Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. Makes $500,000 Gift to University of Minnesota Law School

December 10, 2013

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL, December 10, 2013 — The law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. has made a $500,000 gift commitment to the University of Minnesota Law School. The gift will be used to create and endow the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Distinguished Scholar Fund, which will strengthen the Law School’s ability to recruit, support, and retain outstanding faculty members.

The new endowment fund will provide incentives for encouraging junior or mid-career faculty with exceptional potential to grow and develop their careers at the University of Minnesota. This financial support is intended to provide a margin of excellence above and beyond core faculty funding from other sources. Faculty members who are designated Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Distinguished Scholars will use the funds to further their academic endeavors in areas such as: trial practice, appellate practice, evidence, civil procedure, torts, intellectual property, or antitrust.

"All of us at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi are proud of our long association with the University of Minnesota Law School," said Ronald J. Schutz (’81), a partner in the firm and the chair of its National IP Litigation Group. "We view our philanthropy there as an extension of our shared purpose of excellence, community service, and commitment to justice."

"The University of Minnesota Law School has benefitted from a strong partnership with Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. since the firm was founded in 1938," said Dean David Wippman. "Its generosity over time has been a cornerstone of the Law School’s commitment to excellence and service to society. With the establishment of the Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Distinguished Scholar Fund, the firm is reinforcing the importance of scholarship and teaching at the Law School."

Now celebrating its 75th year, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. is a national litigation firm with its headquarters in Minneapolis and offices in five other cities: New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, and Naples, Fla. Its 230 attorneys represent some of the world’s largest companies, most innovative start-ups, and individuals from virtually every industry and walk of life. The firm has consistently received national recognition for its trial work in intellectual property, business litigation, antitrust, entertainment and media law, insurance litigation, and mass tort law, as well as for its award-winning pro-bono, diversity, and associate training programs.