU Law School, he co-founded Caputo and Liccardo, later Liccardo, Rossi, Sturges & McNeil, in San Jose. He continues to try cases throughout California.
Catherine C. Sprinkles J.D. ’73
Catherine Sprinkles is a tireless advocate for women in the legal profession and a leader in terms of challenging the status quo and modeling the way for other women to succeed in the profession. Sprinkles attended Duke University and obtained a degree in political science from San Jose State University. In the late 1970s, Sprinkles was one of a group who co-founded the Santa Clara Women Lawyers.
In 1986, Sprinkles joined Jackson, Tufts, Cole, & Black in San Jose and became a partner. In 1994, she co-founded McPharlin, Sprinkles & Thomas, a San Jose firm where she practices real estate law.
Rodney Gregory Moore J.D. ’85
Rodney Gregory Moore has become a leader in the quest for social justice in the community as a whole and in the legal profession in particular. Moore is president-elect of the National Bar Association, an organization of more than 22,000 African-Americans in the legal profession.
Moore holds a degree in political science from the University of Washington. After graduating from SCU Law, he established his own practice representing plaintiffs in employment cases.
Moore has been General Counsel of the East Side Union High School District in San Jose and the Atlanta Public Schools. He is of counsel at the Atlanta, Georgia, office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Paul J. Goda, S.J.
The Edwin J. Owens Lawyer of the Year Award was first presented in 1966. The award is named for its first recipient, Edwin J. Owens, dean of Santa Clara University School of Law for 20 years and later judge of the Superior Court. The award honors a lawyer who has distinguished him/herself in the profession. He or she should be a person of high moral character and recognized intellectual ability who is devoted to the highest ideals of professional responsibility and has made significant contributions to the University, the community, and the law.
This year’s recipient, Father Paul J. Goda, has proven himself a leader in the campus community through his long record of teaching students to the highest educational standards and encouraging their hearts to use their legal educations to benefit society.
Goda earned a degree in history from Loyola University of Los Angeles prior to entering the Society of Jesus in 1955. He received a second BA from Gonzaga in 1959, his law degree from Georgetown Law Center in 1963, his Master of Sacred Theology from Alma College in Los Gatos in 1967, and an LLM from New York University in 1969. He has taught at SCU Law School since 1969.
About Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law, founded in 1912 on the site of California’s oldest operating higher-education institution, is dedicated to educating lawyers who lead with a commitment to excellence, ethics, and social justice. One of the nation’s most diverse law schools, Santa Clara Law offers its 975 students an academically rigorous program, including graduate degrees in international law and intellectual property law; combined J.D./MBA degree; and certificates in intellectual property law, international law, and public interest and social justice law. Santa Clara Law is located in the world-class business center of Silicon Valley, and is distinguished nationally for our top-ranked program in intellectual property. For more information, see www.scu.edu/sclaw
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its 8,377 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
