IU Maurer School of Law alumnus and wife bequeath $7.7M to endow Center on the Global Legal Profession

  • Oct. 3, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumnus and his wife have made a $7.7 million bequest to the school’s Center on the Global Legal Profession. The estate gift from Milt, JD ’71, and Judi Stewart contains two components: endowment of the center itself and a professorship.

The Stewarts’ bequest will be used to support the center’s activities, including global externships for law students, research and outreach activities, partnership programs with law schools around the world, and other student activities. The Stewarts have generously supported the Center on the Global Legal Profession since its founding in 2009, including establishing the Stewart Fellows global externship program, which has funded more than 100 students’ summer externships in eight countries since 2010.

In recognition of their longstanding commitment to the law school, the center is being named the Milt and Judi Stewart Center on the Global Legal Profession. The Milt and Judi Stewart Professor of Law professorship will be held by the center’s director once the proceeds from the estate gift have been distributed.

“In expanding professional opportunities for our students and by enriching our educational offerings, this wonderful gift will have a major and enduring impact on the IU Maurer School of Law,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “The commitment that Milt and Judi have made to Indiana University, our students and our faculty is truly inspiring, and we are deeply appreciative of their support for the Center on the Global Legal Profession, which will enable the center to provide IU students with vital opportunities for immersive learning about the law in other countries.”

"We are honored by Milt and Judi’s longtime support of the center and the law school, culminating in this latest generous gift,” said Austen L. Parrish, dean and James H. Rudy Professor at the Maurer School of Law. “Their support of our global externship program has made it possible for dozens of students to work during the summer in law firms, businesses and nonprofit organizations on three continents. The generosity of their bequest will further strengthen the center’s long-term impact on our students and on the legal profession.”

“Judi and I are delighted to make this gift to the center,” Milt Stewart said. “My law school education made it possible for me to have a successful and rewarding practice in the global legal profession. This gift enables me to repay the school in some small way for the success I have had, and, I hope, expose future students to the opportunities available to global lawyers.”

Stewart is a retired partner in the Portland, Oregon, office of Davis Wright Tremaine, a national business and litigation law firm with offices across the United States and in Shanghai. Long active in Indiana University activities, he currently serves as vice chairman of the Indiana University Foundation board of directors. Milt and Judi are both longtime members of the advisory board of the IU Eskenazi Museum of Art.

“Milt and Judi are among Indiana University’s most supportive friends in every sense,” IU Foundation President Dan Smith said. “And it has been a pleasure for me to get to know them personally in recent years. Milt brings great commitment, thoughtfulness and broad knowledge to the IUF board, and Judi serves as a tireless advocate for women’s initiatives at IU. Milt and Judi have long been visionary supporters of Indiana University. Their most recent transformational gift will create new opportunities for students to become citizens of the world and, in the process, help the Maurer School of Law and the university further extend its global impact.” The IU Foundation’s office of gift planning services assisted in developing and documenting the Stewarts’ estate gift.

“This is an exciting time for our center,” said professor Jayanth Krishnan, its director. “We have a number of initiatives that will further our mission of promoting research on crucial issues facing lawyers, providing unparalleled opportunities for our students and expanding our global partnerships. The Stewarts’ bequest will help advance the center’s mission for years to come.”

Established in 2009, the Center on the Global Legal Profession engages in research that advances knowledge about the global legal profession, provides students with opportunities for hands-on learning about the law in other countries and builds global partnerships with other law schools to enhance the impact of the profession throughout the world. With more than a dozen affiliated faculty, it is one of the leading research centers of its kind. Through its programs, the center has been instrumental in the law school’s holistic approach to transforming smart students into outstanding, ethical lawyers who understand the evolving nature of the legal profession.

Founded in 1842, the Indiana University Maurer School of Law is the oldest public law school in the Midwest. Ranked 25th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, it is the highest-ranked public law school in Indiana and among the top 10 public law schools nationally. In addition to its research on the legal profession, the school also has top-ranked programs in international law, at 18th; tax, at 20th; and intellectual property, at 23rd.

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Milt and Judi Stewart

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Ken Turchi

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