Richard “Rick” Gattis ’74

When Richard “Rick” Gattis ’74 was asked to serve as successor trustee for his longtime friend and client, James “Jim” R. Williams, Rick knew he was being entrusted with the obligation to “be a good steward,” honoring Jim’s legacy, in part, by supporting the needs of his San Diego community. To that end, Mr. Gattis has chosen to make the incredibly generous gift of $500,000 to support California Western’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, particularly aiding in the creation of a Scholar-in-Residence fund.

After graduating from Berkeley in 1966 with a degree in electrical engineering, Rick moved back home to LA to care for his ailing mother and younger brothers while working as a manager for Pacific Telephone. After five years, with a new and growing family, Rick quit his job at the Phone company, pulled up stakes, and moved to San Diego to enroll at the California Western School of Law. Soon after school started, he found the kind of practical, career-oriented mentorship he’d been seeking, “mentors,” he says, “without whom, I don’t know what I would have done.” Among these were Professors George Gafford and Murry Galinson. Professor Galinson, “always approachable,” taught what was then a new class on ethics, which served Rick well throughout his career, navigating the murkier waters of the profession. Mr. Gattis also commented on the lasting impact Professor William Burby, who taught first year Real Property law, had on him and peers, throwing them into the deep end on day one with an old, English case study, asking, “What is this case about – in two words?” After several students made spectacles of themselves trying, Professor Burby intoned, “The two words are –incorporeal hereditament.” Words Rick says he had never heard before, never saw used thereafter, and never will forget, noting Professor Burby’s intimidating lesson in simplifying complex issues.

While studying for the bar with a colleague who had attended a more “august” east coast law school, Rick found that his comparative education at Cal Western had given him the same solid foundation with a much more practical understanding of the law, especially since he had been provided litigation experience starting in his second year. Upon graduating from Cal Western with a JD, in 1974, Mr. Gattis felt equipped to take and pass the Bar Examination and to immediately launch his career, “exactly the way [he] wanted it.”

He began his practice with a medium-sized firm and specialized in civil litigation, before leaving to form his own general practice firm in 1982. In addition to real estate brokers, escrow companies, restaurants, and air-crash survivors, Rick and his firm represented local financial institutions and banks in the 80’s and several prominent automobile dealers and their owners throughout the 90’s and 2000’s, in addition to representing clients in over a dozen major civil jury trials and numerous other contested actions in State and Federal Courts throughout California. After a long and fulfilling career, Rick retired in 2020.

This past year, when Mr. Gattis visited the Cal Western campus for the first time in a number of years, he was pleasantly surprised at the developments that have been made, among them the resources that are now provided for students in the new main building and library. It also brought a smile to his face when he saw students “hiding in cubicles or empty rooms– quiet, where no one can bother you– exactly like we did.” Some things don’t change about Cal Western culture!

Rick feels “hugely fortunate” to be in the position he is in as trustee of Mr. Jim Williams’ trust. Jim was actively involved with a number of local philanthropic and civic organizations, including the San Diego County YMCA, where he served on the board, and the Holiday Bowl Committee, where he was one of the organizing “Redcoats.” Rick met Jim in 1986, when Jim purchased Kearny Mesa Toyota. From that time forward, Rick had the privilege of providing Jim and the dealership with legal counsel. Through the years, the two became close friends.

Mr. Gattis remarked that while it is a heavy responsibility to choose how to allocate the trust’s remaining funds, it is also a great privilege to be able to provide significant support to worthwhile causes in San Diego and elsewhere. It is Rick’s hope that his gift, on behalf of Jim Williams, will help “current and future students, giving them outlets for knowledge that they would not have otherwise been exposed to. The idea of faculty members from different schools across the nation sharing their stories and cultural experiences with our students, faculty, and community members is incredibly appealing. Jim would have been in full support of this.”

We wish to express our community’s profound gratitude to Mr. Gattis for his generosity, for helping students to thrive while at Cal Western and beyond– just as he did.

If you have included California Western in your estate plan or would like more information about including California Western in your estate plan, please contact Dani Dawson at ddawson@cwsl.edu or 858-997-3047.

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