A message from the Associate Dean for External Affairs

Dear Alumni and Friends,

As a new academic year begins, everyone at the Law School is excited to welcome back our returning students and introduce incoming 1Ls to UChicago’s unique and engaging culture of ideas, inquiry, and conversation.

It’s common to see students enjoying robust and respectful discussions with classmates and faculty. Conversations that encourage them to dive deeper into topics, ask questions, and consider different viewpoints. Many graduates point to these exchanges as a key part of their legal education that shaped them not only as lawyers, but as people.

The Law School’s commitment to free expression and the exchange of ideas is supported by contributions from our community, enabling the Law School to recruit and retain our incredible faculty, provide scholarship assistance to the brightest students as well as those with demonstrated financial need, and help underwrite all the people and programs that make a Law School education truly transformative.

Thank you to the more than 3,300 generous alumni and friends who made gifts to the Law School in the 2023–24 fiscal year. Your support enhances every aspect of life at our institution and advances our mission of providing an unparalleled legal education.

Warmly,

Alexander D. Steele
Associate Dean for External Affairs

2023–2024 Fundraising Highlights

Your contributions provide meaningful support to all aspects of the Law School’s operation, from moot court and mentoring programs, to student organizations and clinics, to financial aid and the libarary. Thank you to everyone who supported the Law School during the 2023–2024 fiscal year!

• 3,307 Alumni, friends, and students made gifts to the Law School
• $3.8M Annual fund dollars raised
• $20.2M Total dollars raised

Thank you for another successful Giving Day!

March 26–27, 2024, marked the University of Chicago’s ninth annual Giving Day! Giving Day, a 24-hour university-wide celebration demonstrating the power of collective philanthropy, is a special occasion for our community to come together to support the Law School. This year, more than 375 donors, including 239 alumni, 125 faculty and staff, and 32 friends, came together and raised over $500,000 for the Law School and clinics in a single day. Thank you for making this one of our most successful Giving Days to date!

A Memorable Reunion Weekend

On May 3–5th, nearly 650 alumni and guests returned to Hyde Park to celebrate Reunion Weekend 2024. Throughout the weekend, the Law School hosted more than twenty events, including an all-alumni wine mess, eleven class dinners, two alumni panels, a faculty masterclass, and an outing to a Cubs game. Please enjoy the photo highlights on the next page. Reunion celebrants collectively raised over $5.6 million for the Law School. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Congratulations, Class of 2024!

Congratulations to the Class of 2024 for their successful class gift campaign! The campaign achieved 50 percent overall participation and the LLM class achieved 70 percent participation. Together, with the generous support of the Wolf Family Challenge Match, the Class of 2024 raised more than $29,000 supporting the annual fund, student organizations, and the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic.

2024 Law Firm Challenge Winners

• Group 1 Winner: Sidley Austin LLP
• Group 2 Winner: Bartlit Beck LLP
• Group 3 Winners: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
• Group 4 Winners: Fox Swibel Levin & Carroll LLP; Stearns Weaver Miller

Congratulations to the winning firms and thank to all forty-nine firms who participated this year!