June 2006

Burns Family Endows Clinical Law Chair

$2-Million Gift Supports Community Legal Services

By Elizabeth Andrews and Catherine Fox

A new faculty chair will enhance the role of the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, thanks to a $2-million gift from the Jacob Burns Foundation. The latest in a series of gifts by the Burns family to the Law School, the endowment will fund a faculty position overseeing the administration of GW’s clinical law programs.
“This year marks the 15th anniversary of the dedication of the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics and the 35th year of its founding,” said Rosalie Burns. “We are extremely proud of the Burns family’s association with the clinical law program at GW Law, which is ranked among the top in the nation.”

Since their founding in 1971, the clinical programs have grown in size and purpose; today, nine live-client clinics cover areas from public justice advocacy and consumer law to international human rights.

In 1991, the program was named the Jacob Burns Community Legal Clinics, to acknowledge the generous support of Jacob Burns, LLB ’24, LLD ’70. Burns, a successful lawyer and corporate executive, also was an accomplished painter and renowned philanthropist.

The Law School awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1970, and GW recognized him with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award in 1983. For many years he served as a trustee and—until his death in 1993—an honorary trustee of GW.

Burns’ legacy, visible throughout the Law School, includes the Jacob Burns Law Library, the Jacob Burns Award for Extraordinary Service, and the Jacob Burns Moot Court Room. The Jacob Burns Merit Scholarship Fund is the Law School’s largest financial aid endowment.

The community legal clinics serve an important and dual purpose, providing the Washington, DC, community with critically needed legal services while giving motivated law students the opportunity to experience the practical application of the law. Through work in clinical settings, students develop skills as negotiators, advocates, and litigators.

Among other noted features of the program are bilingual attorneys and students who assist Spanish-speaking clients. The highly esteemed GW Immigration Clinic received the 2000 Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). GW was the first, and so far only, law school clinical program to receive this or any AILA award.

The Burns family maintains a strong presence at GW. Barry A. Shenkman, Jacob Burns’ grandson, presides as president of the Burns Foundation. Rosalie Burns Goldberg, daughter of Jacob Burns, serves as a trustee of the foundation and is an active member of the Law School’s Board of Advisors.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu