BU Law Alum Endows Fund to Support Spring Break Pro Bono Service Trips
Gift from Thomas Royall Smith (’70) and his wife Sharon will support BU Law students helping communities in the US in need of legal aid following a crisis.
Boston University School of Law’s Spring Break Pro Bono Service Trips began in response to Hurricane Katrina, when students traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to volunteer at legal organizations serving displaced residents. The program has grown significantly since then, sending students to volunteer at legal nonprofits across the country.
Inspired by the origin of the program and wanting to help communities in crises, Tom Smith (’70) and his wife Sharon have created an endowment to establish the Thomas Royall Smith and Sharon L. Smith Crisis Advocacy Fund.
A Class of 1970 graduate of BU Law, Mr. Smith spent his career practicing labor management law, first in the Army JAG Corp as a labor advisor at Aberdeen Proving Ground near Baltimore, and for the last 30 years, with Jackson Lewis. At Jackson Lewis, he helped build the firm from less than 100 attorneys to over 800, making it the second largest labor management law firm in the country. After practicing in Boston for many years, he helped expand the firm’s practice in Florida before his retirement in January of this year. Sharon Smith was an elementary school special education teacher in Massachusetts. Her extensive experiences volunteering as a tutor at the Epiphany School and serving on community and church boards taught her the importance of positive interactions among municipalities, caring and knowledgeable volunteers, and the organizations they serve.
Mr. Smith has remained engaged with the School in a number of ways throughout his career, participating in debates, speaking engagements, and helping to organize a series of lectures by leading labor law practitioners. However, it wasn’t until he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Sumner M. Redstone Building in 2013 that he was moved to lend his financial support. “I was inspired by the contributions other alumni had made to the new building,” he says. “Given all the help [BU Law] gave me, allowing me to excel in my profession and be successful, I decided it was time to step up and do something for my law school.”
When he and his wife began discussing a gift to BU Law, they knew they wanted to support a cause that would benefit both law students and communities in need. “We thought about 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Boston Marathon Bombing, and we were moved by the idea of creating a crisis advocacy fund,” Mr. Smith says. “In this way, we can support BU Law students helping to respond to crisis situations, the most recent being the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.”
With the support of the Smith’s fund and their vision, future BU Law students will have the opportunity to be a part of the response to crisis situations across the country by providing much-needed legal assistance to communities that have experienced unanticipated emergencies.
To contribute to the Thomas Royall Smith and Sharon L. Smith Crisis Advocacy Fund, or make a gift in support of BU Law, please contact Senior Leadership Gifts Officer Zach Dubin at zdubin@bu.edu.
To learn more about the Spring Break Pro Bono service trips, please contact the Career Development & Public Service Office’s Pro Bono Program at probono@bu.edu.