WashU Law has received a $125,000 gift from St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett to support the First Amendment Clinic, amplifying the clinic’s ability to provide hands-on legal training for students while serving clients in need of pro bono representation. Inspired by the firm’s philanthropic leadership, several Dowd Bennett team members made additional gifts collectively totaling more than $30,000. Together, these investments reflect Dowd Bennett’s longstanding connection to WashU Law, where many of the firm’s attorneys are alumni, including past participants in the First Amendment Clinic.
Dowd Bennett’s connection to the First Amendment Clinic is especially personal for Lisa Hoppenjans, professor of practice and director of the First Amendment Clinic at WashU Law. Hoppenjans began her legal career at Dowd Bennett, where her practice focused on complex civil litigation, appellate litigation, and internal investigations before joining the law school to launch the First Amendment Clinic in 2019.
In recognition of the many generous contributions to WashU Law from the Dowd Bennett team, the law school hosted a reception celebrating the firm’s combined support of the First Amendment Clinic. During the reception, Jim F. Bennett, managing partner of Dowd Bennett, described the firm and its people as “joyful givers,” reflecting Dowd Bennett’s commitment to supporting organizations and causes that make a meaningful difference in the St. Louis community.
Jim Bennett has served as lead trial and appellate counsel in high-profile matters and has tried numerous cases involving eight- and nine-figure amounts in dispute. A former law clerk to the Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and to the Hon. J. L. Edmondson, United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, he has argued appeals in courts around the country and has been recognized among the top lawyers in Missouri. In 2022, he received the Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Bar Association of St. Louis, its highest honor for a lawyer who has made a lasting contribution to the region.
The First Amendment Clinic provides pro bono legal assistance to individuals and organizations facing issues involving free speech, free press, free assembly and petition rights. WashU Law students work directly with clients and take on experiential training opportunities, including drafting court filings, conducting depositions, participating in mediation, and assisting with oral arguments.
The clinic’s work has included successful challenges to restrictions on musicians and other speakers from engaging in expressive activity in the Delmar Loop, viewpoint discrimination by a public official on a government-controlled social media account, and a school district’s ban on a resident attending public board meetings after criticizing district policies.
The generous gifts from Dowd Bennett will expand an existing endowment supporting the First Amendment Clinic recently established by the Stanton Foundation. The firm’s support also counts toward an additional $2 million challenge gift from the Stanton Foundation if WashU Law can raise $1 million in philanthropic support for the endowment.
