ASU Law receives $100,000 gift from Los Abogados, Arizona’s Hispanic Bar Association

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University has received a $100,000 gift from Los Abogados, Arizona’s Hispanic Bar Association, which will be used to fund scholarships.

“This gives us an opportunity to increase how we are able to help out individual students that are coming to ASU Law,” said Ed Maldonado (JD ’00), president of Los Abogados. “There is also Dean (Douglas) Sylvester’s commitment to strengthening the diversity of the law students and the faculty.”

The scholarships funded by Los Abogados will be given to ASU Law students who show a commitment to helping the Latino community. The scholarships are not limited to Latinos or those of Hispanic descent.

The gift represents a long-standing partnership between Los Abogados and ASU Law. In October, Los Abogados honored ASU Law Professor Charles Calleros with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Here at ASU Law, our primary focus is our students,” Dean Sylvester said. “Through this generous gift we will be able to financially assist more students. In addition, we will continue to partner with Los Abogados to promote diversity at ASU Law.”

As thanks for the gift, Sylvester announced that the third-floor conference room at the Arizona Center for Law and Society, the new home of ASU Law in downtown Phoenix, will be named the Los Abogados Conference Room.

“That’s huge. It really provides a visual representation that ASU Law is committed to Los Abogados, to the Hispanic community as a whole, and the Hispanic legal community,” Maldonado said. “Having our name ever present in this amazing, state-of-the-art law school is something we’re proud of.”

Jason Barraza, vice president of Los Abogados, believes the gift to ASU Law will inspire members of the group to continue giving to legal education.

“This endowment would not be possible without the support of our membership, and I anticipate our members will continue their support, whether individually or through Los Abogados,” he said.

Los Abogados was founded in 1976 and incorporated in 1988. Members of Los Abogados include private and public attorneys, judges, businesspeople, paralegals and law students. Members practice throughout Arizona and serve as officers and directors of county, state and federal bar associations. Los Abogados is an affiliate member of the Hispanic National Bar Association.