Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP founding partner Kevin R. Boyle has contributed $1,000,000 to the fundraising initiative of his alma mater, the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, establishing the Kevin R. Boyle Trial Courtroom which will take the place of the college’s current trial courtroom and a classroom. When renovations are completed, the Kevin R. Boyle Trial Courtroom will be a modernized space with room for 50 observers in the gallery and a space that can serve as a jury room or a conference room.
“I am honored that University of Arizona Law presented me with this opportunity,” Mr. Boyle (’97) said. “I am hopeful that this state-of-the art courtroom will attract talented students interested in trial practice, and help set them on their way to all forms of successful trial careers.” As stated in a University of Arizona Law press release, the “A New Day in Court” initiative will raise funds to renovate student courtrooms, establish an endowed faculty chair of advocacy and support student experiential learning. The initiative also includes renaming the program to the Thomas Mauet Advocacy Program, in honor of Professor Emeritus and renowned trial expert Thomas Mauet, who retired as advocacy program director in 2016.
The advocacy program prepares students for careers in the courtroom, with a strong emphasis on experiential classes that allow students to act as litigators and try cases against each other. The program also teaches core advocacy skills such as client interviews and fact gathering that are essential for any lawyer, even those not practicing in court.
“Kevin Boyle has had an incredible career and we are so grateful that he has chosen to leverage his success by making a gift that will benefit future generations of law students,” said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins. “His work as an advocate and his commitment to the University of Arizona are inspirational, and we are proud to have him as a member of the Wildcat family.”