Another $2 million pledge was made on behalf of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, P.C., a Chattanooga-based law firm, to support students at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
The gift will support the Summers, Rufolo, and Rodgers Scholarship Endowment, the Douglas A. Blaze Leadership Scholarship, and the John K. Morgan Trial Advocacy Endowment.
“It is our way of playing it forward in appreciation for our clients’ faith in and support of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers over the past 55 years,” said Jerry H. Summers (’66), founder of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, P.C.
The Summers, Rufolo, and Rodgers Scholarship Endowment benefits students pursuing careers in advocacy, and the Douglas A. Blaze Leadership Scholarship—which honors one of the founders of the Institute for Professional Leadership and former Tennessee Law dean—supports students preparing for leadership roles in the legal profession. The John K. Morgan Trial Advocacy Endowment honors a prominent Chattanooga attorney who influenced Summers, and who is an important figure in his book The Turtle and the Lawyer.
“Scholarships play a critical role in enabling Tennessee Law to continue attracting increasingly impressive and talented students who are destined to be influential lawyers and leaders within the profession,” said Lonnie T. Brown, Jr., dean and Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law. “Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers’ sustained history of unparalleled generosity is indispensable to our ongoing success and so very deeply appreciated.”
About Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, P.C.,
Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, P.C. was founded in 1969 by Summers. He is also one of the founders of Tennessee Law’s Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and is a longstanding member of the college’s Dean’s Circle. In addition to Summers, the firm includes attorneys Jeffrey Rufolo (’91) and Jimmy F. Rodgers, Jr. (’94), Marya L. Schalk (’05) and Benjamin McGowan.