GIVING
USD School of Law is deeply grateful to the donors, volunteers, alumni and friends who support the law school’s mission. Here are a few of the stories about why they give back.
SUPPORT FOR TOMORROW’S ADVOCATES
Leading plaintiff attorney Ryan Saba, ’97 (JD), donates to help students achieve their goals ❱❱ Ryan Saba, ’97 (JD), credits one experience with prepar-
ing him for the rigors of a wide-ranging civil litigation career: competing on the USD Mock Trial team. “USD prepared me exceptionally well,” Saba said. “As part of the Mock Trial team, teachers and lawyers assisted us on the basics of trial law. They taught us the steps of taking complicated facts and law and translating them into understandable communications.” Now 51 and a founding partner of El Segundo firm Rosen Saba, LLP, Saba was named one of the “500 Leading Litigators in America” for 2023 by Lawdragon, as well as one of the Top Plaintiff Attorneys in California for 2022 by the Daily Journal, among other accolades. Ryan Saba,’97 (JD), founding partner of Rosen Saba.
In his career, Saba has fought for various plaintiffs and defense clients in numerous industries. In one case, he represented an injury victim and won—with another USD Law alumnus, Robert Karwin, ’97 (JD)—a significant personal injury verdict when his client, a student hit by a truck in a crosswalk, was awarded more than $26 million. He has also been part of the largest gender inequality settlements in state history on behalf of women working in the video game industry. More recently, he represented a company in a breach of confidentiality suit before the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, in which a unanimous jury found in favor of his client in the amount of $62 million. The most rewarding thing about being a lawyer, Saba said, is solving the client’s problem, whether that client is a multimillion-dollar corporation or an individual. “You go to sleep at night knowing that you are helping to improve society,” he said. Over the years, he has given back to USD through multiple gifts, including support directed to the Mock Trial team. Now, Saba has committed to a five-year gift, a resource that the law school will be able to use to address top priorities. “With the foundation that the University of San Diego provided me, I was able to get a leg up in the legal community,” Saba said. “And if my contribution could assist another student to achieve their career desires, then I feel like I have done a little good for somebody else.”
If my contribution could assist another student to achieve their career desires, then I feel like I have done a little good for somebody else.” — R YA N S A B A , ’ 9 7 (J D) 42
FALL 2023