REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
Sign up now to get FREE unrestricted access to Reuters.com
September 8 (Reuters) September 8 (Reuters) Philadelphia personal injury attorney Thomas Kline on Wednesday became the only lawyer living with two law school named in honor of Kline.
Duquesne University announced a rebranding of its law school after the $50 million pledge from Kline which it described as the biggest gift in school’s past. The Pittsburgh school has been renamed”the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University.
Drexel University’s law faculty is now named the Thomas R. Kline School of Law from 2014 in which year Kline made a donation of $5 million for the Philadelphia school.
Sign up now to get FREE unrestricted access to Reuters.com
Kline completed her studies at Duquesne law school in 1978, before beginning a career that was successful as a lawyer for trial as well as co-founding the injury and malpractice legal company Kline & Spector, which includes more than 50 lawyers as well as five office locations.
Kline secured an $8 billion judgment against Johnson & Johnson in 2019 in connection with the anti-psychotic medication Risperdal. Kline has represented other plaintiffs in the litigation concerning the deadly 2015 Amtrak accident in Philadelphia that claimed the lives of eight victims as well as on the Penn State University Jerry Sandusky molestation trial.
“I am happy for my university and am thrilled to be a part in helping to build its future,”” Kline said in an announcement regarding the donation and name changes.
Kline in 2017 donated to Duquesne Law $7.5 million to build a center of judicial training that will serve Pennsylvania judge and court employees. The latest gift will be used to be used to fund grants for scholarships, faculty to support scholarship and teaching as well as bar preparation clinics, according to the university.
Two law schools currently named in honor of the 19th century’s early U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, though a third school dropped Marshall’s name in 2021. Another is considering the same option after fresh details surfaced regarding the slaves Marshall owned.
The law faculties at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Maryland both bear the Carey name thanks to the donations of the W.P Carey Foundation, but the schools are named in honor of several deceased members of Carey family.
Learn more about:
Another law school is considering name change due to slavery Supreme Court justice
University of Florida Law gets an additional $40 million from its namesake donation
Join now for FREE unrestricted access to Reuters.com
Reporting done by Karen Sloan
Our Standards include: Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters trust principles.